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Lee Smales

Senior Lecturer, Finance, Curtin University

Lee Smales is a senior lecturer in Curtin University's School of Economics & Finance. Before joining Curtin, Lee was an associate lecturer with University of New South Wales where he also completed his PhD in finance.

Prior to embarking on his academic career, Lee spent 8 years working for a major U.S. investment bank trading foreign-exchange and interest rate derivatives. Lee’s research interests are closely aligned with this prior career and focus on financial markets, and in particular the market response to news-events and the impact of prevailing sentiment and microstructure on this reaction.

Lee has published in leading journals including the Journal of Banking & Finance, Journal of Financial Research, Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Accounting & Finance, The Economic Record, and the Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money.

Lee has won awards for research (CBS New Researcher of the Year, 2013) and teaching (CBS New Teacher of the Year, 2014) and is also a CFA Charterholder.

Global Reflation Series

Explainer: what is reflation and is Australia experiencing it?

Apr 26, 2017 07:56 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

Since the 2007 global financial crisis, policy makers have been fighting deflationary (falling prices) and disinflationary (prices rising at slow rate) pressures. But the global economy finally appears to be entering...

Three reasons businesses are paying higher dividends rather than investing

Mar 03, 2017 06:36 am UTC| Insights & Views Business Investing

Typically, low interest rates, together with record profits, would create an environment in which businesses would be happy to invest in new projects providing a boost to economic growth and jobs. Unfortunately,...

Why markets care what businesses are buying

Jan 03, 2017 00:08 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

How we track our economy influences everything from government spending and taxes to home lending and business investment. In our series The Way We Measure, were taking a close look at economic indicators to better...

Worrisome Signs Series

Perfect storm of events could trigger the next financial crisis

Jul 10, 2016 20:58 pm UTC| Insights & Views

Back in 2007, the first signs of stress in the US housing market were starting to appear. Managed investment funds at Bear Sterns and BNP Paribas were forced to close, or suspend payments, as they were unable to liquidate...

An uncertain election result may lead to stagnant financial markets

Jul 03, 2016 11:49 am UTC| Insights & Views

For the second time in the space of ten days, it appears that betting markets and pollsters have got it wrong. First, despite odds showing a 90% likelihood of Remain winning, the UK voted to Leave the European Union in its...

Economy

South Korean Won Leads Asian FX Losses as Dollar Rises

The South Korean won led declines across Asian currencies on Monday as the U.S. dollar strengthened, while the Japanese yen retreated after giving up some of its intervention-driven gains. The U.S. Dollar Index rose 0.18%...

Oil Prices Rise as Hormuz Reopening Remains Uncertain

Oil prices climbed on Monday as uncertainty over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz continued to support the market, despite Iran and Oman moving closer to an agreement on new shipping routes through the strategic...

Gold Prices Hold Near Seven-Week High as Markets Await U.S. Inflation Data

Gold prices remained largely steady on Monday, hovering near a seven-week high as investors assessed Middle East geopolitical risks and looked ahead to key U.S. inflation data that could influence the Federal Reserves...

Asian Stocks Rise as Weak US Jobs Data Eases Fed Rate Hike Bets

Asian stocks mostly advanced on Monday, following record highs on Wall Street as weaker-than-expected U.S. employment data reduced expectations for a Federal Reserve interest rate hike in September. Japan and South Korea...

Asian Stocks Rise as Weak US Jobs Data Eases Fed Rate Hike Fears

Asian stock markets moved higher on Monday, following record gains on Wall Street as weaker U.S. employment data reduced expectations for an imminent Federal Reserve interest rate hike. Oil prices also advanced as...

Politics

Houthi Attack on Yemen’s Mocha Port Kills Seven, Injures 30

Seven people were killed and 30 others wounded after Houthi forces launched a large-scale drone and missile attack on Yemens Red Sea port city of Mocha, according to the Yemeni military. In a statement issued early Monday,...

Germany Warns of Daily Hybrid Warfare Threats

Germany is facing foreign hybrid warfare operations on a daily basis, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has warned after authorities discovered an explosive-carrying drone at Leipzig/Halle Airport. Dobrindt said hostile...

ICE to Complete Nationwide Body Camera Rollout by End of August

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will equip all officers and agents working in the field with body-worn cameras by the end of August, accelerating a nationwide rollout that was initially expected to take...

Iran-Oman Near Strait of Hormuz Deal as Shipping Tensions Persist

Iran and Oman are nearing an agreement on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, but Tehran says a bilateral deal alone will not be enough to fully reopen the critical global energy route. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas...

Joe Biden’s Prostate Cancer Has Spread Further, Hunter Biden Says

Former U.S. President Joe Bidens prostate cancer has spread beyond his bones and is causing significant pain, according to his son, Hunter Biden, who discussed his fathers health in a BBC interview. Speaking to the BBCs...

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

Sony, TSMC Eye $6.3 Billion Japan Chip Venture for Next-Gen Image Sensors

Sony Group and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) are reportedly preparing to invest about 1 trillion yen ($6.32 billion) in a new Japanese semiconductor venture focused on next-generation chips for image...

Nvidia Seen Beating Q2 Targets as Vera Rubin Cycle Begins

Nvidia (NVDA) could enter a multi-quarter growth cycle as shipments of its next-generation Vera Rubin AI chips begin, with BofA Global Research forecasting stronger-than-expected quarterly results and maintaining a bullish...

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...