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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...

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Economy

China Factory Activity Slips in January as Weak Demand Weighs on Growth Outlook

Chinas factory activity contracted at the start of the year, highlighting persistent pressure from weak domestic demand despite continued policy support from Beijing. An official survey released on Saturday showed that...

U.S. Government Faces Brief Shutdown as Congress Delays Funding Deal

The United States government was on track for a partial shutdown early Saturday after Congress failed to finalize a funding agreement before the midnight deadline. Although the U.S. Senate ultimately passed a bipartisan...

Gold and Silver Prices Plunge as Trump Taps Kevin Warsh for Fed Chair

Gold and silver prices suffered a dramatic selloff on Friday after President Donald Trump nominated former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh to replace Jerome Powell as Fed chair, easing fears about the central banks...

Wall Street Slides as Warsh Fed Nomination, Hot Inflation, and Precious Metals Rout Shake Markets

Wall Street ended Friday on a weaker note as risk-off sentiment dominated trading, driven by hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation data, a dramatic sell-off in precious metals, and major political developments surrounding...

Asian Currencies Hold Firm as Dollar Rebounds on Fed Chair Nomination Hopes

Asian currencies traded in a narrow range on Friday as the U.S. dollar rebounded modestly from a near four-year low, following comments from U.S. President Donald Trump that he would announce his nominee for the next...

Politics

Venezuela Proposes Amnesty Law and Plans to Transform Helicoide Prison

Venezuelas interim president Delcy Rodríguez announced on Friday a proposed amnesty law aimed at releasing hundreds of prisoners and easing political tensions in the country. Speaking at an event held at the Supreme...

U.S. Approves Over $6.5 Billion in Military Sales to Israel Across Three Defense Contracts

The United States has approved more than $6.5 billion in potential military sales to Israel through three separate defense contracts, according to announcements released by the Pentagon on Friday. The approvals, granted by...

Syria-Kurdish Ceasefire Marks Historic Step Toward National Unity

The Syrian government and Kurdish-led forces have reached a landmark ceasefire agreement that sets out a phased integration of Kurdish fighters into state institutions, easing fears of a major military confrontation in...

Putin Envoy Kirill Dmitriev to Visit Miami for Talks With Trump Administration Officials

Russian President Vladimir Putins special envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, is expected to travel to Miami on Saturday for meetings with members of U.S. President Donald Trumps administration, according to two sources familiar with...

Kevin Warsh’s Fed Nomination Raises Questions Over Corporate Ties and U.S.–South Korea Trade Tensions

Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trumps nominee to lead the Federal Reserve, is drawing renewed scrutiny over his corporate affiliations as trade tensions between the United States and South Korea escalate. Warsh, a former...

Science

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...

Senate Sets December 8 Vote on Trump’s NASA Nominee Jared Isaacman

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee announced it will vote on December 8 on President Donald Trumps renewed nomination of private astronaut and tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to lead NASA. Isaacman, known for his...

NASA Cuts Boeing Starliner Missions as SpaceX Pulls Ahead

NASA has significantly scaled back Boeings Starliner program after years of technical issues and delays, announcing that the next Starliner mission to the International Space Station (ISS) will fly without astronauts. The...

Technology

Elon Musk’s Empire: SpaceX, Tesla, and xAI Merger Talks Spark Investor Debate

Speculation around a potential Musk Inc has resurfaced as Elon Musks companiesSpaceX, Tesla, and xAIexplore closer ties amid rapid advances in artificial intelligence and automation. With SpaceX expected to go public later...

SpaceX Reports $8 Billion Profit as IPO Plans and Starlink Growth Fuel Valuation Buzz

SpaceX delivered a strong financial performance last year, generating an estimated $8 billion in profit on revenues between $15 billion and $16 billion, according to people familiar with the companys results. The figures,...

SpaceX Updates Starlink Privacy Policy to Allow AI Training as xAI Merger Talks and IPO Loom

SpaceX has revised its Starlink privacy policy to allow customer data to be used for artificial intelligence training, a move that could significantly support Elon Musks broader AI ambitions. The policy change comes as...

Nvidia’s $100 Billion OpenAI Investment Faces Internal Doubts, Report Says

Nvidias ambitious plan to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI, aimed at supporting the training and operation of next-generation artificial intelligence models, has reportedly hit a roadblock. According to a report...

Federal Judge Signals Possible Dismissal of xAI Lawsuit Against OpenAI

A U.S. federal judge has signaled she may dismiss a high-profile lawsuit filed by Elon Musks artificial intelligence startup, xAI, against rival OpenAI, dealing a potential setback to Musk in an escalating legal battle...