Why I'm a pathological optimist, despite my job
Last week in front of 1400 people at a Fairfax Media subscriber event I was outed as a "pathological optimist" by an anonymous reader, who wanted to know how I got that way.
The Economy
Melbourne rides high while rest of state goes backwards
Victoria has become Australia's most divided state as the economic fortunes of Melbourne soar while those in the rest of the state crumble faster than anywhere else in the nation.
Australia stagnates, just 10 female CEOs in the ASX 200
The number of incoming female chief executives in Australia remains low and has stagnated over the past year, according to a report examining tenure and makeup of CEOs by PwC.
RBA won’t mind this week’s GDP number – the March quarter will be worse
There could be an interesting moment during Tuesday's Reserve Bank board meeting: when the members consider that the bank's forecast of year-to gross domestic product growth dropping to about 2.5 per cent has arrived nine months early.
Why central banks should lean on housing bubbles
An age-old debate was re-ignited last week, when the OECD called for higher interest rates to rein in Australia's resurgent housing market.
The interest rate party is over, and the only way is up
Australian banks are drawing a line in the sand. Interest rates on mortgages are going up – by stealth. And there will be flow on effect to the residential property market and temper the rate of growth in Sydney and Melbourne.
Why Trump gets more hype from 1000 jobs than Obama does from 16m
At least for a moment, US president-elect Donald Trump appeared to achieve this week what President Barack Obama struggled to do for most of the past eight years: convince Americans that he can fix the economy.
Are Australians Netflix-bingeing face-stuffers?
Sitting at home watching Netflix or playing on home electronic gadgets, eating delivered takeout food, and getting fatter? You're not alone.
Save the world, give workers a share in profits
The world of wages has gotten out of whack.
Economists forced into productivity guessing game
Conventional economics is falling apart, no longer making the sense we thought it made.
Doom and gloom focus switches to GDP
Seekers of dark linings to silver clouds are in the process of switching horses ahead of Wednesday's National Accounts Stakes, jumping off National Income Recession and climbing aboard GDP Dive.
'Plain disappointing'. Did Australia just go backwards?
A further slide in business investment has economic forecasters pondering the unthinkable: that the Australian economy shrank in the September quarter, and that next week’s GDP growth figure will have a minus sign in front of it.
Our AAA rating is a marvellous bogeyman
Both sides of politics try to use a looming loss of Australia's top-notch rating to frighten the horses and blame the other for the supposed problem. But there are much larger forces at work in the world.
Commodities rally won't save AAA: S&P;
The rally in coal and iron ore prices won't buy Treasurer Scott Morrison more time in the eyes of S&P.;
How Turnbull could be the new Menzies and help first home buyers
Turnbull and Morrison are genuinely concerned about the inability of ordinary Australians to buy houses and are open to ideas.
OPEC deadlocked as Iran, Saudis harden positions on oil deal
An OPEC deal to curtail oil production and prop up global prices appeared in jeopardy as Iran said it won't make cuts while Saudi Arabia insisted Tehran must be willing to play a meaningful role in any agreement.
Rate hike? A cut is far more likely, economists say
Lacklustre economic growth and stubbornly low inflation mean any talk of the Reserve Bank lifting interest rates next year is premature, economists say.
Building approvals plunge shows construction boom unravelling
The ABS data published today is "the clearest sign to date that Australia's high-rise driven dwelling construction boom is starting to turn down", Westpac economist says.
RBA rate hike 'would need decent data'
The view from Paris is a lot more hawkish than that of experts on the ground here.
Stand by for a Reserve Bank rate hike, says OECD
The OECD believes the next move in Reserve Bank interest rates will be up, sometime before the end of 2017.
Win the election, buy some wheels. Seriously
Coalition voters spent up big on cars after Tony Abbott's 2013 win.
People trust the policies of politicians they trust
Mike Baird's weakened position won't matter for the NSW economy right away, but it will down the track.
Smarter thinking on the budget deficit is long overdue
The efficiency dividend has become a euphemism for indiscriminate compulsory redundancies.
Dutton is very right, a little correct and very wrong
For all the publicity Peter Dutton has generated for the coalition's tough-on-refugees, suspicious-of-Islam image, he's only added a tenuous terrorism footnote to an old story.
Chinese property buyers return, reigniting bubble fears
The 'spring-selling' season has seen a defiant return of Chinese buyers, who are sidestepping lending restrictions and found new avenues to re-enter the market.
Forget Trump, the public are voting with their pockets
Over the years I've dealt with all the major media owners. They were all interesting, but Kerry Packer was one apart.
What the RBA totally missed about our two-speed economy
Reserve Bank assistant governor Chris Kent missed a major opportunity this week. He delivered a speech about how the various states are travelling but totally omitted a key reason for the two out-performers doing so well.
Chef shortage looms after 457 visa crackdown
The nationalist "jobs for Australians first" push by the federal government could be bad news for food lovers, given more work visas are granted to cooks and chefs than any other profession.
Feeling okay? That could be because you're in the Sydney-Melbourne bubble
The concept of "two Australias" isn't new, but those of us in VicNSW are less aware of it than we were back at the peak of the mining boom when it was QldWA versus the rest.
A woman is one step closer to being RBA governor
The Reserve Bank has promoted Luci Ellis to the position of Assistant Governor (Economic), making her to first woman to become what is effectively the Bank's chief economist.
Small Business
Startup hype master faces toughest test yet
He is a scruffy 35-year-old named Moshe Hogeg.
The tech your small business needed yesterday
What were the major tech trends for SMEs in 2016?