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Eric Johnston is an associate editor of The Australian. He has more than 25 years experience as a finance journalist, including a former business editor of The Australian. He has been business editor of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age and financial services editor with The Australian Financial Review. His work has also appeared in The Wall Street Journal.

@ejohnno

Latest

Companies

Leighton venture in $1bn HK rail win

A LEIGHTON venture has won a $US929 million ($1.13bn) contract for the construction of a railway station and works on a tunnel in Hong Kong.

Freidrich Geiger

Opinion

A Swiss banknote is seen beneath a euro banknote on Januay 15, 2015 in Lausanne. In a shock announcement on January 15, Switzerland's central bank said it was ending a three-year bid to artificially hold down the value of the Swiss franc against the euro, in a move that immediately sent the safe haven currency soaring. AFP PHOTO / FABRICE COFFRINI

Franc upheaval forces trader rethink

ASIA’S traders are reappraising the outlook for risk after the Swiss decision to scrap the cap on the franc.

Thomas Streater

The Times

In this Dec. 4, 2014 file photo, President of European Central Bank Mario Draghi speaks during a news conference in Frankfurt, Germany, following a meeting of the ECB governing council. An adviser to the European Court of Justice says the European Central Bank's offer to purchase government bonds of troubled countries, a key backstop in Europe's struggle against its debt crisis, is compatible in principle with the basic EU treaty. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, file)

ECB, Germany clash over stimulus

A BITTER row has erupted between the European Central Bank and Germany over a stimulus program to save the eurozone from a deflationary crisis.

AIMEE DONNELLAN

Economics

Moody’s slashes Russia credit ratings

MOODY’S cut Russia’s credit rating to one step above junk level over the weekend and warned the country was under review for a further downgrade.

David Uren

Global trade stuck in the slow lane

WORLD trade, stuck in the slow lane since the global financial crisis, is likely to stay that way, a World Bank study suggests.

David Uren

Markets

(FILES) A file photo taken on October 14, 2014 shows a sign at the Swiss National Bank headquarters in the Swiss capital Bern. Swiss stocks plunged 6.66 percent on January 15, 2015 just after the central bank ended its bid to artificially hold down the value of the Swiss franc against the euro. AFP PHOTO / FABRICE COFFRINI

Last-ditch FXCM bailout aids investors

HUNDREDS of Australian investors narrowly avoided even steeper losses afterFXCM received an eleventh-hour bailout.

Eric Johnston

Business

Concerns over Fairfax-Macquarie deal

THE Australian Competition & Consumer Commission has raised concerns over the proposed $200 million merger.

Eric Johnston

Markets

Thomas Jordan, Chairman of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank (SNB), gives a press conference in Zurich on Januay 15, 2015, after Switzerland's central bank scrapped a policy to artificially hold down the value of the Swiss franc against the euro, sending the franc soaring. Following the announcement, the Swiss franc strengthened 29 percent to 0.8517 against the European single currency. AFP PHOTO / ALESSANDRO DELLA BELLA

Markets roiled on Swiss move

SWITZERLAND’S central bank triggered turmoil in global markets yesterday when it abandoned its cap on the Swiss franc’s exchange rate.

David Rogers

Financial Services

Asian investors flee junk bonds

FUNDRAISING in Asia’s junk bond market has ground to a halt as investors flee and turn to the safety of government debt.

FIONA LAW

Companies

Rivers drags down earnings

CLOTHING retailer Specialty Fashion has flagged a slide of up to 32 per cent in its first-half earnings due to losses linked to its troubled Rivers brand.

Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/author/eric-johnston/page/164