Breaking News, Business, Financial and Economic News, World News from EconoTimes

Become a contributor

Bookmark Econotimes

Mon, Mar 16, 2026 12:52 PM All times are UTC

Follow Series

©Econometrics LLC . All Rights Reserved.

Simon Griffith

Professor of Avian Behavioural Ecology, Macquarie University
I am an evolutionary biologist and have spent most of my career to date investigating how the reproductive behaviour of birds drives the process of speciation and the amazing diversity of birds that we hear and see around us.

Reproductive behaviour can be broken down into many components, such as: the expression of ornaments like colourful plumage; the process of choosing a social partner to breed with; how many offspring to have; how many sons or daughters to have; how much investment you make in current or future offspring. All of these decisions affect the quality of the resulting offspring. It is the variation in quality amongst individuals in a population that the process of natural selection acts upon. The best quality individuals are likely to be more attractive, live longer and produce more offspring than individuals or lower quality. Over generations, the population will change as a result of this non-random selection and eventually a new species is born.

Birds have provided a disproportionate level of insight into evolutionary biology over the past hundred years because they are well surveyed, well understood and highly amenable to morphological and behavioural research. Developing a better knowledge of avian reproductive behaviour increases our capacity to conserve biodiversity and understand ourselves, because most birds share the same socially monogamous mating system as humans – a system that is actually very rare among other mammals.

Economy

Bank of Japan Holds Rates Steady Amid Iran War Inflation Fears

The Bank of Japan is widely expected to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 0.75% this Thursday, even as rising inflationary pressures force policymakers to maintain a cautious rate-hike stance. The decision...

RBA Set to Hike Rates Again Amid Inflation Surge and Global Uncertainty

The Reserve Bank of Australia is widely expected to raise its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points at the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting on March 17, bringing the cash rate to 4.10% a one-year high. The...

Taiwan Central Bank Expected to Hold Interest Rates Steady Through 2027

Taiwans central bank is widely anticipated to keep its benchmark discount rate unchanged at 2% during its quarterly meeting this Thursday, with economists projecting this stance will remain in place well into 2027. A...

Asian Currencies Hold Steady Amid Iran Conflict and Fed Uncertainty

Asian currencies traded within a narrow range on Monday as ongoing tensions from the U.S.-Israel military campaign against Iran and anticipation ahead of a key U.S. Federal Reserve policy meeting kept the dollar hovering...

China's Economy Surges in Early 2026: Industrial Output and Retail Sales Beat Forecasts

China kicked off 2026 on a stronger-than-expected economic footing, with both industrial production and retail sales surpassing analyst forecasts during the JanuaryFebruary period, reinforcing confidence in the worlds...

Politics

Israel-Lebanon Ceasefire Talks on the Horizon as Conflict Intensifies

Israel and Lebanon are preparing for diplomatic negotiations aimed at establishing a lasting ceasefire, with Hezbollah disarmament at the center of discussions. Two Israeli officials confirmed the expected talks, though a...

Trump Signals Possible U.S.-Cuba Deal Amid Ongoing Diplomatic Talks

President Donald Trump hinted on Sunday that the United States may be close to reaching an agreement with Cuba, suggesting that significant developments in their long-troubled bilateral relationship could unfold in the...

Israel-Lebanon Ceasefire Talks Expected Amid Ongoing Hezbollah Conflict

Israeli and Lebanese officials are reportedly moving toward direct negotiations aimed at establishing a lasting ceasefire, with the central objective of disarming Hezbollah. Two Israeli officials confirmed the anticipated...

U.S. Oil Executives Warn Trump Administration of Worsening Energy Crisis Amid Strait of Hormuz Disruptions

Top American oil industry leaders have sounded the alarm to the Trump administration, cautioning that the ongoing energy crisis stemming from the war with Iran could intensify as disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz...

Trump Seeks Global Coalition to Reopen Strait of Hormuz Amid U.S.-Israel-Iran Conflict

President Donald Trump announced Sunday that his administration is actively negotiating with seven unnamed countries to form a multinational coalition aimed at securing the Strait of Hormuz, the critical waterway that Iran...

Science

SpaceX Pivots Toward Moon City as Musk Reframes Long-Term Space Vision

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has revealed a significant shift in the companys near-term space exploration strategy, announcing that SpaceX is now prioritizing the development of a self-growing city on the Moon rather than focusing...

SpaceX Prioritizes Moon Mission Before Mars as Starship Development Accelerates

Elon Musks SpaceX is shifting its near-term space exploration strategy, choosing to prioritize a return to the Moon before pursuing missions to Mars, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report citing sources familiar...

NASA and SpaceX Target Crew-11 Undocking From ISS Amid Medical Concern

NASA has confirmed that the agency, in coordination with SpaceX, is targeting no earlier than 5 p.m. Eastern Time (2200 GMT) on Wednesday, January 14, for the undocking of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission from the International...

Neuralink Plans High-Volume Brain Implant Production and Fully Automated Surgery by 2026

Elon Musks brain-computer interface company Neuralink is preparing for a major expansion, announcing plans to begin high-volume production of its brain implant devices and transition to a fully automated surgical procedure...

Jared Isaacman Confirmed as NASA Administrator, Becomes 15th Leader of U.S. Space Agency

The U.S. Senate has officially confirmed billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman as the new NASA administrator, making him the 15th leader in the agencys history. The confirmation, which took place on Wednesday, marks...

Technology

Zhipu AI Launches GLM-5-Turbo Model to Power Next-Gen AI Agent Workflows

Shares of Hong Kong-listed Chinese artificial intelligence company Zhipu AI (HK:2513), formally known as Knowledge Atlas, surged as much as 16% to HK$615 following the launch of its newest large language model tailored for...

Hua Hong Group's 7nm Breakthrough Signals China's Growing Chip Independence

Chinas Hua Hong Group is closing the gap in advanced semiconductor manufacturing, with its contract chipmaking subsidiary Huali Microelectronics preparing a 7-nanometer chipmaking process at its Shanghai facility. If...

Micron Technology Plans Second Taiwan Chip Facility to Meet AI Memory Demand

U.S. memory chipmaker Micron Technology has announced plans to construct a second manufacturing facility in Taiwan, reinforcing its commitment to expanding production capacity amid rapidly growing artificial intelligence...

Nvidia GTC 2025: Jensen Huang Set to Unveil Next-Gen AI Chips and Strategy

Jensen Huang is preparing to take center stage at Nvidias annual GTC developer conference, where the charismatic CEO is expected to unveil a sweeping roadmap designed to keep Nvidia ahead of a fast-moving pack of AI chip...

Global PC Market Faces 10% Decline in 2026 as AI PCs Surge

The global personal computer market is heading into a rough patch in 2026, with Goldman Sachs forecasting a 10% year-on-year drop in shipments a steeper contraction than earlier projections suggested. Total global PC...