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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

Iran-Israel War Escalates: Long-Range Missiles, Nuclear Site Strikes, and Global Energy Crisis

The ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel has reached a dangerous new threshold as Iranian forces deployed long-range ballistic missiles for the first time, signaling a potential threat well beyond the Middle East...

US-Iran War: Trump Eyes Military Exit as Markets React to Potential De-escalation

President Donald Trump signaled that the United States is nearing the end of its military campaign against Iran, stating the offensive has largely achieved its core objectives degrading Tehrans missile capabilities and...

Trump Issues 48-Hour Ultimatum to Iran Over Strait of Hormuz, Threatens Power Grid Strikes

President Donald Trump escalated U.S. military pressure on Iran Saturday, delivering a stark 48-hour ultimatum demanding Tehran fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face devastating strikes on the countrys largest power...

Qatar's Economy Under Pressure: How Regional Conflict Could Reshape Global Investment in 2026

Qatars economic outlook for 2026 has taken a concerning turn as escalating geopolitical tensions threaten to destabilize the Gulf nations core revenue streams. According to Dr. Andreas Krieg, a leading regional analyst,...

EA's $15B Debt Offering Draws $25B in Investor Demand Amid Credit Market Turmoil

Investor appetite for large-scale leveraged buyouts remains surprisingly robust, as demand for Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA) nearly $15 billion debt package has surged to approximately $25 billion. The offering, led by...

Politics

Trump Threatens ICE Airport Deployment Amid TSA Shutdown Crisis

President Donald Trump escalated tensions with congressional Democrats on Saturday, threatening to station Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at U.S. airports unless lawmakers immediately approve funding for...

Ukraine-U.S. Peace Talks Resume in Florida Amid Ongoing Russia-Ukraine War

Ukrainian and American negotiators resumed high-stakes peace discussions in Florida on Saturday, marking the latest diplomatic effort to bring an end to the devastating four-year conflict between Ukraine and Russia. The...

Ukraine-U.S. Peace Talks in Florida Target Ceasefire Framework and Defense Cooperation

High-stakes diplomatic negotiations between Ukraine and the United States are underway in Florida this weekend, as both nations work toward a structured peace agreement to end the ongoing conflict now entering its fourth...

Robert Mueller, Former FBI Director and Special Counsel, Dies at 81

Robert Mueller, the respected former FBI director who led a landmark investigation into Russian interference during the 2016 U.S. presidential election, has passed away at the age of 81. His former law firm, WilmerHale,...

Trump's Shifting War Goals Against Iran: A Timeline of Contradictions

Since launching joint military operations with Israel against Iran on February 28, President Donald Trump and his administration have struggled to maintain a consistent narrative around the conflicts objectives, duration,...

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

Palantir's Maven AI Earns Pentagon "Program of Record" Status, Reshaping Military AI Strategy

Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR) is drawing renewed investor and industry attention after the U.S. Department of Defense officially designated its Maven Smart System as a program of record, a classification that...

Amazon's "Transformer" Phone: Can It Succeed Where Fire Phone Failed?

Amazon is quietly developing a new smartphone, codenamed Transformer, marking the companys return to mobile hardware more than a decade after its Fire Phone disaster. According to sources familiar with the initiative, the...

Judge Dismisses Sam Altman Sexual Abuse Lawsuit, But Sister Can Refile

A federal judge has dismissed a sexual abuse lawsuit filed against OpenAI CEO Sam Altman by his sister Annie Altman, ruling that the claims were too old to pursue under current law. However, U.S. District Judge Zachary...

Trump White House Unveils National AI Policy Framework for Congress

The Trump administration released a sweeping artificial intelligence policy framework on Friday, urging Congress to establish unified federal legislation that would override fragmented state-level AI regulations across the...

Jeff Bezos Eyes $100 Billion Fund to Transform Manufacturing With AI

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is in early-stage discussions to raise a massive $100 billion investment fund focused on acquiring manufacturing companies and accelerating their automation through artificial intelligence. The...