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We are in the middle of the ASX's sweet spot – the three months to the end of April, before the "sell in May and go away" cliché hits.

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Whenever I'm in New York I head for the bookshops, even though I usually end up regretting it.

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The envelope please. For best performance of an Australian chief executive at the latest parliamentary inquiry into banking...

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On the present trajectory of political fiddling about housing affordability, the odds are reasonable that Scott Morrison's second budget will include National Housing Lotto. It's not much worse an idea than some that have been suggested and apparently are about to be tried.

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“It reminds me of Jim Hacker in Yes Minister visiting St Edwards, a hospital that had no patients,” an incredulous shadow minister for treasury Matt Thistlethwaite told the CBA boss Ian Narev after grilling him about an “independent” report into its life insurance division.

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The former chairman of the NSW Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority has alluded to a potentially dangerous prospect for Crown Resorts.

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The tax system is supposed to deal with issues other than attracting investment.

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The banking industry may ultimately end up paying a hefty price for avoiding a royal commission.

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The banking industry may ultimately end up paying a hefty price for avoiding a royal commission.

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There's an extraordinary battle underway in a relatively small listed investment company that tangentially involves the well-known names of James Packer and Peter Switzer.

We are drifting into cheapskate politics that ignores evidence - and some public servants are helping.

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I always felt a bit sick about the violence but I had started to learn the value of the counter punch.

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Australia's department store industry is facing the prospect of shrinking revenue in real terms over the next five years as it battles turbo-charged competition from online and offshore retailers combined with continued weak consumer sentiment.

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High earners are negatively gearing their way out of the Medicare levy.

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It's hard to believe that there aren't plenty of executives around town sweating a little more profusely this week as they delete their text messages and rethink the merits of any secret romantic trysts with their staff.

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Forget the banks, they're relative amateurs. If you want outrage, check out the private health insurance rip-off as demonstrated by NIB and Medibank.

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The new chief dealer at James Packer's Crown Resorts seems to have a flexible view of what "VIP" might mean.

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If the big banks offer cheap cards, will consumers be smart enough to use them?

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In Australia, micro-economic reform has degenerated into a form of rent-seeking that's saying the way to a prosperous economy is to keep business – the people who create the jobs – as happy as possible.

If businesses want to connect with their customers they need to embrace their differences.

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Australia's economy is held back because wages are too low, not too high.

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This is interesting: the Fair Work Commission has pretty much agreed with the Productivity Commission's recommendations on penalty rates, so penalty rates should be sharply higher for everyone on shift work.

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It turns out Christopher Pyne was right: Julia Gillard's version of the Gonski school funding reform was indeed "Conski".

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The next generations are going to be in real trouble if we don't get on top of this housing affordability crisis.

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Here's something else to worry about: the legion of cyber fraudsters and identity thieves are trying to steal your frequent flyer points – and they're succeeding.

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For all the turmoil marking the first weeks of President Trump, the big boot is yet to drop. That's when the angry heartland realises the factory jobs aren't coming back, whatever Trump promised.

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As Woolworths celebrated the early signs of improvement in supermarket sales attention turned to the real elephant in the aisle - the ugly loss notched up by Big W and the continued bleeding of its sales.

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"Alternative facts" make it hard to develop a rational attitude about government revenue, expenditure and the future of Australia.

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BHP Billiton's shareholder austerity push appears to be over and investors will be positively surprised.

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A parliamentary inquiry into the $44 billion life insurance industry is likely to dredge up a range of issues.