Heather Mills, the editor of the Daily Mail and a PR veteran all fronted up to the Levenson Inquiry on its 40th day of investigating phone hacking at the now-defunct News of the World tabloid.
Business
Weak prices, outlook pressure Alcoa — not the dollar
Blaming the value of the Australian dollar for all the problems and ills in manufacturing has become the easy option, write Glenn Dyer and Bernard Keane.
Tweeting Rupert skips earnings grilling from analysts, hacks
For the second straight quarter, News Corp’s executive chairman and controlling shareholder Rupert skipped the quarterly earnings call with analysts and journalists this morning.
Our banks are too big to fail, too few to be competitive
Mark Bouris and Christopher Joye of Property Observer say policymaking around Australia’s banking system has been predicated on a flawed and risky paradigm.
The issue of interns
Many workplaces have interns, helpful young students who volunteer in return for some practical experience (the Crikey intern gets our coffee!). But what are the legal issues of an intern in the office? Anthony O’Donnell explains.
What’s in a name? Lots of money…
A snappy and memorable product name is critical to commercial success. It’s not just the brand name, the recent Coca-Cola “share-a-Coke” campaign created a Pavlovian response in people, writes Moensie Rossier.
The spin doctor who’ll go where others refuse
Toby Ralph has no office, no job title and no qualms about spinning for the forces of darkness. “I’ll work for anyone who pays me,” Liberal campaign veteran Ralph tells Matthew Knott< .
How a rate hike could save the banks
Australia’s banking systems have a weakness – our so-called ‘funding gap’ – and it’s time to bring that weakness into the open, given that ANZ is this week deciding whether to lift mortgage interest rates, writes Robert Gottliebsen.
A simple copyright amendment? Sports chiefs don’t understand
Our copyright law is a wondrous complex beast, and even apparently simple tweaks carry the potential for significant unintended consequences, writes Kimberlee Weatherall, an associate professor in Sydney University’s Faculty of Law.
Bolt, Day reveal why ACMA should move on Lachlan Murdoch
Perhaps the most striking recent example of Australia’s supine cross-media ownership laws was the decision by ACMA to allow Lachlan Murdoch to remain as a director of News Corp while clearly influencing Network Ten.
L-3: the $15b defence contractor that will be scanning us
The company that will get $28 million for providing airport body scanners is a huge US defence contractor with a scandalous history.
Kohler: trouble in a carry trade paradise
Keynesian purists are all clutching their foreheads, but actually it’s pretty fabulous that Australia’s politicians are competing with each other to promise budget surpluses.
Come in Spinner: Come in Spinner: why we make dumb choices
Why do political pundits, company directors, stockbroking analysts, investors, policy people, governments and just about every one you can think of make dumb choices?
The Reserve Bank’s inclination to punish
The Reserve Bank of Australia are a callous lot, says Richard Farmer. Let’s not worry about those 5.2% of people without a job, or all those working less hours than they would like to.
Gottliebsen: productivity problems? Call IT
Australian businesses and US businesses are adopting totally different strategies for the year ahead. Our chief executives are going down a dangerous path, says Robert Gottliebsen of Business Spectator.
Frustration not fear keep farmers mum on retail wars
The ACCC has offered protection to whistleblower farmers and grocery supplies if they report price gouging by supermarkets. But for those on the land it’s still easier said than done.
When is a property expert not a property expert?
Move over Henry Kaye. Step aside Bruce Yardney. There’s a new property expert back in town.
Wayne Swan causing a credit squeeze? Get real
Claims that Wayne Swan could hurt the banks by pressuring them to pass on rate cuts are rubbish.
Australian housing: an unsustainable Ponzi scheme
Deakin University’s Philip Soos pulls no punches in his assessment of the Australian real estate industry, describing it as a Ponzi scheme and a bubble waiting to burst, writes Larry Schlesinger.
Rates cut expected: will banks pass it on?
Crikey media wrap: The Reserve Bank of Australia is expected to cut the cash rate by 0.25% to 4% today, putting pressure on banks to pass those savings onto its customers.
Rinehart will lose, and take Fairfax with her
Is Gina Rinehart a media dilettante and not the threat that many suppose her to be? Or rather, is she a cheapskate and unwilling to stump up the sort of money (more than $1.7 billion) that would guarantee control of Fairfax by buying it outright?
Best ads from the Super Bowl
Millions are spent not just on the airtime but on the production of epic advertisements that screened today during half time of the US Super Bowl. Mumbrella wraps up the best of them.
Plenty of light in the doom-and-gloom retail figures
The headline fall of 0.1% in the seasonally adjusted value of retail sales for December got the “rate cut looms” mob back on the hunt this morning.
The impact of FOFA — industry claims brought undone
A new report shows how hysterical the financial planning industry has been in its opposition to reform.
Maley: how much recession can Greece take?
Investors again are being haunted with the prospect of a disorderly Greek debt default, as Greek political leaders dig in their heels and resist tough new austerity measures that are being demanded.
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Tips and rumours
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Obama shoots marshmallows from a cannon
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Rundle12: Santorum takes bad speeches to a new multiverse
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The Power Index: spinners, ‘appalling’ Toby Ralph at #8
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Possum: Labor’s problem is an immovable 2PP vote
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Tweeting Rupert skips earnings grilling from analysts, hacks
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Weak prices, outlook pressure Alcoa — not the dollar
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Today’s First Dog on the Moon
TOP STORIES
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A note of civility, care of Slipper
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Rescuing Doc Evatt’s wig for Peter Slipper
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Power Shots: Murdochs pay out (and party) … in Smith’s interest … GetUp! goes Gina …
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Letter from: Beijing … reading China like reading tea leaves
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Indigenous community pleads with minister on NT nuclear dump
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Wind farms, the Waubra Foundation and a post-office box
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OurSay challenges MPs on intervention, banking and personal wealth
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What would a second Sydney airport cost?
Crikey Says
POLITICS, THE UNIVERSE, ETC
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Liberals wimp out on another byelection
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How to get off scot-free after a massacre — the playbook
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Cartoon offends … Syrian journo killed … Fairfax v Gill …
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Nine’s 2012 struggles continue
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What do we mean by ‘s-xist’ when we refer to criticisms of Gillard?
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Why we need a big green bank for low carbon transition
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Our banks are too big to fail, too few to be competitive
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The Lobby Restaurant responds
