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Kate Macdonald

Associate Professor, Political Science, The University of Melbourne
I joined the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Melbourne in January 2009. Before coming to Melbourne, I did my DPhil in the Department of International Development at Oxford (jointly supervised in the Department of Politics and International Relations), and I worked as a Fellow of Government (Global Politics) at the London School of Economics and Political Science, a Research Fellow at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics at the Australian National University and a Research Officer at the Department of Politics and International Relations at Oxford University.

My research focuses on transnational governance and accountability systems, especially in relation to transnational business regulation, and accountability in the international development sector. I have conducted research and consultancy work on these topics for a range of Australian and international organisations including the Forest Stewardship Council, Amnesty International, ActionAid Australia, Oxfam Australia and the UK’s Corporate Responsibility Coalition, and I am currently on the advisory board of the Jubilee Australia Research Foundation.

Economy

Goldman Sachs Forecasts Fed Rate Hike as Inflation Risks Rise

Goldman Sachs now expects the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates by 25 basis points at its September meeting, reversing its previous forecast for no change as inflation concerns intensify across U.S. financial...

Gold Prices Fall as Hot U.S. Inflation Boosts Fed Rate Hike Bets

Gold prices moved lower on Monday as stronger-than-expected U.S. inflation increased expectations for a Federal Reserve interest rate hike this week, while surging oil prices added fresh inflation concerns. Spot gold...

Asian Tech Stocks Slide as AI Concerns and Rising Bond Yields Hit Chipmakers

Asian technology stocks fell sharply on Monday as rising bond yields and renewed concerns about the sustainability of the artificial intelligence rally pushed investors away from high-growth chipmakers. South Koreas...

Oil Prices Surge as Houthi Attacks Deepen Hormuz Supply Fears

Oil prices surged on Monday as renewed Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and escalating tensions around the Strait of Hormuz intensified concerns over Middle East supply disruptions. Brent crude futures jumped as much as 3.5%...

Saudi Oil Exports Face 4% Global Supply Threat as Pipeline Remains Shut

Saudi Arabia could run short of oil inventories available for export within days unless it restarts its critical east-west pipeline to the Red Sea, potentially removing about 4% of global oil supply, according to oil...

Politics

Trump Vows to Keep U.S. Ahead of China in AI Race

President Donald Trump said Sunday that the United States must maintain its artificial intelligence lead over China, pushing back against calls from prominent technology leaders to slow AI development amid growing safety...

Sweden Election Puts Far Right and Centre Left in Tight Race

Swedish voters head to the polls on Sunday in a closely contested parliamentary election that could either bring the far-right Sweden Democrats into government for the first time or return the country to centre-left...

Russian Strikes Across Ukraine Kill Nine, Injure Dozens

Russian air strikes across multiple Ukrainian regions killed at least nine people and injured dozens on Saturday, damaging homes, businesses and critical infrastructure as attacks intensified away from the front lines....

Ukraine Prepares for October Peace Talks With Russia and US

Ukraine is preparing for a possible resumption of trilateral peace talks with Russia and the United States in October as diplomatic efforts to end the more than four-and-a-half-year war regain momentum. Kyrylo Budanov,...

Trump Backs United Ireland During Dublin Visit

U.S. President Donald Trump said he would love to see Northern Ireland unite with Ireland, breaking with the traditionally neutral position taken by previous U.S. presidents on the politically sensitive issue. Speaking...

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

Z.AI Shares Slide 7% After $5 Billion Fundraising

Z.AI shares tumbled nearly 7% on Monday, reaching a 5-1/2-month low after the Chinese artificial intelligence company completed a roughly $5 billion fundraising package involving discounted new shares and convertible...

Anthropic Eyes Second Straight Profitable Quarter Ahead of Potential IPO

Anthropic expects to post positive adjusted operating income for a second consecutive quarter, signaling improving financial performance as the artificial intelligence company moves closer to a potential IPO, the Financial...

Samsung, SK Hynix Reject KEPCO’s $18.7 Billion Power Funding Plan

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have rejected a proposal from Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) that would require the chipmakers to provide 25 trillion won ($18.7 billion) in upfront funding to secure electricity...

Hyundai Delays In-House ADAS, Turns to Nvidia

Hyundai Motor Group plans to introduce vehicles running its proprietary driver-assistance software in late 2029, delaying the technology by about two years as the South Korean automaker expands its partnership with Nvidia....

SpaceX Nasdaq 100 Weight Set to More Than Double

SpaceX is poised to receive a substantially larger weighting in the Nasdaq 100 later this month, potentially driving billions of dollars in purchases by passive investment funds that track the technology-heavy index....