Latest
After her power bill doubled, this grocer had to cut her range
Relief on electricity prices is in sight after deep falls in wholesale prices, but the pain is acute in South Australia and NSW where power bills are highest.
- Ben Potter
Wall Street’s economic doomsayers see US recession around corner
Forecasters at Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and Wells Fargo Securities are among those reiterating pessimistic predictions.
- Steve Matthews and Katia Dmitrieva
US inflation report to show Fed’s battle all but complete
A monthly report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis is poised to cement the case for lower interest rates in the coming quarters.
- Matthew Boesler
- Exclusive
- Workplace safety
Top academy expels sacked economics professor
The move comes after Chris Edmond was sacked by Melbourne University over professional retaliation against a former student who had an affair with him.
- Aaron Patrick
Cost-of-living crunch adds urgency to Christmas charity appeals
Charities are reporting a dip in the number of donations amid a heightened need for support.
- Gus McCubbing
Renewables are cheapest, even with poles, wires and batteries added in
CSIRO’s annual price comparison of energy sources include transmission and storage costs in renewables calculations for the first time. They still come out on top.
- Ben Potter
Opinion & Analysis
Latest legal trial shows Trump still has to be defeated politically
Democrats need to realise that the pursuit of the former president through the courts only serves to fire up his never-say-never base.
Editorial
Democratic recession could deepen in 2024
At this moment of maximum global peril, democracies have lost the thing they need most: the power of their legitimacy.
Columnist
National security wolves howl at moon over Red Sea warship
Cries of outrage over the decision not to deploy to the Middle East are obscuring questions about Australia’s basic defence capabilities.
International editor
Labor’s best policy might be admitting Red Sea defence gap
If strategy is Labor’s reason, it raises concerns. If there is no available ship, it raises another set of questions about Australia’s alarming lack of military capabilities.
Editorial
Yesterday
- Opinion
- The AFR View
Latest legal trial shows Trump still has to be defeated politically
Democrats need to realise that the pursuit of the former president through the courts only serves to fire up his never-say-never base.
- The AFR View
- Opinion
- Democracy
Democratic recession could deepen in 2024
At this moment of maximum global peril, democracies have lost the thing they need most: the power of their legitimacy.
- Misha Zelinsky
UK inflation slows more than forecast, fuelling rate-cut bets
Consumer prices rose 3.9 per cent from a year earlier, down from 4.6 per cent in October, according to the latest monthly data.
- Tom Rees and Lucy White
Surprise fall in UK services inflation may hold key to rate cuts
Economists expect services inflation to continue subsiding, pushed lower by the drop in energy prices, the weakening jobs market and lacklustre demand.
- Tom Rees
Manufacturing sector mood hits lowest level since the GFC
A net 41 per cent of manufacturers expect conditions to worsen during the next six months, according to the ACCI-Westpac industrial trends survey.
- Michael Read
This Month
Cyclone Jasper’s damage bill mounts as rain eases
While rainfall eases in North Queensland, the cost wrought by Cyclone Jasper is rising.
- Updated
- Liam Walsh, Sarah Mitchell and Tess Bennett
- Analysis
- Middle East tensions
National security wolves howl at moon over Red Sea warship
Cries of outrage over the decision not to deploy to the Middle East are obscuring questions about Australia’s basic defence capabilities.
- James Curran
- Opinion
- The AFR View
Labor’s best policy might be admitting Red Sea defence gap
If strategy is Labor’s reason, it raises concerns. If there is no available ship, it raises another set of questions about Australia’s alarming lack of military capabilities.
- The AFR View
- Opinion
- Inflation
Beware economists who won’t admit they were wrong
From an economic point of view, 2023 will go down in the record books as one of the best years ever.
- Paul Krugman
- Opinion
- Asia-Pacific
Taiwan: A Trojan horse for Beijing?
Taiwan’s elections next month will once more focus attention on the difficulty of any future move by Beijing to absorb Taiwan.
- James Curran
- Opinion
- Defence
Australia’s Hunter frigate project should be sunk
Its crystal clear that the replacement ships for the Anzac class that we cannot send to the Red Sea will not provide a worthwhile capability for the Royal Australian Navy.
- Rowan Moffitt
- Analysis
- International affairs
Albanese reaches for Keating’s Asian mantle
In a speech that canvassed all the issues on his foreign policy plate, there was one section that stood out.
- James Curran
Floods, heavy rain put squeeze on mango, sugarcane crops
The rain appears to be easing from severe floods in North Queensland, but some lingering concerns remain with agriculture.
- Liam Walsh
- Opinion
- Health insurance
Keeping premiums affordable requires modern healthcare
If Labor wants to keep health insurance affordable to take pressure off the public system, tougher reforms are needed to make our health system more efficient and sustainable.
- Rachel David
RBA warns it may raise rates again, but markets predict cuts
Markets doubt the central bank will deliver any more rate rises, despite warning it may need to deliver another increase if inflation remains high.
- Michael Read
- Opinion
- Australian economy
Tip private schools out of boardrooms for a more productive Australia
Favouring the wealthy over innate talent in the education system is no way to filter what a country’s human capital might have to offer.
- Adrian Blundell-Wignall
Fed officials add to chorus pushing back against rate-cut bets
Chicago Fed president Austan Goolsbee said he was surprised by the outsize market reaction to the Fed’s updated quarterly economic projections last week.
- Catarina Saraiva
Labor starts long-term migration planning amid population boom
The inaugural ministerial migration roundtable comes amid growing concern about record numbers of foreign arrivals.
- Michael Read
- Exclusive
- Health insurance
Labor rejects 6pc rise in health insurance premiums
Health Minister Mark Butler has rejected a request to lift premiums by 4 to 6 per cent, as Labor tries to quell voter discontent over cost of living pressures.
- Updated
- Michael Read
- Exclusive
- Chanticleer CEO poll
CEOs warn red tape, higher rates holding back investment
The country’s top energy and resources leaders say stresses from higher financing costs are being compounded by activism and unfriendly government policies.
- James Thomson and Anthony Macdonald
