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

Become a contributor

Bookmark Econotimes

Sun, Mar 01, 2026 12:55 AM All times are UTC

Follow Series

©Econometrics LLC . All Rights Reserved.

John Hawkins1

Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra
I have a PhD in political science and Masters degrees in Economics and Applied Finance. I have headed the economics division at the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and been a senior economist with the Reserve Bank of Australia, Bank for International Settlements and Australian Treasury and secretary to the Senate Economics Committee.

Central Banking Series

The Reserve Bank of Australia will now have a separate board just to set interest rates. Here’s why that’s significant

Dec 02, 2024 05:10 am UTC| Central Banks Economy

On Thursday night, after a whirlwind day in Canberra, the Senate finally passed the federal governments long-delayed amendments to the Reserve Bank Act. The reforms will create two separate boards for the Reserve Bank...

Digital Currency Revolution

Will digital currencies become the norm as the world moves towards a cashless society?

Jul 03, 2024 14:19 pm UTC| Insights & Views Digital Currency

More than 90% of the worlds central banks are looking at introducing a central bank digital currency (CBDC), to complement existing banknotes. What is a central bank digital currency? A CBDC is not a new currency. It...

Inflation is slowly falling, while student debt is climbing: 6 graphs that explain today’s CPI

Apr 25, 2024 06:06 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

Australias inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and its now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. The annual rate peaked at 7.8% in the December quarter of 2022 and is now just 3.6%, in...

Interest rates are expected to drop but trying to out-think the market won’t guarantee getting a good deal

Mar 07, 2024 07:38 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

With most economists expecting interest rates to start falling later this year, prospective home buyers might be weighing up whether to buy now for fear of strong competition for stock, or waiting until repayments are...

Chalmers changes tack as economic growth sinks to a new post-pandemic low

Mar 06, 2024 22:48 pm UTC| Insights & Views Economy

Wednesdays national accounts show economic activity barely grew during the three months to December, climbing just 0.2%. Thats the lowest growth rate in four quarters, each of which was lower than the one before...

Happy birthday AUD: how our Australian dollar was floated, 40 years ago this week

Dec 04, 2023 12:29 pm UTC| Economy Insights & Views

These days, we take for granted that the value of the Australian dollar fluctuates against other currencies, changing thousands of times a day and at times jumping or falling quite a lot in the space of a week. But for...

Digital Currency Revolution

Sam Bankman-Fried convicted for massive FTX fraud, in stark reminder of risks of crypto trading

Nov 04, 2023 03:41 am UTC| Law Digital Currency

It is not just crypto tokens that have spectacular downfalls. So can crypto personalities. Sam Bankman-Fried founded FTX, one of the worlds largest exchanges for so-called cryptocurrencies, which collapsed last year...

1 2 3 4

Economy

Strait of Hormuz Oil and LNG Shipments Disrupted After U.S.-Israel Strikes on Iran

Global oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments through the Strait of Hormuz have been disrupted after the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran, prompting Tehran to declare the strategic waterway closed....

MOEX Russia Index Hits 3-Month High as Energy Stocks Lead Gains

Russian stocks closed mixed on Saturday, with the MOEX Russia Index finishing flat but reaching a new three-month high. Despite ending the session unchanged at 0.00%, investor sentiment remained supported by strong...

Germany and China Reaffirm Open Trade and Strategic Partnership in Landmark Beijing Visit

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz concluded a pivotal visit to Beijing this week, signaling Germanys continued commitment to open markets and strong economic ties with China. As the first foreign leader to visit China in...

U.S. Stocks Close Lower as Hot PPI Data, Nvidia Slide Weigh on Wall Street

U.S. stocks ended lower on Friday, capping the worst monthly performance for Wall Street since March last year, as hotter-than-expected producer inflation data and continued weakness in technology stocks pressured investor...

Gold Prices Rally in February as Geopolitical Risks and Economic Uncertainty Boost Safe-Haven Demand

Gold prices surged on Friday, positioning the precious metal for strong February gains as investors sought safe-haven assets amid rising geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty. Spot gold climbed 1.5% to $5,261.81...

Politics

Russia Signals Openness to U.S. Security Guarantees for Ukraine at Geneva Peace Talks

Russia has indicated it would accept a U.S.-backed proposal for Ukraines post-war security guarantees during recent peace talks in Geneva, according to a senior aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. The...

Trump Launches Operation Epic Fury: U.S. Strikes on Iran Mark High-Risk Shift in Middle East

President Donald Trump authorized a sweeping U.S. military operation against Iran after receiving intelligence briefings that warned of potential American casualties while highlighting a possible geopolitical shift in...

U.S.-Israel Strike on Iran Escalates Middle East Conflict, Trump Claims Khamenei Killed

The United States and Israel have launched coordinated military strikes on Iran, dramatically escalating tensions in the Middle East. U.S. President Donald Trump stated on Truth Social that Irans Supreme Leader, Ayatollah...

Netanyahu Suggests Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei May Have Been Killed in Israeli-U.S. Strikes

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that there are many signs indicating Irans Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, may have been killed in recent Israeli-U.S. airstrikes on Iran. The statement comes...

Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Killed in Israeli, U.S. Strikes: Reuters

Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has reportedly been killed in joint Israeli and U.S. strikes, according to a senior Israeli official who spoke to Reuters on Saturday. The reported death of Khamenei marks a...

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

Samsung Electronics Stock Poised for $1 Trillion Valuation Amid AI and Memory Boom

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd DRC (LON:0593xq) is rapidly regaining momentum as global demand for AI infrastructure and memory chips accelerates. According to recent analyst reports from Citi, Macquarie, and Morgan Stanley,...

OpenAI Pentagon AI Contract Adds Safeguards Amid Anthropic Dispute

OpenAI has confirmed that its newly signed contract with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) includes expanded safeguards designed to tightly regulate how artificial intelligence is deployed on classified government...

Trump Orders Federal Agencies to Halt Use of Anthropic AI Technology

U.S. President Donald Trump announced Friday that he has directed every federal agency to immediately stop using artificial intelligence technology developed by Anthropic, escalating tensions between the federal government...

Federal Judge Blocks Virginia Social Media Age Verification Law Over First Amendment Concerns

A federal judge has temporarily blocked Virginia from enforcing a new social media law designed to protect children from online addiction, ruling that it likely violates First Amendment rights. The decision marks a...

Nintendo Share Sale: MUFG and Bank of Kyoto to Sell Stakes in Strategic Unwinding

Nintendo is reportedly preparing a major unwinding of strategic cross-shareholdings that could see MUFG Bank and the Bank of Kyoto sell significant stakes in the iconic Super Mario maker. According to sources familiar with...