A decided ennui has overtaken Canberra, or at least the Press Gallery. There’s a general sense that politics at the moment is truly wretched, a Sisyphean ordeal.
September, 2011
RBA pay: why Glenn Stevens is not Elizabeth Taylor
The RBA’s decision to jack up the pay of its most senior management by 30% during the 2008/09 financial year, the nadir of the global financial crisis, might have been impolitic, says Adam Creighton.
Richardson: how Labor blew its chance of marriage compromise
Britain’s Liberal Democrats have pledged to legalise same-sex marriage before the next election. In Australia, Labor blew its chances of a compromise.
Sure it’s tough out there in retail land, but don’t blame the government
Mark McInnes’ comments are as silly as they sound. Consumer caution is as much to do with the higher savings (back to normal levels) of Australians as any crisis of confidence caused by governments.
Australia’s OECD productivity freefall
Australia isn’t the only country grappling with labour productivity problems. But ours got a lot worse during Workchoices.
Christos Tsiolkas: a slap to the ABC for killing The Book Show
Author Christos Tsiolkas has attacked the decision to axe Radio National’s Book Show. He writes in an open letter to the ABC board …
Eight is enough for Italy, as Berlusconi saga grows
Italy has been rocked by shocking new revelations this week about Berlusconi’s sexual digressions and political pundits around the world are once again asking themselves how long he can last, writes Josephine McKenna.
The Power Index: money movers, UBS’ Grounds at #4
If you want something bought or sold, you go to Matthew Grounds. After all, Kerry Stokes did. So did James Packer. And Ralph Norris. His fingerprints are on deals stitched up for AMP, Shell and the Future Fund for starters. In fact, the UBS CEO features in the foreground of almost every big deal you […]
Your Say: Daily Mail readers' feedback: Announcing the first Kindle winner …
Crikey readers have their say.
Morning Market Report: Renewed fears that Greece will default
Talk that Greece was close to securing funding from the IMF, EU, and ECB helped the US markets erase half their losses before the close.
Media briefs: Fairfax’s failed recipe … Hate, love and the media … NotW settlement …
In today’s Media Briefs: Fairfax’s Good Weekend and Good Living on the same menu … Spun out of Human Services job … Front Page of the Day … News International offers Milly Dowler’s family £3m settlement and more …
Power Shots: Babcock bonuses … Rudd a happy Vegemite … 74 storeys of Triguboff …
Babcock bonuses for some. There will be a few happy faces this morning after the settlement of liquidator Deloitte’s $160 million damages action against the directors and auditor of Babcock & Brown, the whizz-bang financier that collapsed in 2008, wiping out $12 billion of creditors’ and shareholders’ funds. Happiest of all will be B&B’s co-founder […]
Political snippets: A little interest rate word of warning
Perhaps we should not get too carried away at the prospect of interest rates actually falling any time soon.
Video of the Day: The You Betcha! trailer
This racy, goss-filled trailer for Nick Bloomfield’s upcoming Sarah Palin gonzo documentary You Betcha! is enough to make politics wonks chalk it down as a must-see.
Tips and rumours: Tips and rumours
Lucas’ seat gets ALP talking. The Labor pre-selection battle for the Queensland state seat of Lytton, getting vacated by retiring deputy premier Paul Lucas at the next election, looks like being a cracker. According to one hack: “One left faction frontrunner is off to a shaky start after threatening to have an entire branch thrown […]
Crikey Says: Scaring the pants off consumers
So what you’re trying to say, Mark McInnes, is that consumers are so scared witless about the carbon tax that their wallets have been hermetically sealed. Uh-huh…
The birth of the emoticon :-)
Twenty years ago American Scott Fahlman posted two messages to a bulletin board at Carnegie Mellon University. He instructed readers to tilt their heads to the side and thus the emoticon was born, reports Tony Long.
Johnson: how to reform vigilante youth
About half the people arrested in the London riots had previously been convicted of multiple offenses. London needs a much better balance between prison enforcement and rehabilitative education, writes Boris Johnson.
Co-working office spaces on the rise in Australia
Different businesses co-working with each other in the same office space is becoming increasingly popular among Australian startups, writes Mahesh Sharma.
Tapping into the DIY web serial niche: Shutterbugs
The internet has enabled web serials such as the upcoming show Shutterbugs to find niche audiences. This comedy about a group of photographers may be worth a look, writes Dan Barrett.
E-books are the new black
They’re cheap, relatively easy to make and simple to distribute. The e-book market is becoming more and more crowded, with news organisations now in direct competition with book publishers, reports Julie Bosman and Jeremy W. Peters.
Matthew Grounds: the deal-making king favoured by the top end of town
If you want something bought or sold, you go to Matthew Grounds. After all, Kerry Stokes did. So did James Packer. And Ralph Norris. And many others, writes Tom Cowie.
