Ian Verrender is the ABC's business editor. A journalist for more than 30 years, Verrender spent 25 years at The Sydney Morning Herald in a variety of roles including senior writer and business editor. He joined Business Spectator and Eureka Report in 2012 and joined the ABC in 2014.
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The good times of unfettered investment in property might be coming to an end but it may not be the nationwide bubble burst some are predicting.
So far, overheated property has been a feature of capital cities only. And even then it has been confined to Sydney and, to a lesser extent, Melbourne.
The more probable scenario is that there will be a gradual property unwinding as experienced during 2010 when real estate came off the boil as interest rates ratcheted higher.
Topics: housing-industry, government-and-politics, housing, business-economics-and-finance
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Why are free trade agreements such a big deal? That's the problem. They're not, especially for a country like Australia that has systematically dismantled its trade barriers.
What the triumphant pollies forgot to mention last week was that the biggest long-term gains from such agreements go to the country that faces the greatest short-term pain. As a nation, we've already endured the worst of the pain.
It was cheers all around last week, but perhaps it's time to acknowledge that one-on-one trade agreements such as we've just signed are largely ineffectual.
Topics: business-economics-and-finance, government-and-politics, trade
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| UpdatedAt what point will the slow train wreck that is Ten Network reach its inevitable conclusion?
Topics: media, company-news, business-economics-and-finance, television-broadcasting, australia
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| UpdatedGordon Cairns will join an exclusive club once the takeover of high street retailer David Jones is complete.
Topics: retail, takeovers, company-news, business-economics-and-finance, australia, south-africa
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| UpdatedIf the Government's wide-ranging inquiry into the financial system wasn't so serious, you could dismiss the whole thing as a bad joke.
If it's not Treasurer Joe Hockey noticeably changing his anti-bank rhetoric, it's the decision to appoint an inquiry chief who is skilled but far from "independent".
Meanwhile, the Future of Financial Advice reforms, which are likely to be back on the agenda once the WA Senate elections are out of the way, are unashamedly aimed at boosting bank profits.
Topics: business-economics-and-finance, federal-government, government-and-politics
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| UpdatedExplosive claims by a former lawyer with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission that the organisation was in the pocket of finance industry lobbyists has sent the corporate regulator into damage control.
Topics: regulation, consumer-protection, banking, superannuation, business-economics-and-finance, australia
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You can't knock Treasurer Joe Hockey for his enthusiasm but his great privatisation push appears to be proceeding with undue haste.
Care needs to be taken to ensure any sale maximises the return to taxpayers and helps lift the performance of the economy. This is no time to rush.
Flooding the market with assets will only depress the price, particularly for those businesses deemed less than desirable.
Topics: business-economics-and-finance, corporate-governance, federal-government, government-and-politics, privatisation-and-deregulation
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| UpdatedPublic companies they may technically be, but blood ties overrule everything in the Murdoch empire, including any semblance of modern corporate governance principles.
Topics: business-economics-and-finance, industry, media, australia
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While the wheels haven't exactly fallen off the great China growth saga, what once was deemed the miracle economy has begun to fray around the edges.
For a while it was a beacon for those who thought centrally planned or partially controlled economies had an edge over the unpredictable nature of unrestrained entrepreneurialism. Until now.
Just how China responds to the myriad economic crises now besieging the country will have huge ramifications for the rest of the globe, particularly Australia.
Topics: economic-trends, business-economics-and-finance, government-and-politics, mining-industry
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| UpdatedConstruction giant Leighton Holdings could face a fresh inquiry from the corporate regulator over reports that it is sitting on potential write-downs of up to $2 billion.
Topics: company-news, building-and-construction, regulation, australia, spain
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| UpdatedThe changes to the Future of Financial Advice legislation announced by the Government may be minor in quantity, but would be enormous in impact.
They would remove the obligation for financial advisors to act in the best interests of clients, a situation starkly at odds with most other professions.
These laws were designed to legislate against conflict of interest in an industry riddled with conflict, so why is that concept now being unwound?
Topics: business-economics-and-finance, mining-industry, consumer-finance, federal-government, government-and-politics
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| UpdatedFor Leighton shareholders the final indignity has yet to be delivered, with up to $2 billion in writedowns possible on poor performing Middle East operations and Australian LNG projects.
Topics: company-news, building-and-construction, business-economics-and-finance, takeovers, australia
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The productivity debate has reared its ugly head again, and business lobby groups and pollies are mounting an attack on workers' wages and conditions.
But I've got a surprise for you: Labour productivity has actually grown throughout the past decade and it is capital productivity that is dragging the chain.
The ideological obsession with reducing wages and conditions may improve profits in the short term but could end up having a disastrous impact on our productivity.
Topics: business-economics-and-finance, economic-trends, government-and-politics
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The pitched war between Qantas and Virgin now being waged across our skies has its genesis on two levels: personal and commercial.
While John Borghetti took Virgin upscale and formed links with Singapore Airlines, Alan Joyce and his board chose to compete for their hallowed Australian market share.
And now to remain viable, Qantas needs to compete on a rational basis. That will involve difficult choices for the company, the public and the federal government.
Topics: business-economics-and-finance, government-and-politics, industry
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| UpdatedQantas has softened up the Federal Government, which is getting ready to put taxpayers on the hook for the airline's junk debt.
Topics: business-economics-and-finance, company-news, air-transport, australia
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| UpdatedThe Federal Government's hardline approach to corporate welfare has been applied haphazardly, and now the rush to respond to pleas for assistance from Qantas is raising hackles.
While the airline's management blames external factors for its issues, there's no doubt Qantas has made a number of mistakes that have contributed to its demise.
And now any move by the federal government to guarantee its debt would expose taxpayers to a high risk enterprise they cut loose two decades ago.
Topics: business-economics-and-finance, federal-government, parliament, government-and-politics
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| UpdatedIt began with a clash of personalities in the David Jones boardroom, and may end in the merger of two iconic Australian stores.
Topics: retail, company-news, business-economics-and-finance, australia
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Both sides of politics have played a direct role in the demise of Australian industry and have wasted the proceeds of the resources boom.
While the Aussie dollar did wreak havoc on industry, government policy failures since 2000 have taken a heavy toll.
We're now left with bickering politicians, a yawning budget deficit, and a conga line of manufacturers desperate for assistance that in most cases will never arrive.
Topics: manufacturing, business-economics-and-finance, government-and-politics, industry