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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

Fed’s Anna Paulson Signals Rates Could Stay Higher Longer Amid Inflation Risks

Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Anna Paulson said Tuesday that financial markets are right to consider the possibility of future U.S. interest rate hikes as inflation pressures continue to linger. Speaking...

Nvidia Earnings in Focus as U.S. Stock Futures Hold Steady Amid Rising Treasury Yields

U.S. stock futures traded mostly flat Tuesday night as investors turned cautious ahead of Nvidias highly anticipated quarterly earnings report. Concerns over rising Treasury yields, stubborn inflation, and geopolitical...

Gold Prices Steady as Iran War Fuels Inflation and Rate Concerns

Gold prices traded slightly higher during early Asian trading on Wednesday as investors continued to monitor the inflationary impact of the ongoing Iran war and its effect on global interest rates. Despite signals from...

Dollar Holds Near Six-Week High as Iran War Fuels Inflation Fears and Boosts Fed Rate Hike Bets

The U.S. dollar remained firm near a six-week high on Wednesday as investors increasingly expect higher interest rates to combat rising inflation linked to the ongoing Iran conflict. Concerns surrounding the Middle East...

Oil Prices Slip as Trump Signals Quick End to Iran Conflict

Oil prices edged lower on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump claimed the ongoing conflict with Iran could end very quickly. However, global energy markets remain cautious as uncertainty surrounding U.S.-Iran peace...

Politics

Rubio to Push NATO Defense Spending, Strengthen India Ties During Key Diplomatic Tour

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to visit Sweden and India this week for high-level diplomatic talks focused on NATO defense spending, regional security, trade cooperation, and energy stability. The trip comes as...

NATO Split Over Potential Strait of Hormuz Mission as Alliance Awaits Political Consensus

NATO is not currently preparing any operational plans for a possible mission in the Strait of Hormuz, according to the alliances top military commander, amid growing debate among member states over whether the bloc should...

Flavio Bolsonaro Admits Meeting Banco Master Owner Amid Brazil Election Turmoil

Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro confirmed on Tuesday that he personally met banker Daniel Vorcaro after the Banco Master owner was arrested in 2025 and later released under electronic monitoring. The revelation has...

Russia Downs Drones Near Moscow as Airstrikes Hit Ukraine’s Izmail Port

Russia and Ukraine exchanged fresh overnight drone attacks on Tuesday, escalating tensions as the war continues with no breakthrough in peace negotiations. Ukrainian officials said a Russian air assault damaged critical...

TrumpRx Expands Discount Drug Access With 600 Generic Medications

U.S. President Donald Trump announced that TrumpRx.gov will now offer more than 600 generic prescription drugs, significantly expanding the administrations effort to lower medication costs for Americans. The...

Science

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...

NASA Artemis II: First Crewed Moon Mission Since Apollo Takes Four Astronauts on 10-Day Lunar Journey

NASAs Artemis II mission launched Wednesday, marking humanitys return to crewed lunar exploration for the first time since the Apollo era. Carrying four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft, this historic 10-day mission...

NASA's Artemis II Mission: First Crewed Lunar Journey Since Apollo

NASA's Artemis II Crew Arrives in Florida for Historic Moon Mission

The four astronauts chosen for NASAs Artemis II mission have touched down at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking the beginning of final launch preparations for the first crewed lunar journey in over 50 years. NASA...

Technology

SpaceX IPO Nears as Goldman Sachs Set to Lead Historic $75 Billion Offering

Goldman Sachs is expected to secure the prestigious lead-left position for SpaceXs highly anticipated initial public offering, according to reports from the Wall Street Journal. Morgan Stanley will also play a major role...

Blackstone and Google Launch AI Cloud Venture, Pressuring CoreWeave and Nebius Shares

Shares of CoreWeave and Nebius fell nearly 4.5% on Tuesday after Blackstone and Google announced a major joint venture focused on building a new artificial intelligence cloud infrastructure company powered by Googles...

Mistral AI Acquires Emmi AI to Expand Industrial AI Solutions in Europe

French artificial intelligence company Mistral AI has acquired Austrian startup Emmi AI in a strategic move to strengthen its industrial AI capabilities across Europe. The deal, announced Tuesday, highlights the growing...

Tencent Shares Jump 4% as AI Models Move Toward Paid Commercial Services

Tencent Holdings (HK:0700) shares surged more than 4% on Tuesday after the Chinese tech giant announced plans to commercialize several of its artificial intelligence models, signaling a stronger push into monetizing AI...

Analog Devices Nears $1.5B Acquisition of AI Chip Firm Empower Semiconductor

U.S. semiconductor giant Analog Devices is reportedly in advanced discussions to acquire AI-focused chipmaker Empower Semiconductor in a deal valued at approximately $1.5 billion in cash, according to a Bloomberg News...