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

Become a contributor

Bookmark Econotimes

Fri, Jan 09, 2026 06:24 AM All times are UTC

Follow Series

©Econometrics LLC . All Rights Reserved.

David Peetz

Professor of Employment Relations, Griffith University

David Peetz is Professor of Employment Relations at Griffith University, where he has worked for over a decade. He previously worked at the Australian National University and in the then Commonwealth Department of Industrial Relations, spending over five years in its Senior Executive Service. He has been a consultant for the International Labour Organisation in Thailand, Malaysia and China, and undertaken work for unions, employers and governments of both political persuasions. He is a fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia.

Yes, government influences wages – but not just in the way you might think

Apr 12, 2025 09:55 am UTC| Insights & Views Life

Can the government actually make a difference to the wages Australians earn? A lot of attention always falls on the governments submission to the Fair Work Commissions annual wage review, which this year called for a real...

Chance for genuine industrial relations reform thrown under the omnibus

Dec 17, 2020 11:50 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

When Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the formation of five working groups of employers, unions and government officials in June 2020, he signalled an unexpected twist to industrial relations reform. Some...

What if we measured the thing that matters most: "carbon productivity"

Oct 26, 2019 08:14 am UTC| Insights & Views Technology Economy

Ask any economist a question, and you will usually get the answer: productivity. The winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Economics, Paul Krugman, set the standard in 1994: Productivity isnt everything, but, in the...

There's an obvious reason wages aren't growing, but you won't hear it from Treasury or the Reserve Bank

Sep 10, 2019 20:39 pm UTC| Insights & Views Central Banks

Wages growth for Australian workers is among the worst in the industrialised world. For more than a third of workers on individual contracts, wages arent growing at all. This is odd, given Australia is in a record 28th...

What the stoush between the federal government and the CFMMEU is really about (spoiler: there's an election coming)

Sep 24, 2018 06:30 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics

Since Malcolm Turnbull was ousted as prime minister, we have seen a renewed focus by the federal government on targeting union officials. The latest, and also most enduring, target is the Construction, Forestry,...

Finance drives everything — including your insecurity at work

Aug 14, 2018 04:23 am UTC| Insights & Views Life

Theres a common link between the many things that have promoted insecurity at work: the growth of franchising; labour hire; contracting out; spin-off firms; outsourcing; global supply chains; the gig economy; and so on....

The government is belatedly backing the penalty rates cut it always wanted

Mar 27, 2017 09:11 am UTC| Insights & Views Law

Its impossible for the government to substantially ease the hardship for workers from the Fair Work Commissions decision to cut some penalty rates as the governments submission into its implementation illustrates. Nor can...

Economy

Trump Signals Possible Meeting With Venezuelan Opposition Leader as U.S. Focuses on Oil and Post-Maduro Transition

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado is expected to travel to Washington next week, raising questions about the future of U.S.-Venezuela relations following...

Trump Orders $200 Billion Mortgage Bond Purchases to Lower Housing Costs

U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he has instructed his representatives to purchase $200 billion in mortgage-backed securities (MBS) through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, a move he says is aimed at lowering mortgage...

South Korea to Launch 24-Hour Currency Trading to Boost Market Upgrade Bid

South Korea has announced plans to open its currency market to 24-hour trading starting in July, marking a major step toward liberalising the won and strengthening its bid for developed-market status. The move, unveiled by...

China CPI Inflation Hits Near Three-Year High as Consumer Spending Shows Signs of Recovery

Chinas consumer price index (CPI) inflation rose to a near three-year high in December, signaling a gradual recovery in private consumption as Beijing continues to roll out stimulus measures to support the economy. Data...

Asian Stock Markets Edge Higher as Investors Await U.S. Jobs Data, Nikkei Outperforms

Asian stock markets traded mostly higher on Friday, taking cues from a mixed close on Wall Street overnight as investors remained cautious ahead of the closely watched U.S. nonfarm payrolls report. The upcoming U.S. jobs...

Politics

Honduran Opposition Lawmaker Injured Amid Post-Election Tensions

Honduras political crisis deepened on Thursday after opposition lawmaker Gladis Aurora Lopez was injured when an explosive device was thrown near her inside the National Congress, according to a statement from her...

U.S. Weighs Direct Payments to Greenlanders Amid Renewed Push to Acquire Strategic Arctic Island

U.S. officials have reportedly discussed the possibility of offering lump-sum payments to residents of Greenland as part of a controversial effort to encourage the island to break away from Denmark and potentially align...

Trump Signals Willingness to Let New START Treaty Expire, Raising Global Nuclear Arms Concerns

U.S. President Donald Trump has indicated he is prepared to allow the last remaining U.S.-Russia strategic arms control treaty, known as New START, to expire without accepting a Russian proposal to voluntarily extend...

Canada and Brazil Call for Peaceful Venezuelan Transition After U.S. Military Raid

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva held talks on Thursday to discuss the escalating situation in Venezuela, reaffirming their shared support for a peaceful,...

Trump Says Taiwan Decision Is “Up to Xi,” Warns Against Changing Status Quo

U.S. President Donald Trump said it is ultimately Chinese President Xi Jinpings decision how China handles Taiwan, but warned he would be very unhappy if Beijing moved to change the current status quo. The remarks were...

Science

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...

Blue Origin’s New Glenn Achieves Breakthrough Success With First NASA Mission

Blue Origins massive New Glenn rocket marked a major milestone as it completed its first mission for paying customers, sending two NASA satellites toward Mars and successfully landing its reusable booster at sea. The...

Technology

xAI Cash Burn Highlights the High Cost of Competing in Generative AI

Elon Musks artificial intelligence startup, xAI, is rapidly emerging as a major player in the generative AI race, but new reports highlight the enormous financial costs behind that ambition. According to Bloomberg News,...

Nvidia Appoints Former Google Executive Alison Wagonfeld as First Chief Marketing Officer

Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) has taken a significant step in strengthening its leadership team by appointing a senior Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL) executive as its first-ever Chief Marketing Officer, signaling a strategic move as the...

EU Orders Elon Musk’s X to Preserve Grok AI Data Amid Probe Into Illegal Content

The European Commission has ordered Elon Musks social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, to retain all internal documents and data related to its built-in artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok, until the end of...

SK Hynix Shares Hit Record High as AI Memory Demand Fuels Semiconductor Rally

Shares of South Korean memory chip giant SK Hynix surged to a fresh all-time high on Thursday, reflecting growing investor optimism around booming demand for artificial intelligence (AI) memory products and a strengthening...

OpenAI Sets $50 Billion Stock Grant Pool, Boosting Employee Equity and Valuation Outlook

OpenAI has reportedly established a massive $50 billion employee stock grant pool, a move that underscores the companys aggressive strategy to attract, retain, and reward top talent as it continues to scale its artificial...