Last week’s elections might see Netanyahu lose power, but Israel has the Occupied Palestinian Territory in an ever-tightening vice, and potential new PM Gadi Eisenkot won’t change that. Cathy Peters with the reality check. To oppressed Palestinians, a change of Israel’s leader will mean very little. Israel’s relentless dispossession and
The Federal government is once again allowing Australia’s most protected company to trample over its workers, offshore tax, and send critical AI skills abroad. Michael Sainsbury with the never-ending story. Yesterday, Qantas announced it’s cutting nearly 1,000 jobs, doing a deal with tech consultants Accenture, and sending many of the
Retirement savings are currently invested via account-based pensions (ABPs) that perform multiple functions including funding income and acting as a store of wealth to draw on if needed. One problem is that retirees can be reluctant to draw on their savings due to fear their savings might run out. We think dividing retirement savings into two pots – ...
The US midterms saw a resounding rebuke of President Trump’s policies. Democrats took control of the House and the Senate, with big wins and various governorships in Republican states.
Trump won in 2024 after “cost of living” pressures turned people against the Democrats. However, his tariff and War policies made those pressures worse, causing many who ...
A long-time Firstlinks reader lamented recently that investors with assets held since the early 1990s will be disadvantaged by the new CGT rules. The changes will see the 50% discount on nominal capital gains replaced by indexation of the asset’s cost base for inflation. He argues that freezing indexation as at 30 September 1999 fails to recognise the ...
Government bond markets today look very different from the low-yield environment that followed the global financial crisis. Across developed markets, for example, 10-year yields have returned to levels not seen for much of the past two decades.
Stronger nominal growth, persistent inflation and tighter monetary policy have driven much of the shift, ...
Australia has long been a nation of income investors. From retirees funding their lifestyle to investors reinvesting distributions to build wealth, dividends have played an important role in the Australian investment landscape. After several challenging years for company payouts, there are signs the tide may finally be turning.
The August 2026 ...
This article is the second in a new mini-series, Eight Temptations of Market Lore, which explores popular investing rules of thumb and the pitfalls that can accompany them.
The first article asked whether a high CAPE means the market is expensive. This one asks what investors really want to know: does a high CAPE predict poor returns?
Over the past ...
True AI believers place their faith in the transformative powers of the technology, sound funding of the capital expenditure, and the ability of firms and investors to manage the associated risks. Unfortunately, “it ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble, it’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.”
First, technological progress alone ...
What should the role of electric vehicles (EVs) be in cities today, from both an individual and broader societal perspective? This commentary provides insights into this question using quantitative urban travel data showing the relative role of private motorised transport, public transport and non-motorised modes.
Spinifex is an opinion column. If ...
Australia’s need for data centres is largely a settled question. Cloud services and AI run on them, and there is no shortage of investment or political will behind them. Where they go and on what terms is far less settled. Three questions stand out: what must be protected in the areas in which they’re built, what lasting value should the host community ...
The robots are taking charge of healthcare, with assessments of NDIS and aged care patients’ needs being done by algorithms that can’t be held accountable. Claudia Weisenberger reports. One in four Australians being assessed for aged care support right now will never meet their assessor. The assessment is done by
Last week’s elections might see Netanyahu lose power, but Israel has the Occupied Palestinian Territory in an ever-tightening vice, and potential new PM Gadi Eisenkot won’t change that. Cathy Peters with the reality check. To oppressed Palestinians, a change of Israel’s leader will mean very little. Israel’s relentless dispossession and
The Federal government is once again allowing Australia’s most protected company to trample over its workers, offshore tax, and send critical AI skills abroad. Michael Sainsbury with the never-ending story. Yesterday, Qantas announced it’s cutting nearly 1,000 jobs, doing a deal with tech consultants Accenture, and sending many of the
Retirement savings are currently invested via account-based pensions (ABPs) that perform multiple functions including funding income and acting as a store of wealth to draw on if needed. One problem is that retirees can be reluctant to draw on their savings due to fear their savings might run out. We think dividing retirement savings into two pots – ...
The US midterms saw a resounding rebuke of President Trump’s policies. Democrats took control of the House and the Senate, with big wins and various governorships in Republican states.
Trump won in 2024 after “cost of living” pressures turned people against the Democrats. However, his tariff and War policies made those pressures worse, causing many who ...
A long-time Firstlinks reader lamented recently that investors with assets held since the early 1990s will be disadvantaged by the new CGT rules. The changes will see the 50% discount on nominal capital gains replaced by indexation of the asset’s cost base for inflation. He argues that freezing indexation as at 30 September 1999 fails to recognise the ...
Government bond markets today look very different from the low-yield environment that followed the global financial crisis. Across developed markets, for example, 10-year yields have returned to levels not seen for much of the past two decades.
Stronger nominal growth, persistent inflation and tighter monetary policy have driven much of the shift, ...
Australia has long been a nation of income investors. From retirees funding their lifestyle to investors reinvesting distributions to build wealth, dividends have played an important role in the Australian investment landscape. After several challenging years for company payouts, there are signs the tide may finally be turning.
The August 2026 ...
This article is the second in a new mini-series, Eight Temptations of Market Lore, which explores popular investing rules of thumb and the pitfalls that can accompany them.
The first article asked whether a high CAPE means the market is expensive. This one asks what investors really want to know: does a high CAPE predict poor returns?
Over the past ...
True AI believers place their faith in the transformative powers of the technology, sound funding of the capital expenditure, and the ability of firms and investors to manage the associated risks. Unfortunately, “it ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble, it’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.”
First, technological progress alone ...
What should the role of electric vehicles (EVs) be in cities today, from both an individual and broader societal perspective? This commentary provides insights into this question using quantitative urban travel data showing the relative role of private motorised transport, public transport and non-motorised modes.
Spinifex is an opinion column. If ...
Australia’s need for data centres is largely a settled question. Cloud services and AI run on them, and there is no shortage of investment or political will behind them. Where they go and on what terms is far less settled. Three questions stand out: what must be protected in the areas in which they’re built, what lasting value should the host community ...
The robots are taking charge of healthcare, with assessments of NDIS and aged care patients’ needs being done by algorithms that can’t be held accountable. Claudia Weisenberger reports. One in four Australians being assessed for aged care support right now will never meet their assessor. The assessment is done by