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Peter Martin1

Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
Peter Martin is Business and Economy Editor of The Conversation and a visiting fellow at the Crawford School of Public Policy at the ANU.

A former Treasury official with an honours degree in economics, he has worked as the economics correspondent for ABC radio, as the ABC's Tokyo correspondent and as economics editor of The Age.

With Dr Gigi Foster of UNSW he created The Economists podcast on ABC Radio National. In 2016 he was made a Distinguished Alumni of Flinders University in recognition of his contribution to the community's understanding of economics.

Would you pay to quit TikTok and Instagram? You’d be surprised how many would

Jul 24, 2024 11:38 am UTC| Insights & Views Technology

Social media is a problem for economists. They dont know how to value it. It has long been argued that it ought to be in the national accounts as part of gross domestic product. One 2019 study estimated Facebook alone...

The Chemist Warehouse deal is a sideshow: pharmacies are ripe for bigger disruption

Jun 20, 2024 05:28 am UTC| Business

Theres something curious about the proposed merger between Chemist Warehouse and Sigma Healthcare. Chemist Warehouse has about 550 retail pharmacies. Sigma has another 400. Yet the law limits owners to just a handful...

Spare us the talk about a wages explosion. There’s nothing wrong with lifting Australia’s lowest wages in line with inflation

Jun 05, 2024 04:07 am UTC| Economy

What is it with the Coalition and wages? When, in the final days of the 2022 election campaign, the then opposition leader Anthony Albanese backed an increase in award wages to keep pace with inflation, his opposite...

Top economists take a modest view of the budget, and doubt inflation will fall as planned

May 27, 2024 06:33 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

Asked to grade Treasurer Jim Chalmers third budget on his own criteria of delivering on inflation in the near term and then growth in the medium term, most of the 49 leading economists surveyed by the Economic Society of...

Central Banking Series

If the RBA’s right, interest rates may not fall for another year. Here’s why.

May 08, 2024 11:04 am UTC| Economy Central Banks

The Reserve Bank is now assuming Australians will see no interest rate cuts this year and quite possibly none before the next federal election, due next May. Thats a big change compared to just three months ago. Back...

Beyond the spin, beyond the handouts, here’s how to get a handle on what’s really happening on budget night

Apr 25, 2024 06:11 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

Three weeks from now, some of us will be presented with a mountain of budget papers, and just about all of us will get to hear about them on radio, TV or news websites on budget night. The quickest way to find out what...

Economists say Australia shouldn’t try to transition to net zero by aping the mammoth US Inflation Reduction Act

Mar 18, 2024 09:00 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

Australias top economists are pressing Prime Minister Anthony Albanese not to ape US President Joe Bidens think big approach to clean energy. Bidens so-called Inflation Reduction Act dubbed the largest climate...

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Economy

Trump Unveils $3 Billion U.S. Critical Minerals Push

President Donald Trump announced roughly $3 billion in U.S. government investments and financing for critical minerals, battery materials and mining projects, part of a broader effort to strengthen domestic production and...

Oil Prices Set for Steep Weekly Losses as Hormuz Deal Stalls

Oil prices fluctuated on Friday and remained on course for sharp weekly declines as uncertainty surrounding a potential agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz continued to drive volatility across global energy markets....

Gold Prices Surge 7% as Dollar Falls, Fed Rate Hike Bets Ease

Gold prices rallied sharply on Friday, putting the precious metal on track for its strongest weekly performance since late January as a weaker U.S. dollar, lower oil prices and softer Federal Reserve rate hike expectations...

US Dollar Falls as Weak July Jobs Report Dents Fed Rate Hike Bets

The U.S. dollar weakened on Friday and headed toward its first two-week losing streak since late May after a disappointing July jobs report reduced expectations for another Federal Reserve interest rate hike. The U.S....

China Exports Beat July Forecasts as AI Demand Fuels High-Tech Trade

Chinas exports posted stronger-than-expected growth in July, supported by booming global demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure and a rush to ship goods before higher U.S. tariffs took effect. Exports increased...

Politics

Taiwan President Lai Oversees Coastal Strike Drills in Han Kuang War Games

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te observed coastal strike drills on Saturday as the island continued its annual Han Kuang military exercises, designed to strengthen Taiwans defence readiness against a potential Chinese attack....

Trump Administration Plans $1 Billion Security Aid Package for Colombia

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump plans to provide $1 billion in security assistance to Colombia under newly inaugurated President Abelardo De La Espriella, the U.S. State Department said Friday. The...

US Expects Iran-Oman Hormuz Shipping Deal Soon

The United States expects Iran and Oman to reach an agreement soon that could restore commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for global oil and energy supplies, according to a Reuters report...

SEC Moves to Dismiss Insider Trading Case Against Trump-Pardoned Terren Peizer

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is moving to dismiss its civil insider trading lawsuit against Terren Peizer, the former Ontrak CEO who was convicted in a landmark federal insider trading case before...

Ukraine Agrees to Protect Kazakhstan Oil Exports via Black Sea

Ukraine has reportedly agreed not to attack certain non-Russian oil tankers and infrastructure involved in exporting Kazakhstan crude oil through the Black Sea, a move that could help stabilize supplies from one of the...

Science

Blue Origin New Glenn Explosion Could Delay Launch Operations Until 2028

Blue Origin is facing a significant setback after a dramatic explosion involving its New Glenn rocket severely damaged a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. According to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, repairs to the...

Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Explodes During Launch Pad Test, Delaying Space Ambitions

Blue Origin suffered a major setback after its uncrewed New Glenn rocket exploded during a launch pad test in Florida on Thursday, raising new challenges for Jeff Bezos space company as it competes with Elon Musks SpaceX...

SpaceX Delays Starship V3 Launch Ahead of Potential Record IPO

SpaceX on Thursday postponed the highly anticipated launch of its 12th Starship rocket test from Texas after technical issues interrupted the final countdown. The company now plans to attempt the Starship V3 launch again...

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

Technology

OpenAI Restricts Astra AI Over Cyberattack Risks

OpenAI has reportedly restricted parts of the development of its next-generation AI model, code-named Astra, after early evaluations indicated the system could potentially carry out sophisticated cyberattacks with limited...

Nvidia to Invest Up to $3 Billion in Blackstone-Backed Lancium

Nvidia is reportedly preparing to invest as much as $3 billion in Lancium, a Blackstone-backed power infrastructure developer involved in the Stargate artificial intelligence infrastructure initiative, as demand for...

Meta Ordered to Pay $567M Over Child Safety Violations in New Mexico

Meta Platforms Inc. has been ordered to pay $567 million into a fund designed to address harm to young people, in a major legal ruling involving child safety on Facebook and Instagram. Judge Bryan Biedscheid of New Mexicos...

Nintendo Shares Jump as Switch 2 Sales Boost Earnings

Nintendo shares surged nearly 5% on Friday after the Japanese gaming giant reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter earnings and upgraded its full-year financial outlook, supported by robust demand for the new Switch...

Cloudflare Stock Jumps 15% as Earnings Beat Estimates, 2026 Outlook Raised

Cloudflare shares surged in after-hours trading Thursday after the cloud connectivity and cybersecurity company delivered stronger-than-expected quarterly results, issued upbeat third-quarter guidance and raised its...