You know Australia’s in trouble when the Reserve Bank cuts interest rates. Last week, the central bank did precisely that, in belated recognition of the income recession that has struck. Gross domestic…
Much of the current political turmoil in Australia can be traced to Bill Clinton’s famous aphorism: “it’s the economy stupid” – in particular, the plunge in world commodity prices over the past few years…
The CAMA RBA Shadow Board is a project by the Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis, based at the ANU, which asks industry and academic economists what interest rate the Reserve Bank of Australia should…
Financial markets are certainly experiencing considerable turbulence at present, with a six year low in oil prices weighing on international exchanges and the value of Australia’s energy industry falling…
The large Queensland liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects currently under construction will begin production over the next two years. Exploiting previously unused reserves of coal seam gas, the LNG produced…
While this year’s relative stability in crude oil prices appears to have lulled us into a false sense of security, the dramatic fall over the last few weeks reminds us just how volatile these prices can…
The federal budget deficit will blow out to A$40.4 billion in 2014-15, up from the $29.8 billion forecast in May’s budget, according to the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) released today…
The recent drop in crude oil and gasoline prices in the United States is a nice stocking stuffer for consumers this holiday season, but it could turn into a lump of coal. A global oil glut has caused the…
When numbers of any sort are presented in mathematics, science, business, government or finance, it’s fair to say a reader assumes that the data are reasonably reliable to their last digit. But presenting…
A common topic of discussion in Iran is oil and the mixed blessing it represents. The country’s recent history has been intertwined with that of international oil politics since 1908, when William Knox…
“Mister Thorn once cornered corn and that ain’t hay” sang Ella Fitzgerald, in the year that two speculators cornered the market for onions in Chicago. It was 1956, and Sam Siegel, a Chicago trader, and…
Since last week’s gas attack on a Damascus suburb, the political class has been gripped by the idea that “something must be done.” Meanwhile Wall Street, already declining through early August, fell further…
No sooner had Treasurer Wayne Swan accused the Europeans of “mindless austerity” a month ago than he embarked on a resolute but most likely counter-productive search for cost savings in the coming May…
It has been a turbulent time for the gold market. The past two days of trading have been particularly volatile, with gold prices recording the sharpest two-day drop in 30 years . The severity of the fall…
Various explanations have been offered for Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s decision to announce the date of the 2013 federal election almost eight months in advance. Most commentators, both those who applaud…
Australia’s stark comparative advantage in mining is both a boon and a bane to our economic development. Investment in the mining industry as a share of Australia’s GDP has already reached unprecedented…
Few countries have been left unscathed by the global financial crisis and it seems that they are all situated in the southern hemisphere. Brazil and Australia are some of them. Recently, their economies…