Tax cuts for environment

Alan Mitchell

Christine Milne celebrates her role in stopping a cut in the company tax rate but complains about the decision to scrap green building subsidies.

Japan confronts a nuclear void

Greg Earl

A battle over nuclear and renewable energy will determine Japan’s future but has also broader global implications.

Bias on interest rates is to the downside

David Bassanese

The upshot of commentary from both the Federal Treasury and Reserve Bank of Australia is that the bias on official interest rates remains very much to the downside, and the Gillard government will have a very hard time meeting its budget surplus commitment.

Surplus a lifebuoy Labor can cling to

Laura Tingle

“When you are on the high wire,” one Labor figure said yesterday, “it doesn’t matter how high it is, and there is no point looking down.”

Compensation, too much too soon

Brian Toohey

The government has locked itself into spending more on compensation than the carbon tax will raise at $23 a tonne.

Nice job, there’s more to do

MICHAEL SMITH

David Thodey only has 38 “likes” on a Facebook public figure page dedicated to the Telstra chief executive.

Red-hot property market long gone

Robert Guy

Shanghai’s real estate agents have time to hone their texting and online shopping skills as a chill sweeps across a once red-hot market.

Battle front moves to deposits

Andrew Cornell

The intensifying battle for deposits involves a double-edged sword for the banks and politicians.

Narev bets on smart banking

Michael Smith

Technology is the buzzword in banking at the moment. In a world where you can exchange cash by bumping two smartphones together, chequebooks are gathering dust in drawers and it is rare to see anyone under 30 in a bank branch.

A lot of unappy Joes and Janes out there

Peter Moon

The boundary between deceived and dullard consumers of software applications isn’t fixed or certain.

Minter Ellison’s brief on beef

Law firm Minter Ellison had a starring role in an episode of the ABC’s 7:30 this week, when it was revealed it was acting for a group of farmers affected by the federal government’s live cattle export ban last year.

Policymakers can’t just sit on their hands

Glenn Mumford

The euro zone is unravelling at an alarming rate, thanks to political, economic and banking shortcomings.

Meet our magnanimous magnate

If you pay the entry price you get to say your piece time and time again. Nevertheless, Andrew Forrest’s decision to devote his keynote address at the Boao Forum in China to the subject of corporate philanthropy seemed to surprise some delegates who expected some big-picture thinking about China or perhaps smaller-picture thinking about the mining tax.

REITs pass baton to unlisted funds

Robert Harley

Australian REITs are no longer the dominant owners of the nation’s office towers, shopping centres and warehouses.

Plenty of room to penalise inertia

Deirdre Macken

If the government wants empty-nesters to move out of their huge houses, it needs to make it unattractive to stay.

Magazine sales figures make for grim reading

No matter how magazine industry executives try to spin them, the sales figures released on Friday are ugly. Very ugly.

Home appliance sales boosted

Lucy Gao

China plans to subsidise energy-efficient home appliances to boost sluggish sales of home appliances.