Editor's Picks

In this week's essential reading guide, Kohler sets his sights on the BCA, Bartholomeusz looks at board independence and Burgess examines Australia's bungled budgets.

By Jackson Hewett ·
1 Aug 2014

Chaos looms for restaurants – so sack the bank
Alan Kohler
Despite a 12-month lead up to compulsory credit card PIN numbers, many restaurants are woefully unprepared for the impending switchover. The banks, more focused on their mortgage clients, have disgracefully neglected these small business customers.

High time to stop flogging diligent directors
Stephen Bartholomeusz
It's unrealistic and almost certainly counter-productive to hold non-executive directors to the same standards as executives. AICD's latest push may finally bring that fact proper recognition.

A worrisome debt trap for first-home buyers
Callam Pickering
Nick Xenophon’s proposal to let young Australians put their super towards a housing deposit will only keep prices out of reach and increase the likelihood of an inevitable market correction.

The BCA discovers free enterprise
Alan Kohler
Is the Business Council of Australia a think tank or a lobby group? Its latest research effort marks a subtle shift away from the latter but ultimately leaves the council with a confused sense of purpose.

Howard shines a light on a bungled budget
Rob Burgess
Howard and Costello were criticised when they delivered their harsh first budget, but the RBA's rate-cutting spree and the union movement's blunders helped to buoy public sentiment. Hockey and Abbott have had no such luck.

EU sanctions will hit Russia hard
Amber Plum
The stern sanctions imposed on Russia by the EU are a damaging blow to the country's oil and gas sector. But will economic pain induce Moscow to change its tack on the conflict with Ukraine?

Debunking the myths of board independence
Stephen Bartholomeusz
It's long been assumed that boards with a majority of independent directors are better able to protect shareholder interests, but research shows that such board composition destroys shareholder value and performance.

China’s corruption crackdown snares a tiger
Peter Cai
The investigation of Zhou Yongkang, a senior party official and former security tsar, is a historic milestone in China's anti-graft campaign and is likely to send reverberations across the political system.

Why call our best and brightest ‘unemployed’?
Rob Burgess
Australians involved in the arts often spend periods of time in unemployment but they also make significant contributions to national culture, and they pay a good deal of tax when working.