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Peter Martin

Editor, Business and Economy

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 recogn...

Will Jim Chalmers' budget drive up inflation? Not likely – and here's why

May 23, 2023 15:03 pm UTC| Economy

The proposition that cutting prices will stoke inflation is a hard one to get your head around, even if you are an economist. Yet it has been seriously put forward as a critique of this months budget; the one in which...

Sure, the RBA froze interest rates on Tuesday, but there's plenty of pain to come

Apr 05, 2023 13:16 pm UTC| Economy Central Banks

Australias Reserve Bank hit pause on interest rates after ten successive hikes on Tuesday, but for many Australians, the pain it has inflicted is about to begin. The Bank says more than one million households will come...

5 ways the Reserve bank is going to bat for Australia like never before

Nov 04, 2020 00:17 am UTC| Economy Central Banks

The most important of the five measures the Reserve Bank announced on Tuesday is the one that wont whirr into place for a very long time. Others start immediately. On Thursday the bank will wade into the market and...

Economic growth near an end as Treasury talks of prolonged coronavirus downturn

Mar 06, 2020 09:13 am UTC| Economy

Australias three-decade run of near continuous economic growth is set to end, with treasury warning of a hit to growth of at least 0.5% in the first quarter of this year, potentially followed by a prolonged downturn. If...

Why we've the weakest economy since the global financial crisis, with few clear ways out

Sep 06, 2019 07:46 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

The Australian economy is tepid, with consumer spending the weakest in ten years, business investment shrinking, and economic growth too weak to cover population growth. Were it not for very strong growth in export...

No surplus, no share market growth, no lift in wage growth. Economic survey points to bleaker times post-election

Jan 29, 2019 12:26 pm UTC| Insights & Views Economy Politics

The Australian economy will remain healthy for long enough to enable the government to claim it as a strength in the lead-up to the May election, but the first Conversation Economic Survey points to a fairly flat outlook...

My magnificent seven. Seven really bright ideas (and one as old as time itself) from 2018

Dec 27, 2018 10:18 am UTC| Insights & Views

Few things are as valuable as a bright idea. They rarely pop up in meetings (where most of the time people agree with other people), or in business (where most of the time its easier to keep doing what youve been...

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Economy

Gold Prices Rise as Weak US Retail Sales Cut Fed Rate Hike Bets

Gold prices edged higher on Friday and headed for a weekly gain as weaker-than-expected U.S. retail sales further reduced expectations for a Federal Reserve interest rate hike in September. Spot gold rose 0.5% to $4,374.30...

S&P 500 Retreats From Record High as AI Stocks Slide, Retail Sales Disappoint

The SP 500 closed lower on Friday, retreating from its latest record high as weakness in AI-related stocks and disappointing U.S. retail sales weighed on investor sentiment. The SP 500 fell 0.17% to 7,785.76, while the...

Trump Imposes New Tariffs on Drone Imports Over US Security Concerns

President Donald Trump has announced new tariffs on imported drones and drone components, citing national security concerns and the United States heavy dependence on foreign suppliers. Under a proclamation signed by Trump,...

Strait of Hormuz Shipping Near Standstill After New Vessel Attacks

Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz slowed to a near standstill on Friday after two more vessels were attacked, while the United States signaled it could maintain its naval blockade of Iran indefinitely. The disruption...

US Dollar Slips as Weak Retail Sales Reduce Fed Rate Hike Bets

The U.S. dollar edged lower on Friday as weaker economic data prompted traders to scale back expectations for another Federal Reserve rate hike. Despite the decline, the greenback was poised to end a two-week losing streak...

Politics

US Presses Netanyahu to Condemn West Bank Settler Siege

The United States is urging Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to publicly condemn militant Israeli settlers accused of besieging Palestinian families in Qusra, a village in the occupied West Bank, according to U.S....

Haftar Helps Broker Release of American Hostage Held by ISIS Affiliate

Libyan military commander Khalifa Haftar helped broker the release of an American hostage held by an Islamic State affiliate in West Africas Sahel region, according to four sources familiar with the negotiations. Kevin...

Israeli Troops Enter Palestinian Homes as Settler Siege Grips West Bank Village

Israeli troops took positions inside Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank village of Qusra on Thursday as a settler siege left families trapped without electricity or water, according to the village mayor and...

Jared Kushner May Visit Israel for Gaza Talks Next Week

U.S. President Donald Trumps envoy and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, could travel to Israel next week for talks aimed at advancing the administrations Gaza peace plan, according to a source familiar with the matter. Axios...

Albanese Says AUKUS ‘Full Steam Ahead’ After Trump Call

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the AUKUS defence pact remains full steam ahead following a lengthy phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump, as Canberra also pushes Washington for a complete exemption...

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

Alphabet’s SpaceX Investment Soars 100-Fold to $94 Billion

Alphabets early investment in SpaceX has delivered extraordinary returns, with the Google parents stake valued at roughly $94.2 billion at the end of June. The company originally invested $900 million in Elon Musks rocket...

Stripe, Advent Reportedly Pursue $53 Billion PayPal Takeover

Stripe and private equity firm Advent International reportedly offered to acquire PayPal for $60.50 per share in July, valuing the payments company at roughly $53 billion. PayPal rejected the proposal as too low, but...

J.P. Morgan Upgrades SanDisk, Sets $2,250 Price Target on AI NAND Growth

J.P. Morgan upgraded SanDisk to Overweight from Not Rated and set a December 2027 price target of $2,250, citing stronger long-term growth prospects following the flash memory companys 2026 Investor Day in New York....

Micron Stock Upgraded to Buy as New Street Sees $2 Trillion Valuation Potential

New Street Research has upgraded Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU) to a Buy rating with a $1,250 price target, arguing that the semiconductor company is entering a fundamentally different memory cycle driven largely by...

Apple Develops China-Specific AI Model With Alibaba as Apple Intelligence Launch Nears

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) has reportedly developed a large language model specifically for China in collaboration with Alibaba (HK: 9988), signaling a significant shift in the iPhone makers artificial intelligence strategy...