EDITORS' PICKS

Abbott's tax dodge
Alan Kohler
Tony Abbott looks set to promise Australians 'no big new tax' – as he calls Rudd's ETS plan. But though carbon reduction is quite possible through regulation alone, he would be foolish to promise carbon reduction at 'no cost'.

The new gold standard
Alan Kohler
Those who control the New World's cash have become disenchanted with fiat money, pushing gold prices up as they hoard the yellow metal. So while the gold price might see lulls, long-term it has a long way to rise.

The new cheek-by-jowl Australia
Robert Gottliebsen
The RBA's plan to lift interest rates again in 2010 means even more people will be unable to buy a home – resulting in too many people finding themselves crammed into too few dwellings.

Choke off carbon, not the economy
Robert Gottliebsen
Australia is very badly placed to meet the carbon emissions target we will eventually have to adopt. That's why a smart plan from Tony Abbott on how to make this transition would be his biggest electoral hope.

Westpac and the art of war
Stephen Bartholomeusz
By not matching Westpac's rise in mortgage rates the other big banks are winning political and consumer kudos. However, their silence is providing Westpac with the strategic advances it is seeking.

Pikking the next crash?
Stephen Bartholomeusz
If you thought you'd seen the last of Pik, or 'payment in kind', debt structuring, think again. A new rash of reckless lending should have us asking the questions we did not ask enough in early 2007.

What constitutes success in Copenhagen?
Giles Parkinson
What Australian business craves most on climate change is clarity, both domestically and internationally. Perhaps, that's one positive thing that will come out of Copenhagen.

In search of Tony's feminine side
Lena Bell
Tony Abbott's leadership victory is almost certain to further alienate women voters. The big question is whether the ‘conviction politician' can reinvent himself for women before the next election.

Business must clear the air
Q&A by Isabelle Oderberg
If the business community is frustrated by a lack of clarity around a possible CPRS it should be more forward about making its views known, says climate change expert Professor Tim Flannery.

Abbott's win is a boon for Labor
Alister Drysdale
Abbott's narrow win is a massive victory for Labor. The Liberal Party has ceased to exist as a progressive 'broad church'. For many unaligned Australians it has been exposed as a conservative cabal of misfits, deniers, naysayers and idiots.