Alan Kohler is one of Australia’s most experienced commentators and journalists. Alan is the founder of Eureka Report, Australia’s most successful investment newsletter, and Business Spectator, a 24-hour free business news and commentary website. He also hosts Inside Business, a half-hour Sunday programme on the ABC, is the finance presenter on the ABC News - and producer of the nightly graph (or two).
As Apple's supremo prepares to face Congress, a bipartisan committee has revealed the fantastic ways the multinational minimises its global tax liability.
Whether shares continue to rise has much to do with new technology and innovation. For Ben Bernanke, we may still be in the early days of IT revolution.
The company’s stock has slumped as it joins a growing list of mining services groups, including WorleyParsons and Fleetwood, in cutting earnings forecasts.
John Hughes says Thorn Group is now targeting the middle class as the credit appetite of lower income consumers wanes.
The Gonski education reforms are being tossed in the political wash, along with the premiers, as the Coalition seeks to unseat Labor's plan by focusing on the frugal front-end.
The communication’s minister's cavalier use of Section 313 to block websites on Interpol’s “worst of” list has directly lead to the ASIC fiasco. He must face the music for the latest mess his actions have created.
Multiple operating systems and a fragmented mobile market has made it difficult to create a one-size-fits all BYOD security solution. While there's no quick fix to this problem, here are some ways of working around it.
The communication’s minister's cavalier use of Section 313 to block websites on Interpol’s “worst of” list has directly lead to the ASIC fiasco. He must face the music for the latest mess his actions have created.
The ESAA is claiming solar is costing millions in network upgrades. But nailing down what these costs are proves to be a bit of a mystery because solar isn’t costing networks much at all.
A new study refines our estimates of climate sensitivity, but the overall picture remains unchanged: we remain on a track to surpass 2 degrees warming.
CEOs outline changing views on corporate spending and profits, their economic expectations and political dissatisfaction, including advice for Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott.
UK-based Zeebox wants to be the intermediary for all social media-television interactions. It will not only have to lure viewers, but the networks themselves.
Business Spectator is available on all of your devices so you can access the latest news and commentary where and how you like
Comments on this article
Comments Policy"Europe is healing, there is no question of that," Really? How is the debt being removed? Others taking a hit? ....... there is simply too much debt for there to be any 'healing'. You simply cannot inspire or create growth when you increase taxes, take away incentive and screw businesses to the floor..... especially in a country like Greece where the whole tax system is broken beyond repair. Padding out debts, forgiving some debt and granting extra time does does not remove debt. The Greek debt & indeed the total Western debt is so large now that it simply cannot be pulled back into line without massive government and social change. The ferryman has his hand out and it is time to pay! (SCOREBOARD: Receding cliff?, November 29).
As of 2010, the average central-government debt burden among advanced nations stood at 74% of GDP – more than triple the level of 1970 and the highest since the end of World War II (SCOREBOARD: Receding cliff? November 29).
Japan, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Iceland have already reached what the IMF regards as their ultimate limits.
Two grossly dishonest claims are typically prominent in Europe's difficulties.
Firstly, that PIIGS' unemployment and shrinking is due to inaction on such things as labour market "reforms". No, cutting wages and conditions will only further destroy demand and confidence and further alienate ordinary people; the targets are in fact much the same as here – social welfare, plus those workers with decent wages and conditions.
Secondly, the incredible claim that thieves such as Goldman Sachs and other investment-banksters that did so much to create the European crisis as they did with US sub-prime "are going to overcome it". Nonsense, their aim is to protect the loot their class made from thirty years of pillage on a scale that exceeded the plunder from the Spanish conquest of the Americas.
"A realisation that political imperatives trump economic considerations" ....pretty well sums it all up (SCOREBOARD: Receding cliff?, November 29).