Bottom line is there's no magic number
A lot of the problems we cause ourselves arise from the way we've evolved to economise on thinking time by taking mental shortcuts.
The Economy
One in three new home loans at risk, warns RBA
One third of new mortgage owners have less than a month's buffer against financial instability, the Reserve Bank has warned.
$A bounces as full-time jobs rebound
Australia's employment surged more than expected in March, led by a rebound in full-time jobs.
What if inflation rises and wages don't?
We might seem to forget it sometimes, but Australia has more economic challenges than just Sydney and Melbourne housing prices.
Canberra leads Australia for growth in executive employment
The private sector is leading ACT growth in executive employment, according to a national report, and the ACT leads Australia.
Consumers fret on economic outlook
Consumer sentiment inched lower in April as worries about the economic outlook overshadowed growing optimism about the state of family finances, a survey showed on Wednesday.
What happens if China stumbles? A $140b doomsday scenario
Australia is more exposed to the economy of a single nation - China - than at any time since the 1950s, when Britain was our major trading partner.
Australia should consider Republicans' tax plan: Garnaut
Australia should consider a tax plan being pushed by Donald Trump's Republican Party which could stop multinational corporations avoiding tax, prominent economist Ross Garnaut says.
Overheating housing market threatens to end good times
An overheating housing market threatens to bring the good times in Australia to an abrupt end.
Business conditions best since GFC: survey
Business conditions were healthier last month than at any point since the global financial crisis, National Australia Bank says.
A considerable show of 'doing something' about housing affordability
With a dash of true conservatism, Scott Morrison wants the vast majority of our housing market to keep doing just what it's been doing.
Property prices forecast to fall then stagnate
Rising interest rates and housing supply are likely to push Australian home prices lower in 2018.
'Vicious circle': Sydney's property market hurting families
Akhilesh Mehta flops into his bus seat and readies himself for the hour-and-a-half commute from his job in central Sydney to his home on the city's outskirts.
Why the RBA will be sweating on this week's jobs data
Caught between overheating property markets and signs of a moderating economy, the RBA will be praying for a solid jobs number this week.
Former spy boss to head foreign investment board
The former boss of Australia's spy agencies has been appointed to head up the federal government's watchdog on foreign investments.
Australia has $1 trillion foreign debt. Should we be worried?
Our foreign debt will grow and it already exceeds $1 trillion deficit. But that's not necessarily bad.
Why we need to worry about the level of household debt
The balance sheets of Australian households with a mortgage are dangerously exposed to any fall in house prices.
Australia has a property bubble? Look again
As regulators crack down on lending, chances are the rest of the country will pay for the excesses of easy money and federal politics in Sydney and Melbourne.
$22b cost of tax deductions to be tackled in budget
Government to take stab at reducing annual $22 billion in 'overclaimed' tax deductions for work expenses.
Did we miss a recession we had to have?
Australia's success in evading the global recession is coming back to haunt it, with a delayed fallout manifesting itself now in the steady climb in underemployment.
ATO unlikely to get the $2.9b it's chasing from multinationals
The tax office is chasing seven companies for $2.9b, but if history's any guide, it will only get half that amount.
Microsoft, McDonald's, IBM avoid government's tax transparency code
Dozens of multinationals have not signed up to federal government's tax transparency code.
Deposit, salary stymie Aussie millennials' home ownership dreams
Just 28 per cent of Australian millennials own a home, only marginally higher than their peers in the United Arab Emirates, a survey has found.
RBA boss blames lax lending, tax breaks for house prices
Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe intervenes in the debate over tax and home prices before the May budget.
Federal budget to tackle Australia's $21b 'black economy'
Black economy is hard to tackle because Australians see cash-only payments as 'almost a national sport'.
Rates on hold amid increasing concern about house prices
The Reserve Bank has held the cash rate steady amid growing pressure to lift rates to contain soaring home prices.
Runaway house prices put ownership dreams on hold
Two people, three jobs and a dream getting harder and harder to reach.
Time to stop negative gearing 'distortions', says business lobby
A major business lobby has taken aim at popular tax breaks for housing that are claimed by many of its members.
Immigration may pay price for booming housing
It says plenty about the state of Australian politics that so much policy is viewed through the lens of Sydney and Melbourne housing affordability, writes Michael Pascoe.
Sydney house price growth hits 15-year high
House values surged another 1.4 per cent across Australia in March, pushing annual price growth to 19 per cent in Sydney and 16 per cent in Melbourne, new data shows.
Small Business
Flow Hive inventor stung by Chinese 'copycat'
The creators of the Flow Hive are battling to defend their invention from alleged copycats.
Centralisation gone mad: the folly of corporate HQ empire building
Inevitably, downsized interstate offices become an afterthought, with remaining staff less productive and committed.