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Ian Gordon

Professor of Statistics and Director, Statistical Consulting Centre, The University of Melbourne
Ian Gordon is a Professor of Statistics in the School of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Melbourne. His main responsibility is as Director of the Statistical Consulting Centre. Ian has over 40 years of experience in applied statistical work, and a particular interest in communicating statistical ideas effectively in all he does. Ian’s work reflects his interest in the use of statistical methods to promote health and well-being in society, and to promote justice, and there has been an emphasis in his consulting on medical and epidemiological research, and, in his expert witness work, on cases where disadvantaged or vulnerable people were seeking justice. Ian is currently President of the Statistical Society of Australia.

Economy

U.S. Government Faces Brief Shutdown as Congress Delays Funding Deal

The United States government was on track for a partial shutdown early Saturday after Congress failed to finalize a funding agreement before the midnight deadline. Although the U.S. Senate ultimately passed a bipartisan...

Gold and Silver Prices Plunge as Trump Taps Kevin Warsh for Fed Chair

Gold and silver prices suffered a dramatic selloff on Friday after President Donald Trump nominated former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh to replace Jerome Powell as Fed chair, easing fears about the central banks...

Wall Street Slides as Warsh Fed Nomination, Hot Inflation, and Precious Metals Rout Shake Markets

Wall Street ended Friday on a weaker note as risk-off sentiment dominated trading, driven by hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation data, a dramatic sell-off in precious metals, and major political developments surrounding...

Asian Currencies Hold Firm as Dollar Rebounds on Fed Chair Nomination Hopes

Asian currencies traded in a narrow range on Friday as the U.S. dollar rebounded modestly from a near four-year low, following comments from U.S. President Donald Trump that he would announce his nominee for the next...

Canada’s Trade Deficit Jumps in November as Exports Slide and Firms Diversify Away From U.S.

Canada recorded a sharp increase in its monthly international trade deficit in November as merchandise exports fell significantly, highlighting ongoing challenges tied to trade diversification and U.S. tariff uncertainty....

Politics

Trump Nominates Brett Matsumoto as Next Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he has nominated Brett Matsumoto to serve as the next commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), a key federal agency responsible for producing critical data...

Panama Supreme Court Voids CK Hutchison Port Concessions, Raising Geopolitical and Trade Concerns

Panamas Supreme Court has ruled unconstitutional the port concession contracts held by Panama Ports Company, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings (HK:0001), effectively voiding its rights to operate two of...

U.S. Eases Venezuela Oil Sanctions to Boost American Investment After Maduro Ouster

The Trump administration has eased select sanctions on Venezuelas oil industry, signaling a major policy shift aimed at encouraging U.S. investment following the ouster of President Nicolás Maduro earlier this...

Trump Threatens Aircraft Tariffs as U.S.-Canada Jet Certification Dispute Escalates

U.S. President Donald Trump has intensified trade tensions with Canada by announcing the decertification of Bombardier Global Express business jets and threatening steep new tariffs on Canadian-made aircraft. In a...

Trump Warns UK and Canada Against Deepening Business Ties With China

U.S. President Donald Trump has issued a strong warning to the United Kingdom and Canada over expanding business cooperation with China, describing such moves as very dangerous during a recent public appearance. His...

Science

NASA and SpaceX Target Crew-11 Undocking From ISS Amid Medical Concern

NASA has confirmed that the agency, in coordination with SpaceX, is targeting no earlier than 5 p.m. Eastern Time (2200 GMT) on Wednesday, January 14, for the undocking of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission from the International...

Neuralink Plans High-Volume Brain Implant Production and Fully Automated Surgery by 2026

Elon Musks brain-computer interface company Neuralink is preparing for a major expansion, announcing plans to begin high-volume production of its brain implant devices and transition to a fully automated surgical procedure...

Jared Isaacman Confirmed as NASA Administrator, Becomes 15th Leader of U.S. Space Agency

The U.S. Senate has officially confirmed billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman as the new NASA administrator, making him the 15th leader in the agencys history. The confirmation, which took place on Wednesday, marks...

Senate Sets December 8 Vote on Trump’s NASA Nominee Jared Isaacman

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee announced it will vote on December 8 on President Donald Trumps renewed nomination of private astronaut and tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to lead NASA. Isaacman, known for his...

NASA Cuts Boeing Starliner Missions as SpaceX Pulls Ahead

NASA has significantly scaled back Boeings Starliner program after years of technical issues and delays, announcing that the next Starliner mission to the International Space Station (ISS) will fly without astronauts. The...

Technology

Nvidia’s $100 Billion OpenAI Investment Faces Internal Doubts, Report Says

Nvidias ambitious plan to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI, aimed at supporting the training and operation of next-generation artificial intelligence models, has reportedly hit a roadblock. According to a report...

Federal Judge Signals Possible Dismissal of xAI Lawsuit Against OpenAI

A U.S. federal judge has signaled she may dismiss a high-profile lawsuit filed by Elon Musks artificial intelligence startup, xAI, against rival OpenAI, dealing a potential setback to Musk in an escalating legal battle...

US Judge Rejects $2.36B Penalty Bid Against Google in Privacy Data Case

Alphabets Google has secured a major legal victory after a federal judge in San Francisco rejected a consumer bid seeking more than $2 billion in penalties related to the companys past data collection practices. On Friday,...

Apple Faces Margin Pressure as Memory Chip Prices Surge Amid AI Boom

Apple is beginning to feel the strain from rapidly rising memory chip prices, a challenge that is expected to intensify in the current quarter as the global semiconductor market pivots toward artificial intelligence...

Apple Earnings Beat Expectations as iPhone Sales Surge to Four-Year High

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) delivered a strong fiscal first-quarter 2026 earnings report, comfortably beating Wall Street expectations on both profit and revenue, driven by its strongest iPhone sales growth in more than four...