Picks of the Week
In this week’s reading guide, Gottliebsen analyses the property market, Bartholomeusz looks at Rio’s coal ambitions and Maxwell zooms in on housing policy.
The pointy end of housing policy failure
Miranda Maxwell
NSW’s mammoth social housing overhaul doesn’t address the root cause of unaffordability.
Happy returns for the Future Fund, for now
Victoria Thieberger
The nation’s wealth fund has been preparing for the ructions in financial markets for some time.
Sydney property won’t crumble on Shanghai’s market tumble
Robert Gottliebsen
Fears of an imminent dwelling collapse in our largest housing market are fading, according to Australia’s biggest apartment developer.
A neglected warning from China
Peter Cai
Forget sharemarket fluctuations — it’s government debt that reveals the truth about China.
2016 is the year of living smarter
Supratim Adhikari
The new year is unlikely to see the sort of big bang innovation that some of us perennially pine for.
Why a Bloomberg presidential tilt won’t happen
Phil Quin
A Bloomberg candidacy would be totally out of touch with public sentiment.
The rise of the robots could bring promise and peril
Amber Plum
The fourth industrial revolution has the potential to transform economies around the world — for better or worse.
Most read
Bunnings UK won’t be a rerun of Masters’ disaster
Stephen Bartholomeusz
There are several key differences between Wesfarmers’ foray into the British home improvement market and Woolworths’ failed bid to challenge Bunnings at home.
Most commented
The truth about our electricity supply is too hot to handle
Keith Orchison
Our electricity services have shown remarkable resilience during heatwaves. Stripping coal from the mix would be a shock to the system.
Bank fee scandal bill mounts
Provisions by the finance sector for its fees-for-no-service scandal continue to grind towards $2bn and there’s more to come.
NAB ban beats Canberra heat
The Hayne report continues to make waves with NAB banning introducer payments ahead of a parliamentary grilling.
Why Rio is cool on coal
Stephen Bartholomeusz
As the outlook for thermal coal darkens, Rio Tinto’s decision to scale down its presence in the sector makes sense.