Politicised Treasury bites own tail, covers for Turnbull
Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen is right: One of the Abbott-Turnbull government's various acts of economic vandalism is its politicisation of the once-proud federal Treasury.
The Economy
GDP: Short for Generally Dubious Puffery?
GDP might well be the least bad of all the flawed ways in which we can measure the health of our economy. But it's far from perfect, especially if you're aiming to capture the impact of the economy on people.
Showdown between ATO and big business looms as list of company tax paid is revealed
A showdown between the Australian Taxation Office and the nation's largest companies including Chevron, Crown and BHP Billiton is looming as the tax man hit seven large companies with tax bills amounting to $2 billion in revenue.
Recession? Look out your window
What would economic race-calling be without its little excitements? As you may possibly have heard, this week's news is that the economy has contracted - shrunk, gone backwards - by 0.5 per cent.
You win some, you lose some: retailers struggle while agriculture booms
Fairfax Media spoke to business owners across five industries to find out who the year's economic winners and losers have been.
Bermuda tops list of world's top tax havens
More than $4 billion in Australian tax is being shifted by Australian-based multinationals into the world's 15 worst corporate "tax havens" each year, Oxfam says.
Labor attacks 'treasury' report discrediting economic stimulus
Labor has questioned the bona fides of a report apparently commissioned by the Treasury that plays down the role of big government spending in helping Australia survive global financial crisis.
The 'wake-up call' that's been ringing for years
Treasurer Morrison labelled this week's surprisingly low September quarter GDP number as a "wake-up call". What he didn't say is that it's a call that's been ringing for three years.
America will never be 'great again' without migrants
By turning his back on migrants is counter to the trends of immigration that actually realised his election mantra of "making America great again."
Wider trade gap adds to economy's worries
A surprise blow-out in the October trade deficit has raised questions about the predicted rebound in economic growth, following the third-quarter contraction.
Apple-EU case didn't end secret 'sweetheart' tax deals
If you thought that the European Union coming down hard on tech-giant Apple was the end of secret tax deals, you're wrong.
'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."
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.
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.
Small Business
Aussie couple making a mint from exporting American goods
"So many of our friends were asking us to send things they couldn't get in Australia."
Surprising outcome of an economic downturn
Watch out for this behaviour in your team.