Opinion
Nobel laureate’s misgivings over market model
Professor Joseph Stiglitz may be a Nobel Prize winner in economics and a self confessed believer in the market economy. But he’s certainly not a believer in either the current US or European version of that.
Allegations against Coles go from juicy to just damp
The sizzling allegations of unconscionable conduct made by the competition regulator against supermarket chain Coles are starting to look like a damp squib.
Ex-US diplomat pushes broad path for Middle East peace
A former top American diplomat has offered a possible roadmap to re-define the Palestine issue under which the United States would seek to have a new framework for Middle East peace adopted by the United Nations Security Council.
Sailing into the valley of death
If war is too important to be left to the generals, defence procurement is too important to be left to armed services and the Defence Materiel Organisation.
Price pressure on Goodman
Goodman Fielder chairman Steven Gregg is in a tight spot. He is under pressure to accept a lower offer price for the food group or face the prospect of Goodman’s two Asian suitors walking away at a time when the company is in bad shape.
Green groups keep Aboriginal people in poverty
It was great to see Cape York traditional owners defeat Queensland’s Wild Rivers legislation in the Federal Court last month.
Banks are super-sizing RBA rate cuts
Banks are expanding their net interest margins by cutting term deposit rates more than they are lowering home loan rates, new analysis shows.
Remake the federation for the 21st century
The terms of reference for the government’s white paper on the reform of the federation are ambitious but the review process is bureaucratic.
The big budget sell must go on
Editorial | A senior Abbott government minister has conceded what the polls have been saying for weeks.
The need to restore APRA’s independence
The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has undoubtedly served Australia well, with financial system it supervised getting through the global financial crisis without any significant failures.
When ASX 200 equals GDP, time for reflection
There’s a well-known theory about valuations that measures the market capitalisation of a sharemarket against the total of the goods and services of its economy. Stocks are deemed to be expensive when the ratio is more than 100 per cent.
A tasty cocktail party, featuring Coldplay
British band Coldplay was in Sydney a week-and-a-bit ago, and performed at an exclusive cocktail party to mark the live finals stage of Channel Nine talent show The Voice.
Debt collection: silver lining in the cloud of joblessness
With significant unemployment stemming from developments such as mine closures and the winding up of manufacturing operations, there could be an increase in consumers defaulting on loans or failing to meet payments for utility services such as telecommunications, electricity and water.
What happens to remaining DIY fund when a member dies
Slightly fewer that one in four of the more than 530,000 do-it-yourself super funds is a single member fund. While there are three times as many DIY funds with two members, single member funds outnumber three and four member funds by multiples of five or six times.