Happy birthday AUD: how our Australian dollar was floated, 40 years ago this week

Dec 04, 2023 12:29 pm UTC| Economy Insights & Views

These days, we take for granted that the value of the Australian dollar fluctuates against other currencies, changing thousands of times a day and at times jumping or falling quite a lot in the space of a week. But for...

Nicola Willis warns of fiscal ‘snakes and snails’ – her first mini-budget will be a test of NZ’s no-surprises finance rules

Dec 04, 2023 12:28 pm UTC| Economy

New finance minister Nicola Willis has claimed she was blindsided by the state of the governments books. Days after stepping into the role, she said: The outgoing government has left us with some nasty surprises....

Central Banking Series

Governments have been able to overrule the Reserve Bank for 80 years. Why stop now?

Nov 28, 2023 23:14 pm UTC| Insights & Views Central Banks Economy

Pay close enough attention to parliament these next few days, and youre likely to witness something truly remarkable: politicians from both sides of politics uniting to remove the power of politicians to overrule the...

Western Pharma Shifts Focus from China to India Amid Rising Geopolitical Tensions

Nov 27, 2023 06:15 am UTC| Economy Business Health

Western drugmakers are increasingly turning to alternative sources for drug production and clinical trials, shifting their attention away from Chinese contractors. According to industry experts and executives, this...

What the UK government's back to work plan covers – and why it is unlikely to boost people's job prospects

Nov 25, 2023 07:40 am UTC| Economy Politics

Ahead of the UK governments latest economic statement, the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, and the secretary of state for work and pensions, Mel Stride, unveiled a new employment support package dubbed the back to work...

Matching state pension to the national living wage would help pensioners maintain their dignity

Nov 25, 2023 07:40 am UTC| Economy

A question that is perennially asked by financial experts is: can the government (in other words, the taxpayer) afford to keep increasing pensions? But in my view, the real question should be: what is the purpose of the...

Every state is about to dole out federal funding for broadband internet – not every state is ready for the task

Nov 21, 2023 04:02 am UTC| Economy

When the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was signed in late 2021, it included US$42.5 billion for broadband internet access as part of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program. The program aims to ensure...