Is it a wise investment to use a $14,000 or $21,000 gift from the government to buy a property that many foirst home buyers probably can’t afford, wonders Adam Schwab.
Economy business
ANZ’s magical mystical logo
ANZ’s new logo might ostensibly be a symbol of a new direction into Asia, but inadvertently it also represents the esoteric and New Age wanderings of its former CEO, writes Michael Feller.
CleanTech: Green Invest cuts costs from the top
At Green Invest this week, it wasn’t those “last hired” staff at the bottom of the food chain who were let go, but instead highly paid, long serving board members, writes Garth Lamb.
The GFC’s most dramatic moment
In 45 minutes this morning US shares jumped, market interest rates plunged, the US dollar fell out of bed, the Aussie currency jumped sharply, gold soared, copper bounced and oil picked up, writes Glenn Dyer.
Slowdown continues to grip Oz economy
More signs of the slowdown continuing to grip the Australian economy, with another 4% fall in the value of imports in February, writes Glenn Dyer.
Kohler: rich payouts and poor politics
Australians are being very poorly served by their politicians at present. They are consumed by combat and we are being spiflicated by spin, writes Alan Kohler.
Curbing golden handshakes: nothing succeeds like failure
The Federal Treasurer yesterday announced long-awaited reforms aimed at curbing excessive “golden handshakes”, writes Adam Schwab.
GFC: real world economics
For all their apparent complexity, the world’s most powerful economic models had no concept of the very human emotions of fear and mistrust, writes Sean Stephens.
Strange days when Rodney Adler starts making sense
It is a bizarre state of affairs where the person making most sense about executive excess is a convicted corporate criminal who was involved in the collapse of one of Australia’s largest insurers, writes Adam Schwab.
Grants distort lending in the housing market
It appears that the Federal Government has not headed the lessons of the US sub-prime debacle, which saw government intervention distort lending practices, writes Adam Schwab.
NAB: Oz recession happening as we speak
The current quarter will see Australia slide into an official recession, according to the latest business survey from the National Australia Bank, writes Glenn Dyer.
Australia’s long-running property bubble has burst
Australia is on the threshold of a domestic credit crunch caused by falling collateral values, writes Gavin Putland.
Analysts at sixes and sevens with Telstra
Telstra should be an analyst’s dream but in reality it is a nightmare, writes Peter Cox.
Golden parachute for former PacBrands CEO; 1850 sackees not so lucky
The amount paid to former Pacific Brands CEO Paul Moore in his last 18 months at the company would have kept 130 low-paid Pac Brands workers employed for a whole year, writes Adam Schwab.
Kohler: Pacific a symbol of credit crunch, not recession
Watching interviews with crestfallen Pacific Brands workers on the TV news last night was heartbreaking, writes Alan Kohler.
No crisis of capitalism here, only a market correction
Instead of letting private and public balance sheets readjust after the sixteen year boom, governments have collectively panicked, writes Adam Schwab
First they trashed the Grange brand, now a great man’s name
Foster’s realised that selling wine was not the same as selling beer. So what to do now, but resurrect the old bloke who invented Grange, writes Richard Farmer.
SackWatch: new Crikey list
Australia clearly isn’t immune from the global depression, so Crikey thought it was about time to assess the jobs carnage unfolding on the home front.
First home owners grant inflates housing prices
Despite the best political intentions, Kevin Rudd’s much vaunted increase in the first home owner’s grant has had a negative effect on first home owners, writes Adam Schwab.
Media players muddy the waters in ASIC rumourtrage crackdown
ASIC’s rumourtage crackdown is all about getting factual market information through to the public, writes Stephen Mayne.
Fairfax classifieds in free fall. What next?
Goldman Sachs JB Were claiming dramatic falls in classified advertising in Fairfax’s traditional metro papers for December, writes Peter Cox.
The murky “truth” behind Satyam
The implications of the Satyam accounting fraud scandal have not been fully appreciated, writes Michael Feller.
Leighton’s King losing his crown
Leighton’s performance proves that a high profile, dominant and extraordinarily well-paid CEO is more likely to lead to extraordinarily poor shareholder returns, writes Adam Schwab.
Refuted economic doctrines: privatisation
John Quiggin sounds the death knell for the economic orthodoxy that has dominant debate for the past few decades.
