US Senators Warn of China's Plan to Acquire Virus-Devalued Companies
May 22, 2020 01:31 am UTC| Economy
Seven US senators have urged Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to prevent Chinese companies from buying strategic US assets that have been devalued by the coronavirus pandemic. The lawmakers said in a letter to Mnuchin...
The costs of the shutdown are overestimated -- they're outweighed by its $1 trillion benefit
May 20, 2020 15:51 pm UTC| Economy
As Australia begins to relax its COVID-19 restrictions there is understandable debate about how quickly that should proceed, and whether lockdowns even made sense in Australia in the first place. The sceptics arguing...
May 20, 2020 15:45 pm UTC| Economy
Australia Bureau of Statistics data has confirmed the massive economic hit from the COVID-19 pandemic, with total hours worked across the economy officially falling 9% between early March and early April 2020. Our...
Economists back social distancing 34-9 in new Economic Society-Conversation survey
May 20, 2020 15:43 pm UTC| Economy
Australian economists overwhelmingly back social distancing measures that slow the spread of coronavirus over the alternative of easing restrictions and allowing the spread of the disease to pick up. But a significant...
Pay cuts to keep jobs: the tertiary education union's deal with universities explained
May 20, 2020 15:38 pm UTC| Economy
The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) last week announced its negotiated draft agreement with universities. The deal aims to save at least 12,000 university jobs at risk due to the COVID-19 pandemic in return for...
Four ways economic crisis can change things for the better
May 20, 2020 15:35 pm UTC| Economy
It is common to hear people say that the epoch of enormous economic progress which characterised the last century is over. That a decline in prosperity is more likely than an improvement in the decade which lies ahead of...
The big stimulus spending has just begun. Here's how to get it right, quickly
May 20, 2020 15:29 pm UTC| Economy
Responding to COVID-19 required governments to make hard choices with enormous consequences. The biggest were whether to let the disease rip, lock it down, or strike out in search of a middle ground that delivered the best...
South Africa’s plan to move away from coal: 8 steps to make it succeed
Germany lowers voting age to 16 for the European elections
IceCube researchers detect a rare type of energetic neutrino sent from powerful astronomical objects