NewsBite

Analysis

Today

Chinese Premier Li Qiang bows before he delivers his speech during the opening session of the annual parliament.

The Trump and Xi shows could not be more stark

For many observers, the contrast between China’s orderly political gathering at the Great Hall of the People this week and the White House chaos was stark.

Peter Dutton, right, and Angus Taylor won’t be going to the election with a tax cuts promise.

The tension at the heart of Coalition economic policy exposed

Shadow treasurer Angus Taylor’s U-turn on cracking down on insurers revealed the collision within the opposition between economic rationalism and Peter Dutton’s populism.

Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum had been preparing a major rally on Sunday to announce retaliatory tariffs.

Mexico’s cool-headed president charms Trump on tariffs

Claudia Sheinbaum is enjoying soaring approval ratings while deftly dealing with the bellicose, volatile Donald Trump.

Yesterday

If the cyclone is a bad as feared, and the election is delayed, due to Easter and Anzac Day, the next possible election date is May 3.

Election date is now caught in the eye of the storm

Cyclone Alfred threatens to inject more uncertainty into a contest, the outcome of which is already impossible to predict.

Google’s AI Mode could change the way people navigate the internet.

Google’s new AI search could change the way you use the internet

The tech giant has unveiled a new search mode that could stop users clicking through to websites as it works to counter the growing popularity of its AI rivals.

Advertisement
xx

Trump just set off a chain reaction across global markets

There’s a good argument, of course, that what Donald Trump is doing is long overdue. But for investors, the shift in the fiscal impulse really matters.

This Month

US President Donald Trump departs following a joint session of Congress.

Markets will act as the ultimate disciplinarian, says Vanguard chief

Salim Ramji is among a trio of global finance leaders urging investors to keep calm amid the chaos unleashed by the Trump presidency.

The Google headquarters in Mountain View, California. The tech giant made a point of sharing its desirable work environments.

From Death Star to Raccoon Feet: Have meeting room names gone too far?

Creative titles are now an inescapable – but not always funny – part of work life. The practice that grew from reimagining the office in the 1990s may need a rethink.

The Canadian economy is set to face the most severe shock since the COVID-19 pandemic and will probably sink into a recession if a tariff war persists.

How do tariffs work? Who pays, who collects and more

Donald Trump has rattled economies and markets with punitive levies on goods from the US’ largest trade partners. But why is he doing it?

Fighting on. A boy sits atop a displayed damaged Russian tank in central Kyiv, Ukraine.

‘The worst part: Ukraine isn’t even losing the war’

Donald Trump’s broadside at Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky caught many people off-guard, but none so much as those on the front line.

Elon Musk is leading a cost-cutting drive.

Trump trades his sharemarket obsession for bonds

The leader of the free world once took delight in the level of the S&P 500. Now his focus has shifted to the bond market as a true marker of confidence.

Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky, Britain’s Keir Starmer and France’s Emmanuel Macron in London on Sunday.

Trump’s Ukraine spat puts Australia in a pickle

Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton are in the rare position of being publicly at odds with the leader of the nation’s strongest ally.

Historic downtown Santa Fe. Locals have been shaken by the mysterious death of actor Gene Hackman and his wife.

Hackman’s mysterious death bewilders his hometown

Among those who knew Gene Hackman – and those who had never once seen him around the artistic hub of Santa Fe – theories about how he died are piling up.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Trump says Zelensky has a bad hand. But he still holds an ace

The US president can put the Ukrainians in peril, but cannot force them into peace. This gives Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron a chance to deal the Europeans back in.

Seek’s problems began when Alex Waislitz of Thorney Investments developed heart eyes for Xref.

A strange twist turned Seek’s pursuit of Xref into a cul-de-sac

The boards supported it, so did most of the investors. How was it that the jobs listing giant failed in its bid to buy up a tech minnow?

Advertisement
A Taiwanese coast guard vessel chases after a Chinese ship off the coast of Hualien, eastern Taiwan in December.

Is Taiwan next? China keenly watches Trump dump Ukraine

The US president’s dramatic meltdown with Volodymyr Zelensky raises urgent questions about whether America would support the island if Beijing invaded.

Listed UK veterinary company CVS Group has been buying up vet practices in Australia. 

Why a British vet giant is circling Australia

London-listed pets-and-vets company CVS Group has already spent more than $200 million on buying vet practices Down Under. Here’s why the UK player is so keen.

Zelensky and Trump got into a heated argument at the White House.

‘Gambling with WWIII’: How Trump and Zelensky’s fight unfolded

As the US president and his deputy ranted and bellowed in the Oval Office, it became clear they had staged a diplomatic ambush against Ukraine’s leader.

Trump’s Oval Office meltdown will fill Putin with glee

It is not hard to imagine that the US president and his deputy were spoiling for a fight with the Ukrainian leader.

February

Board independence is the first line of defence between bad decisions and shareholder losses.

Founder empathy is testing the limits of good boards

Independence, like value, is largely in the eye of the beholder. And investors are doing their homework on captured directors.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/Analysis-1qu