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Lee Smales

Senior Lecturer, Finance, Curtin University

Lee Smales is a senior lecturer in Curtin University's School of Economics & Finance. Before joining Curtin, Lee was an associate lecturer with University of New South Wales where he also completed his PhD in finance.

Prior to embarking on his academic career, Lee spent 8 years working for a major U.S. investment bank trading foreign-exchange and interest rate derivatives. Lee’s research interests are closely aligned with this prior career and focus on financial markets, and in particular the market response to news-events and the impact of prevailing sentiment and microstructure on this reaction.

Lee has published in leading journals including the Journal of Banking & Finance, Journal of Financial Research, Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Accounting & Finance, The Economic Record, and the Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money.

Lee has won awards for research (CBS New Researcher of the Year, 2013) and teaching (CBS New Teacher of the Year, 2014) and is also a CFA Charterholder.

Global Reflation Series

Explainer: what is reflation and is Australia experiencing it?

Apr 26, 2017 07:56 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

Since the 2007 global financial crisis, policy makers have been fighting deflationary (falling prices) and disinflationary (prices rising at slow rate) pressures. But the global economy finally appears to be entering...

Three reasons businesses are paying higher dividends rather than investing

Mar 03, 2017 06:36 am UTC| Insights & Views Business Investing

Typically, low interest rates, together with record profits, would create an environment in which businesses would be happy to invest in new projects providing a boost to economic growth and jobs. Unfortunately,...

Why markets care what businesses are buying

Jan 03, 2017 00:08 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

How we track our economy influences everything from government spending and taxes to home lending and business investment. In our series The Way We Measure, were taking a close look at economic indicators to better...

Worrisome Signs Series

Perfect storm of events could trigger the next financial crisis

Jul 10, 2016 20:58 pm UTC| Insights & Views

Back in 2007, the first signs of stress in the US housing market were starting to appear. Managed investment funds at Bear Sterns and BNP Paribas were forced to close, or suspend payments, as they were unable to liquidate...

An uncertain election result may lead to stagnant financial markets

Jul 03, 2016 11:49 am UTC| Insights & Views

For the second time in the space of ten days, it appears that betting markets and pollsters have got it wrong. First, despite odds showing a 90% likelihood of Remain winning, the UK voted to Leave the European Union in its...

Economy

Chinese Yuan Edges Higher but Faces Biggest Weekly Drop in Over a Year Amid Strong Dollar

Chinas yuan edged slightly higher against the U.S. dollar on Friday but remained on track to end a historic winning streak, as global investors reacted to a stronger dollar driven by escalating tensions in the Middle East....

Asian Stocks Slide as Middle East Conflict and Rising Oil Prices Shake Global Markets

Asian stock markets were mixed on Friday but remained on track for steep weekly losses as escalating tensions in the Middle East and surging oil prices weighed heavily on investor sentiment across the region. Ongoing...

ADB: Short Strait of Hormuz Closure Would Have Limited Impact on Developing Asia Growth

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) says the economic impact on developing Asia would likely remain limited if tensions in the Middle East and any potential closure of the Strait of Hormuz last only about a month. According...

Gold Prices Steady in Asian Trade as Strong Dollar and Rising Yields Weigh on Bullion

Gold prices remained largely steady during Asian trading on Friday after posting losses in the previous session, as a stronger U.S. dollar and rising Treasury yields continued to pressure the precious metal. Despite...

Dollar Gains as Middle East Conflict Boosts Safe-Haven Demand, Oil Prices and Inflation Concerns Rise

The U.S. dollar remained broadly steady in early Asian trading on Friday and is heading toward its strongest weekly performance in more than a year as escalating tensions in the Middle East push investors toward safe-haven...

Politics

Shell Signs Oil and Gas Agreements With Venezuela to Advance Dragon Gas Project

Energy giant Shell has signed multiple oil and gas agreements with the Venezuelan government, marking a significant step toward expanding energy development in the region. The deals include offshore natural gas development...

U.S. State Department Expands Charter Flights as Americans Struggle to Leave Middle East Amid Iran Conflict

The U.S. State Department announced it is increasing charter flight operations from the Middle East as thousands of American citizens remain stranded following the outbreak of the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran. The move...

Israel Orders Evacuation of Beirut’s Southern Suburbs as Tensions With Hezbollah Escalate

Israel warned residents to evacuate Beiruts southern suburbs on Thursday, signaling a potential escalation in the ongoing conflict with Hezbollah. The warning targeted densely populated areas of the Lebanese capital known...

Ukraine to Assist U.S. in Countering Iranian Shahed Drones in the Middle East

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced that Ukraine will assist the United States in defending against Iranian Shahed drones in the Middle East following a request from Washington. The decision highlights...

Trump Says Iran Seeking Deal After U.S.-Israel Strikes as Washington Eyes Measures to Ease Oil Prices

President Donald Trump said Thursday that Iran is attempting to open negotiations with the United States following recent U.S. and Israeli military strikes targeting Tehrans military capabilities. Speaking at a White House...

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

SoftBank Seeks Up to $40 Billion Loan to Fund Major Investment in OpenAI

SoftBank is reportedly pursuing a loan of up to $40 billion to support a large investment in OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. According to a Bloomberg News reporter who shared the update on X (formerly Twitter) on...

Foxconn Sees Strong Growth Ahead Despite Limited Impact From U.S.–Israel–Iran Tensions

Foxconn, the worlds largest electronics manufacturer and a major supplier of AI servers for Nvidia, says geopolitical tensions involving the United States, Israel, and Iran are having only a limited impact on its...

California Court Rejects xAI Bid to Block AI Data Transparency Law

Title: Elon Musks artificial intelligence company xAI has failed to secure a temporary court order that would block Californias new AI data transparency law. A federal judge in California ruled that the company did not...

Pentagon Labels Anthropic AI a Supply-Chain Risk, Restricting Use in U.S. Military Projects

The U.S. Pentagon has officially designated artificial intelligence company Anthropic as a supply-chain risk, a move that immediately restricts government contractors from using the companys AI technology in projects tied...

Amazon Website Outage Disrupts Thousands of U.S. Shoppers Before Services Recover

Amazons e-commerce platform experienced a significant outage on Thursday that temporarily disrupted online shopping for tens of thousands of users across the United States. According to Downdetector, a website that tracks...