This Month
China weaponises rare earths in tariff war
China’s dominance in processing rare earths metals and high-performance magnets means Beijing’s curbs on the crucial exports are a major threat to US manufacturing.
Tax cuts, housing help: parties spend big to grab attention and votes
A federal budget far less healthy than previous ones hasn’t reined in Labor’s willingness to spend and spend more, and the Coalition is ready to counter in kind.
Labor’s efforts to link Dutton to Trump are proving effective
Like the rest of the world, WA politics has been upended by Donald Trump’s reckless tariff war, which has a sharp edge in a resources-dependent economy closely intertwined with China’s growth.
‘Trump-proof’ Australia, business leaders tell Chalmers
Business groups have rounded on Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton in the election campaign to shore up Australia’s economy against Donald Trump’s trade war.
Trump’s game of bluff on tariffs and tax
China is threatening to “fight to the end” if America imposes yet more tariffs. The respite on global sharemarkets is likely to be temporary if trade tensions continue to escalate.
Tariff maelstrom bears down on Dutton’s election hopes
Labor is as alarmed as any government as Donald Trump’s sharemarket carnage unfolds. But it also sees a political advantage.
Trump’s colossal misjudgment will cost the US – and the world – dearly
Donald Trump is pretending the sharemarket carnage is all part of his grand plan to use tariffs to reboot the US economy. What happens when Main Street revolts?
How Trump has soured my American dream
There was a chilling edge to the president’s declaration this would be “an entirely different country within a short period of time”.
Australia counts cost of gas manoeuvres
Peter Dutton is the latest political leader with a new plan to lower energy prices. Will his gas policy work any better than all the others?
RBA won’t join desperate guessing game
Central banks are as much on edge as markets, as the world waits to learn the impact and extent of Donald Trump’s tariffs. Caution reigns at the Reserve Bank.
March
Why Albanese is confident of winning – partly thanks to Trump
The government quietly hopes the Trump effect will boost its chances, but the focus of the election campaign will be resolutely on domestic cost-of-living pressures.
Chalmers’ tax wedge gives Dutton licence to thrill
The Albanese government is trying to fashion a tactical victory from budget strategic failure, but Peter Dutton has a chance to turn the tables.
The smallness of thinking leaves the country marooned in a sea of debt
Economic reform? Managing global risk? No, this budget is all about Labor struggling back into office with the promise of better to come.
Friendly fire hits Australian universities
Local universities are caught up in Donald Trump’s culture wars. But the threat is partly home-grown and self-inflicted.
Budget inaction is not what’s needed at a time of Trump turbulence
Jim Chalmers’ budget will set the scene for an election campaign dominated by global noise but domestic policy silence.
Trump’s MAGA dreams conjure a world nightmare
Donald Trump values his relationship with dictators far more than that with democratic allies, making the global economic and national security interests a combustible mix.
APRA holds firm against deregulation push
The banking regulator is resisting the US push for greater deregulation to boost growth. But can that last given the international upheaval under way?
Reality bites critical-minerals hopes
Australia’s ambition of processing critical minerals is still mostly a dream, and one that won’t persuade Donald Trump to withhold tariffs on our exports.
Consumers trapped by rising cost of energy failure and power bills
Power prices will be a key election topic as Labor sells the benefits of renewables and the Coalition insists nuclear offers the only affordable answer. But under both plans, it’s customers who will pay.
Trump’s tariffs hit markets and politics
It is now clear to world leaders and Wall Street that the president’s version of transactional politics includes the blunt reality of universal levies rather than just the threat of them as a negotiating tactic.