Moody's downgrades Hong Kong after China ratings cut
Moody's Investors Service downgraded Hong Kong's local and foreign currency issuer ratings just hours after it cut China's credit ratings for the first time in nearly 30 years.
The Economy
Time for 'random audits' of bosses
Random audits of employers would be a more proactive approach in chasing down billions of dollars of unpaid superannuation, often to the nation's most vulnerable workers, says Inspector-General of Taxation Ali Noroozi.
Our forecasts aren't biased: Treasury secretary John Fraser
Treasury Secretary John Fraser has cleared the agency of being biased in its economic forecasts, arguing it has a similar track record in predicting the economy's future to other government or private sector experts.
Australia losing its economic vibrancy, boss of Orica warns
Australia risks a future looking like "France and not Singapore", the boss of explosives group Orica has warned
Everything's coming up rosy in Trump budget's economic scenario
The Trump administration sees the US economy achieving the rosiest of scenarios over the next decade.
ATO's integrity hit, says acting ATO boss
The integrity of the Australian Taxation Office has taken a hit, acting ATO boss Andrew Mills says.
ScoMo's economic fairy tale doesn't add up
Scott Morrison's budget projections rely entirely on orthodox economic thinking about what drives wages. Unfortunately that orthodox thinking is demonstrably wrong.
Property prices ease across capital cities
Home prices across Australia's capital cities have again edged lower, in a sign the property boom has likely passed its peak.
![Malcolm Turnbull: "If we don't sell [coal] to [India], someone else will.''](/web/20170525013518im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/3/b/p/l/image.related.landscape.120x80.gw99he.png/1495416047919.jpg)
Labor-lite budget ticks all the boxes for Turnbull
For students of the politics of economics – my special subject – this clothes-pinching budget has been a feast. Oh no, it's "Labor-lite". Shocking! Actually, it's a budget that ticks all the boxes for Malcolm Turnbull and, by extension, his parliamentary followers – something their silent acquiescence suggests they realise.
Coming for the tax lawyers – and quantity surveyors?
First they came for the tax lawyers and accountants. Are quantity surveyors going to be the next political tax target?
RBA has to cut rates several times this year: analysts
The Reserve Bank will need to cut interest rates several times this year as this week's labour data understates the slack in the economy, the bank predicts.
Jobless rate down, but Australians are working fewer hours
We're putting in fewer hours than we were six months ago according to latest labour force figures.
Why working families are struggling to find balance
We're crushing the confidence out of our own people with bureaucracy, weak political leadership steeped in spin and irrelevant gobbledegook.
Unemployment falls to 5.7% as part-time jobs rise
The unemployment rate fell unexpectedly to its lowest level in four months in April.
S&P; affirms AAA rating but warns on return to surplus
Standard and Poor's confirms AAA rating but leaves the nation on negative watch.
Australian wages stall at all-time low
Total hourly rates of pay, excluding bonuses, rose by 0.5 per cent in the March quarter, the latest ABS figures show, matching market expectations.
Wage growth set to stall at all-time low
New figures are expected to show real wage growth has fallen into negative territory.
Underemployment the key to next rate move
RBA minutes show board members are concerned they may have to cut rates if more Australians aren't able to get the jobs they want.
Consumer confidence plunges after budget
Consumer confidence has tumbled following the federal budget to its lowest level in nearly two years.
The five pain points that wrote the budget
Repairing the damage of the Abbott Total Opposition years, will take time. But the budget is a big and quite calculated start.
ATO slated oil giant Chevron, now ramps up hunt for multinationals
The ATO has released new transfer pricing guidance as it chases hundreds of millions of dollars in tax bills from companies using dubious tax schemes.
House prices fall again as loans to investors drop
Home loans to investors have fallen to the lowest level in 10 months.
Win for diversity: 'Davos' of women comes to Australia
Sydney has won a global bid to host the 'Davos of women' after it was backed by leading business and political leaders.
You can't outsource motherhood, but you can share the load
Mother's Day is a time to reflect on the unpaid contribution of mothers and grandmothers to families and communities.
Labor would force ATO to give details of deals it cuts with big business
Labor would require ATO to reveal details of companies the Tax Office cuts deals with as part of plan to recoup $5.4 billion from multinationals.
Lack of wages growth challenges budget surplus prediction
The wages growth needed to deliver the federal budget prediction of a return to surplus is unlikely to materialise, employment law experts and economists have warned.
Bumper crop gives Graincorp a fillip, letting it double its dividend
A bumper grains crop and optimism of another good year ahead helped push GrainCorp shares sharply higher
Trump policies would cause Australian 'horror story', warns top economist
One of Queensland's leading economists outlines the potential impact of the president's protectionist policies on Australia's economy – and it could spell disaster for the country.
Household spending key risk to GDP
The GDP forecasts in the federal budget rest on the spending of Australia's increasingly cash-strapped households.
No end to bracket creep makes average earning Australians worse off
Middle-income Australians to bear brunt of budget's failure on income tax rates and thresholds.
Small Business
The problem with best places to work lists
Whatever happened to staff choosing the best employers based on the work, career path, employer support and pay?
Government's $300 million red tape removal scheme stalls
Key states are refusing to sign up to the government's small business red tape scheme.