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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

Gold Prices Rise as Oil Slump Eases Fed Rate Hike Fears

Gold prices climbed on Tuesday as a sharp decline in oil prices eased inflation concerns and reduced expectations for additional Federal Reserve interest rate hikes. A softer U.S. dollar and renewed hopes for diplomacy...

Oil Prices Rise as U.S.-Iran Talks Fuel Diplomacy Hopes

Oil prices moved higher in Asian trading on Tuesday, snapping a four-session losing streak as investors assessed the possibility of renewed U.S.-Iran talks during this weeks United Nations General Assembly in New York....

Vietnam, US Trade Deal Could Be Signed Soon, To Lam Says

Vietnam and the United States have made positive progress in negotiations toward a new trade agreement, with a deal potentially ready to be signed soon, Vietnamese leader To Lam said, according to a government statement...

Canada Unveils Bill to Fast-Track Major Resource Projects

Canada unveiled draft legislation on Monday aimed at accelerating approvals for major natural resource and infrastructure projects, as Prime Minister Mark Carney seeks to strengthen economic growth and reduce the countrys...

Yen Weakens as Dollar Gains on Widening US-Japan Rate Gap

The Japanese yen remained under pressure against a firm U.S. dollar on Tuesday as traders focused on the widening interest rate gap between Japan and other major economies following a hawkish shift among global central...

Politics

Macron, Trump Discuss Ukraine-Russia Energy Strike Moratorium

French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that he discussed potential measures with U.S. President Donald Trump aimed at securing a moratorium on energy-related attacks between Ukraine and Russia, as diplomatic efforts...

Burnham Eyes UK Leadership Role in AI Ahead of Trump Meeting

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham will push for the UK to take a global leadership role in artificial intelligence on Tuesday as he makes his first major appearance on the international diplomatic stage at the United...

US Plans Two New Military Bases in Greenland Under Arctic Deal

The United States plans to expand its military presence in Greenland by reopening a Cold War-era base in the south and establishing operations at another site on the islands east coast, according to people familiar with a...

US, Denmark and Greenland Set to Sign Arctic Security Deal

Denmark, Greenland and the United States are set to sign a new Greenland security agreement on Tuesday that could expand the US military presence while placing broader Arctic security under NATO oversight. The signing is...

UK, Mauritius Seek Diego Garcia Base Deal

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has pledged to work with Mauritius and the United States to resolve the dispute surrounding the strategically important Diego Garcia military base in the Indian Ocean. Burnham spoke with...

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

US Northeast Airports Resume Operations After Telecom Outage Disrupts Thousands of Flights

US airport operations across the Northeast began returning to normal on Monday after crews repaired telecommunications problems that had disrupted air traffic and contributed to thousands of flight delays and cancellations...

OpenAI Urges US-Led Global Standards for Frontier AI

OpenAI is calling for the United States to lead an international effort to establish technical standards for advanced artificial intelligence, as concerns grow over increasingly capable AI systems and the prospect of...

Meta Partners With Shopify to Bring Shop Pay Checkout to Muse AI

Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a new partnership with Shopify aimed at bringing agentic shopping and checkout capabilities to Metas recently launched Muse artificial intelligence platform. Zuckerberg said...

SoftBank Launches $11 Billion Bond Sale to Fund OpenAI Investment

SoftBank Group Corp. has launched a major bond offering worth $10 billion and 1 billion to finance its latest investment in OpenAI, according to a term sheet released Monday. The Japanese technology investment group is...

Trump Plans Federal AI Force and AI Czar

U.S. President Donald Trump said Saturday that he plans to create a federal AI Force and appoint an artificial intelligence czar, outlining an effort to accelerate U.S. AI development while using existing laws to address...