Why prices are so high – 8 ways retail pricing algorithms gouge consumers

Feb 16, 2024 07:06 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

The just-released report of the inquiry into price gouging and unfair pricing conducted by Allan Fels for the Australian Council of Trades Unions does more than identify the likely offenders. It finds the biggest are...

China Crisis Series

China’s doom loop: a dramatically smaller (and older) population could create a devastating global slowdown

Feb 14, 2024 02:45 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

China has announced that in 2023 its population declined from 1.4118 to 1.4097 billion people. Forecasting by the UN suggests Chinas population will dip to 1.313 billion by 2050 and then down to about 800 million by 2100....

The private sector housing experiment has failed: Ottawa must now step up on social housing

Feb 14, 2024 02:02 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

Politicians of all stripes say that housing affordability is a top priority. But few are saying much about social housing the kind thats needed for low-income households in greatest need of affordable rental...

Wholesale power prices are falling fast – but consumers will have to wait for relief. Here’s why

Feb 08, 2024 12:24 pm UTC| Insights & Views Economy

Wholesale power prices are falling steeply in Australia, following two years of surging prices after the Ukraine war triggered an energy crisis. New data shows annualised spot prices for power in Australias main grid fell...

Mortgage and inflation pain to ease, but only slowly: how 31 top economists see 2024

Feb 05, 2024 05:20 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

A panel of 31 leading economists assembled by The Conversation sees no cut in interest rates before the middle of this year, and only a slight cut by December, enough to trim just $55 per month off the cost of servicing a...

South Africa’s military is expected to do more than ever with tighter budgets: how the force has declined over 30 years

Feb 05, 2024 05:19 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

The South African National Defence Force marks 30 years this year, having been established on 27 April 1994. Its as old as the countrys constitutional democracy, the result of a negotiated political settlement that ended...

Germany's economy must be fixed – here are three top priorities

Jan 23, 2024 06:20 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

The latest figures on German gross domestic product (GDP) are far from reassuring. Output was 0.3% lower in 2023 than the year before, turning Germany into the worst-performing large economy in the world. By comparison,...