Editor's Picks

Derivatives are still out of control
Alan Kohler
Despite ongoing efforts to step up regulation in the post-crisis global financial market, derivatives-hungry Wall Street is leveraged to the hilt and the problem of ‘too big to fail’ remains unresolved.

A word of warning for Australia Post
Robert Gottliebsen
Ahmed Fahour may have cornered 80 per cent of the online parcel delivery market, but rival Toll is stepping up its game right when the Australia Post chief is distracted.

Australia's LNG sector could boom if the price is right
Stephen Bartholomeusz
Santos chief executive David Knox's optimism about Asian demand for Australian LNG has been reaffirmed by a new IEA report, but high construction costs and gas pricing could present challenges.

The hard task of fixing soft jobs growth
Callam Pickering
Despite solid economic growth, the labour market remains anaemic, especially in the non-mining sector. A plan to boost employment is needed to bolster the economy. 

Beijing reminds Hong Kong who’s boss
Peter Cai
Tensions are growing in Hong Kong after Beijing issued a blunt warning asserting its control of the financial hub. Its heavy-handed approach could undermine the territory's confidence and stability.

How to stick it out when life socks it to you
Alan Kohler
The Lindners survived the split of the family business in Germany before moving to Australia and then endured the exit of the patriarch, but mother and son picked themselves up and the business is still going strong today.

Two graphs that prove Arts degrees aren't a waste of time
Harrison Polites
This data shows it's not all doom and gloom for Arts graduates.

Behind the ECB's smoke-and-mirror show
Oliver Marc Hartwich
The ECB's introduction of negative interest rates has seen more controversial policy measures quietly slip under the radar.

The fallout from the Middle East's deadly oil game
Robert Gottliebsen
Turmoil in the oil-rich region of Mosul in northern Iraq has put a dent in Iran and Iraq's hopes to increase oil production capacity and break Saudi Arabia's stronghold on crude.

Retailers face another Murphy’s Law moment
Stephen Bartholomeusz
The downgrades from both Pacific Brands and The Reject Shop reflect the first tangible effects of the slump in consumer sentiment since the federal budget was handed down. Unusually warm weather has compounded the problem.

Saving Australia from a damaging productivity backlash
Robert Gottliebsen
As Australians face the prospect of having to do more with less, both the public and private sectors can help minimise the pain by working smarter – but it will require strong leadership.

The Liberals' radical turn on climate change
Michael Gawenda
Five years ago, a near majority of the Liberal Party accepted the scientific consensus on climate change, but under Tony Abbott the party has taken a radically ideological path, isolating dissenters like Malcolm Turnbull.

Is it too late to save the NBN?
Mark Gregory
Labor's national broadband network is dead and buried but the Coalition's watered-down version runs the risk of going down the same path.

Most commented

Lessons for Australia from the GFC
Callam Pickering
While Australia came out of the GFC relatively unscathed, a hollowed-out non-resources sector and long-term youth unemployment could precipitate a slowdown of our own making.

Most read

Harper and Abbott: Two fossils fooling no one
Tristan Edis
The two PMs feign concern for reducing carbon emissions but what unites them is a concern to protect their giant fossil fuel export industries.