EDITORS' PICKS

KGB: Bill Shorten
Kohler, Gottliebsen & Bartholomeusz
The Employment and Workplace Relations Minister says Australia's banking sector is solid despite looming job losses and Europe's problems are no reason to lose confidence.

Last call for the ECB
Alan Kohler
Markets may have shrugged off S&P's rating downgrades, but as France, Italy and Spain – and perhaps even Germany – head into recession, there's only one way out.

Lights out on a jobs bonanza
Alan Kohler
The three industries employing the bulk of Australian workers are in a grim downturn that will see jobs and commercial property take a big hit this year.

Alert for a bear attack
Robert Gottliebsen
Sharemarkets took a turn for the better over the holiday season but with a series of problems still confronting the world, the bears could soon come roaring back.

Shorten's PM potential
Robert Gottliebsen
Bill Shorten is too clever to contemplate an imminent challenge to Julia Gillard but if, or perhaps when, he gets control of the Labor Party, the Coalition will have a fight on its hands.

Brace for a bank jobs blitz
Stephen Bartholomeusz
Something has to give if the banks are to maintain both profitability and pristine credit ratings. Meanwhile, technology is rapidly changing their service delivery.

Shrugging off the China sneeze
Stephen Bartholomeusz
As the growth rate of China's economy slows markedly, and the World Bank cuts forecasts for iron ore-hungry developing nations, BHP and Rio are showing no signs of scaling back investment.

A fluoro nightmare for the Coalition
Rob Burgess
Tony Abbott had no choice but to stick with Coalition policy to end auto subsidies by 2015 and it could come back to bite ahead of the next election.

Abbott must dodge an auto explosion
Rob Burgess
A unified voice from the Coalition on auto subsidies is desperately needed or the party's policy engine could blow up before the next election.

Paying for Europe's wishful thinking
Oliver Marc Hartwich
Europe has stuck fast to its strategy of buying time, but it must surely recognise that optimistic assumptions have only delayed the inevitable and led to billions being wasted.

Will the RBA help house prices?
Christopher Joye
If the Reserve Bank cuts interest rates this year by as much as the market is expecting, Australia can expect a run of rapid house price appreciation.

CLIMATE SPECTATOR: Why size doesn't matter with EVs
Alison Terry
The argument that large electric cars don't fit with an energy constrained future misses the point that EVs, whatever the size, are the perfect customer for renewable energy.

TECHNOLOGY SPECTATOR: Raising ANZ's tech stakes
Charis Palmer
Mike Smith needs to ensure that ANZ's latest round of cost-cutting doesn't dent its tech strategy, given the lender is already behind its nimbler peers.

Australia needs some German drive
Leon Gettler
It's obvious that neither the government nor Coalition has a long-term strategy for Australian manufacturing, and they would do well to cast an eye over Germany's policies.