EDITOR'S PICKS

Why we sold AIBM
Alan Kohler
Business Spectator publisher Australian Independent Business Media is joining the News Corporation stable and in doing so will remain independent, with a continued mission to deliver the best analysis and commentary to business people and investors.

News for business, not by business
Rob Burgess
When all the balls in the air have landed, the media agenda for contemporary political debate in Australia will be set. But journalists will always have a responsibility to divorce their work from outside commercial and political interests.

A pre-emptive RBA rates strike
Stephen Bartholomeusz
The Reserve Bank's last rate cut was clearly based on its concerns about Europe, but with domestic data still strong, a further reduction to the cash rate should not be expected unless offshore conditions implode.

Bernanke's twisted choice
Karen Maley
Ben Bernanke appears to have realised QE3 will hurt a large part of America, but he can only keep the market dangling for so long.

End of days for China dependants?
David Pilling, Financial Times
As Marius Kloppers says, if Chinese resource demand holds up, everything will probably be fine. But if it doesn't, everything won't be. Still, there could be some winners from a softening of Chinese demand.

The making of Merkel's euro
Cliona O'Dowd
The Greek elections have and will change little. What matters is how Angela Merkel reconciles her commitment to austerity with some sort of short-term transitional plan to break the political deadlock.

Census data adds up for business
John Conroy
Census data is being leveraged by an increasing number of businesses worldwide and the downturn in some industries is actually driving more data-informed decision making.

The demise of Australia's great brands?
Leon Gettler
As the Asian century begins, many of Australia's brands are losing value to their regional competitors as they opt for slick PR campaigns over substantial investment in brand development.

The great media cave-in
Paul Budde
It's too late for traditional media to regain their former glory in the new digital environment. And the trend to dumbing down content, borne of commercial desperation, is doing no favours for democracy.

In defence of independent media
Malcolm Fraser
Governments could not have stopped the decline of Fairfax, which can be attributed to incompetent management, but it's time this government realised media ownership does matter – the alternative is democracy for sale.

Corbett let Fairfax die on his watch
Eric Beecher
The warnings for Fairfax have been sounding for years. And the company's functionary chairman, Roger Corbett, refused to listen.

This way up for Aussie innovation
Robert Gottliebsen
NewSat's US funding coup has launched the satellite company into a prime position in the global space race – and shown how innovation in Australia is coming from small, private enterprises.

Harnessing the power of independent thinkers
Ken Phillips
In a small business-dominated economy, productivity is at risk in big business structures. Businesses must find a way to harness people with an independent streak if they are to drive necessary innovation.

TECHNOLOGY SPECTATOR: NBN Co's final hurdle
Supratim Adhikari
NBN Co's decision to return to the drawing board with its Special Access Undertaking serves to highlight the proactive approach the company is taking in its dealings with the ACCC.

CLIMATE SPECTATOR: Why Abbott won't repeal the carbon tax
Daniel Palmer
Much has been made of Liberal leader Tony Abbott's ‘blood oath' to get rid of the carbon tax. Here are four reasons why it is unlikely to happen.

A country that makes things... proudly
Chris Gibson
Champions of the knowledge economy often oversimplify today's manufacturing industry, discounting the skills of what they see as dying industries, but with some long-term investment Australia can do manufacturing well.

Turning back the clock on bank regulation
Stephen Grenville
Despite expectations of reform after the GFC, the financial sector has not been able to stop the efforts at regulation, but has managed to make them so convoluted that they may well be unworkable.