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Vital Signs Series

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Vital Signs is a weekly economic wrap from UNSW economics professor and Harvard PhD Richard Holden (@profholden). Vital Signs aims to contextualize weekly economic events and cut through the noise of the data impacting global economies.

Vital Signs Series

Marketing is getting in the way of markets that could get us to net-zero

Nov 13, 2021 07:33 am UTC| Economy

This week the prime minister entered full marketing mode. Scott Morrisons topic was climate change and his plans to get to net-zero. At the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Wednesday, he tried out a few...

Vital Signs Series

Laugh at the US if you will, but Australia narrowly escaped a debt ceiling

Oct 09, 2021 08:11 am UTC| Economy

The United States government is scheduled to hit its debt ceiling of US$28.4 billion on or around October 18. The US debt ceiling isnt like the limit on a credit card, which is imposed by the lender worried about the...

Vital Signs Series

3 economic facts point to a big-spending federal budget

Apr 30, 2021 07:08 am UTC| Economy

Its difficult to make predictions, the saying goes, especially about the future. The many predictions federal budgets make about the economy over the coming four years must therefore be taken with a large grain of...

Vital Signs Series

The pros and cons of diversity in organisations

Apr 23, 2021 11:44 am UTC| Insights & Views Business

Breaking down the old boys club in business, government and other organisations is intrinsically important. Ensuring greater diversity in organisations on gender, racial, ethnic and other lines is, simply put, the right...

Vital Signs Series

Vital Signs: COVID-19 recession is different – and we need more stimulus to deal with it.

Jun 21, 2020 03:30 am UTC| Economy

Australia has done well on the public health front during the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks to decisive action by the National Cabinet in March. Australia has done better than most countries on the economic front, too, thanks...

Vital Signs Series

Modelling tells us the coronavirus app will need a big take-up, economics tells us how to get it

Apr 26, 2020 05:30 am UTC| Technology

With Australias test-confirmed daily COVID-19 infection rates continuing to fall to relatively low levels, there is considerable discussion about when and how the successful containment measures might be...

Vital Signs Series

The end of the checkout signals a dire future for those without the right skills

Jan 18, 2020 04:45 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

There has already been a fair number of jobs lost to automation over recent decades from factory workers to bank tellers. In the coming decade we might see radically larger numbers of jobs lost to automation, thanks to...

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Economy

U.S. Stock Futures Steady as Iran Reviews U.S. Ceasefire Proposal

U.S. stock index futures held relatively steady on Wednesday evening after Iran signaled it was reviewing a ceasefire proposal put forward by Washington aimed at ending the ongoing Middle East conflict. The cautious market...

Oil Prices Climb as Iran Reviews U.S. Peace Proposal Amid Middle East Tensions

Oil prices edged higher during Asian trading on Thursday as conflicting signals over potential Middle East de-escalation kept energy markets on alert. Brent crude futures for May delivery rose 0.8% to $103.02 per barrel,...

Gold Prices Climb as Middle East Ceasefire Talks Stir Market Optimism

Gold prices edged higher on Wednesday as cautious optimism surrounding potential U.S.-Iran ceasefire negotiations lifted sentiment across global markets. Spot gold climbed 0.7% to $4,504.58 per ounce, while U.S. gold...

Middle East War Rattles Global Markets as Oil Tops $100 and Dollar Surges

Asian equity markets struggled to find clear direction on Thursday as investors navigated a rapidly shifting geopolitical landscape in the Middle East. Iran signaled conditional willingness to consider a U.S.-backed...

Federal Reserve Balance Sheet Reduction: Brookings Research Outlines Possible Path Forward

New research from the Brookings Institution suggests the Federal Reserve could shrink its balance sheet through a combination of regulatory adjustments, payment system reforms, and more active market interventions without...

Politics

Taiwan Arms Deal on Track Despite U.S.-China Summit Uncertainty

Taiwans Defense Minister Wellington Koo confirmed Thursday that the next major U.S. arms sale to the island remains on schedule, revealing that Taipei has already received a formal letter of guarantee from Washington...

G7 Foreign Ministers Gather in France Amid Global Tensions and U.S. Policy Uncertainty

Foreign ministers from the worlds top Western democracies have convened in France this week for a high-stakes two-day summit at the historic 12th-century Abbaye des Vaux-de-Cernay, located roughly 40 kilometers southwest...

Russia Strikes Kharkiv and Izmail as Cross-Border Drone War Escalates

Deadly Russian attacks struck Ukraines northeastern city of Kharkiv and the Danube port of Izmail, killing at least two people and wounding several others, Ukrainian officials confirmed. The strikes mark the latest...

Iran Demands Lebanon Be Part of Any Ceasefire Deal With Israel and the U.S.

Six regional sources have revealed that Iran has communicated to intermediaries that Lebanon must be included in any potential ceasefire agreement involving the United States and Israel. This condition directly ties an end...

Jay Bhattacharya to Continue Leading CDC as White House Searches for Permanent Director

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention remains under the interim leadership of Acting Director Jay Bhattacharya as the White House continues its search for a permanent head of the agency. A spokesperson for...

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

Nanya Technology Shares Surge 10% After $2.5 Billion Private Placement from Sandisk and Cisco

Shares of Taiwan-based memory chip manufacturer Nanya Technology soared to their daily limit of 10% on Thursday morning following the companys announcement of a major $2.5 billion private placement deal backed by prominent...

SK Hynix Eyes Up to $14 Billion U.S. IPO to Fund AI Chip Expansion

South Korean memory chip giant SK Hynix has submitted a confidential filing for a U.S. stock market listing in 2026, with sources indicating the move could raise as much as $14 billion. The company intends to offer...

Meta Ties Executive Pay to Aggressive Stock Price Targets in Major Retention Push

Meta Platforms made a significant move this week by granting restricted stock units and stock options to several of its most senior leaders, including Chief Financial Officer Susan Li and Chief Technology Officer Andrew...

SpaceX IPO Filing Expected This Week as Valuation Could Surpass $75 Billion

Elon Musks SpaceX is reportedly moving closer to going public, with plans to submit its initial public offering prospectus to regulators as early as this week or next, according to a report by The Information citing a...

OpenAI Pulls the Plug on Sora, Ending $1 Billion Disney Partnership

OpenAI has officially shut down Sora, its AI-powered video generation tool, in a move that blindsided partners and staff alike and effectively ended a landmark deal with Walt Disney Co. The decision marks a major...