Humility’s value for democracy in dark times

Jun 03, 2016 08:07 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics

Surveying the world in 2016, it is hard not to get the feeling that it is starting to come apart at the seams. The civil war drags on in Syria, with a range of external actors willing to engage enough to perpetuate the...

Computing gives an artist new tools to be creative

Jun 03, 2016 07:51 am UTC| Insights & Views Technology

The greatest tool of artists is their imagination but it is limited by their knowledge (try imagining something you dont know). But the diversity computing offers may address this problem. For the creative artist,...

What is the temporary deficit levy and why was it introduced?

Jun 03, 2016 07:48 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

The temporary deficit levy might be here to stay if Labor is elected. The tax, which targets the wealthy, was actually introduced by the Coalition in 2014 as a means of reducing the budget deficit. The levy is a 2%...

While governments talk about smart cities, it's citizens who create them

Jun 03, 2016 01:10 am UTC| Insights & Views Technology

The Australian government recently released an ambitious Smart Cities Plan, which suggests that cities should be first and foremost for people: If our cities are to continue to meet their residents needs, it is...

Improving economic background should see RBA on hold at June 7th meet

Jun 02, 2016 11:50 am UTC| Insights & Views

RBA surprised the markets at its May 5th meeting by lowering its main interest rate to 1.75% from 2% and cut its Dec-16 inflation forecasts by a full percentage point in its quarterly Statement of Monetary Policy (SoMP)....

FxWirePro: Short EUR/USD shrinking vols using 'Short Condor Spreads' ahead of ECB and US unemployment claims

Jun 02, 2016 10:26 am UTC| Insights & Views

We expect no policy action from the ECB that is likely to announce shortly but a small, and rare, upward adjustment to the staff inflation projections. In Spain, we expect a large decline in unemployed (-71.2K after...

Emerging Market Crisis Series

Brazil: no longer the country of the future?

Jun 02, 2016 09:58 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

When I first served in Brazil in the mid-1960s as a young American diplomat stationed at a small consulate in Belem on the mouth of the Amazon River, the country was in its second year of a 20-year military...