Recession? We're not even close
The Treasury and the Reserve Bank are likely to 'look through' the reported numbers to focus on what's happening beneath them.
The Economy
'Her role on the project was just to be an ornament'
"He effectively told her her role on the project was just to be an ornament."
GDP dive more than a 'wake-up call', says Treasurer Morrison
Treasurer Scott Morrison has branded the dramatic end to five continuous years of economic growth "not just a reminder, not just a wake-up call, but a demand to support economic policies that drive investment and jobs".
Trump is the biggest risk for growth
Companies see Donald Trump as both the biggest upside and downside risk to global growth in 2017.
'Wake-up call for Canberra': brace for negative growth
Brace for the first quarter of negative economic growth in five years, and only the fourth in Australia's enviable run of 100 quarters without a recession.
Experts think economy has gone backwards
Financial market analysts believe the economy went backwards immediately after the July election, ending 5 years of continuous growth and calling into question the government's repeated promise to "deliver jobs and growth".
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.
Yes women want to be CEOs, even when they have children
Women and men are not always supported in their desire for work flexibility. There's stigmas, and much resistance.
RBA holds rates amid fears of negative growth
The RBA kept its cash rate on hold in the lead-up to Christmas, playing down concerns over sliding business investment and a likely collapse in economic growth to keep the rate at 1.5 per cent.
In a sellers' market, why are vendors being contract mugs?
Vendors are signing real estate agency agreements that read as if the agents are doing a massive personal favour listing the property. And this when most properties in the hotter markets are close to selling themselves.
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.
Small Business
What's the difference between burnout and stress?
If you're limping towards the end of the year it pays to know when everyday pressures turn into something more sinister.
How Christie manages to have a longer summer holiday
Running a business out of home gives Christy Hind flexibility that most working parents could only dream of.