EDITOR'S PICKS

The market blizzard freezing super
Karen Maley
Question marks over the future of superannuation and as well as pension and healthcare funding were brought into stark relief this week by US investment giant Calpers' dismal 1 per cent return for the year.

The Roubini storm would change everything
Rob Burgess
Leading economist Nouriel Roubini has predicted a perfect storm of economic disasters in the coming year that means politicians may find themselves fighting on very different terms in the run up to the next federal election.

A demand-side dilemma for BHP and Rio
Stephen Bartholomeusz
Until recently, markets would get excited about news of record production by the major miners, but record output doesn't mean much unless the global demand is there.

The national boxing match shifts to IR
Alan Kohler
After being walloped on climate change and refugee politics, Labor has wisely opted to move the political debate back to its strength, where it hopes to sideline the Greens and put Tony Abbott on the back foot.

Hollande rallies Peugeot for a German collision
Oliver Marc Hartwich
The French president's recent attack on national carmaker Peugeot exposed his true colours as an old school French socialist, and this represents a significant obstruction to the European agenda of deeper integration.

The ghost in the auto manufacturing machine
Remy Davison
Australia's auto sector persists only because of government subsidies, which pale into insignificance compared to those granted in some markets. To avoid ghost towns Australians must be prepared to pay for a car industry.

Amoral lessons from a Libor scandal
Leon Gettler
The Barclays scandal has again highlighted rife dishonesty among the globe's biggest banks and a closer look at the psychology behind stealing reveals its infectious nature.

CLIMATE SPECTATOR: Ford's thirsty car failure
Tristan Edis
The loss of 440 jobs at Ford Australia is a fault of the company's lack of vision, with the company falling well behind on fuel efficiency compared to its peers, and Australian governments complicit in the disaster.

Getting the jump on high-frequency trading
Robert Gottliebsen
What is effectively a legalised insider trading network is creeping into Australia, but before our banks get used to it, it's worth looking closely at the repercussions already being felt on the US stock market.

TECHNOLOGY SPECTATOR: Can Telstra salvage the T-Hub?
Neerav Bhatt
Telstra's T-Hub gives landline owners all the applications of a smartphone. But after the failure of the flawed first edition, will T-Hub 2 win back mum and dad customers?

Get a real job Mr Swan
Rob Burgess
With the resources sector transitioning from boom times to just 'good times', Canberra's tax take is on the slide. Without a bold fix, such as the GST, it might be time for Wayne Swan to don the hard hat for real.

Criminal spectre descends over bankers
Karen Maley
Bankers the world over will be sweating as the US raises the spectre of jail terms for those involved in rate-rigging. And there is talk of governments expanding their probes – and looking in-house for wrongdoing.

Australia's fictional housing foundations
Philip Soos
The government's peak body on housing supply has shown again and again that it will fudge the data however possible to report a dwellings shortage. In the meantime, Australia's classic bubble goes unchecked.