All hail the bookshop: survivor against the odds
Aug 11, 2016 01:24 am UTC| Insights & Views Business
This National Bookshop Day, Australias one-time Minister for Small Business, Nick Sherry, will be remembered for his words, not his deeds. A reader, bookbuyer and enthusiastic patron of terrestrial bookshops, in June 2011...
A fresh focus on new approaches to recycling tyres is needed
Aug 10, 2016 17:06 pm UTC| Insights & Views Business
The number of vehicles is growing worldwide and as a result the number of tyres is increasing too. Hundreds of millions of tyres are discarded each year. Their disposal represents a major global problem. There are...
Did the Census really suffer a denial-of-service 'attack'?
Aug 10, 2016 16:11 pm UTC| Insights & Views Technology
Last night, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) closed the 2016 Census website. No explanation was given at the time, except for a message on the page saying the system is very busy at the moment. This morning,...
Reserve Bank governor calls for hard talk about budget repair
Aug 10, 2016 16:07 pm UTC| Insights & Views Central Banks
Outgoing Reserve Bank Governor Glenn Stevens has delivered a strong warning about the need to face up to the issue of repairing the budget. Stevens, who leaves his post next month, said that we are kidding ourselves if...
Obama has put national security ahead of promoting democracy abroad
Aug 10, 2016 16:03 pm UTC| Insights & Views
Barack Obama, the US president, waxed lyrical about some of his administrations remarkable foreign policy achievements in his recent speech to the Democratic National Convention. Through diplomacy, we shut down Irans...
Banking 'shake-up' relies too much on customers shopping around
Aug 10, 2016 15:57 pm UTC| Insights & Views Business
A report that was billed to transform the UKs retail banking industry has been criticised for not doing enough to protect customers. The Competition and Markets Authority report was two years in the making and is geared...
Spain: is a third election in a year on the horizon?
Aug 10, 2016 15:53 pm UTC| Insights & Views
Despite holding two elections in the past year, Spain still doesnt have a functioning government. The Peoples Party increased its representation yet fell short of the required majority. As intense negotiations and...