Economy

Talbingo dam, part of Snowy 2.0 pumped-storage scheme in Australia: we need long-term, large capacity energy storage for when the wind does not blow and the sun does not shine. (Handout photo from Snowy Hydro)
Opinion

Energy storage is ignored crisis within the climate crisis

Hydropower essential to back up wind and solar

22 August 2021
Workers stand in line at a production line of mobile phones in Noida in May 2020: India displacing China as a global manufacturing hub is more about wishful thinking.
Opinion

India nowhere near ready to substitute for China

Better integration into existing value chains is needed first

18 August 2021
Protesters throw pot plants at mounted police during an anti-lockdown rally in Sydney on July 24.
Opinion

How Australia became the world's most luxurious prison

Convict past is key to understanding the country's overseas travel ban

13 August 2021
Singapore's central bank is allowing United Overseas Bank, DBS and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp to pay out higher dividends.
Finance

Singapore's DBS hikes payouts as other lenders reel from COVID

Central banks in the city-state and Thailand ease guidance on dividends

5 August 2021
The RBA affirmed its decision to trim purchases of government bonds to AU$4 billion a week from September, from the current weekly pace of AU$5 billion.
Economy

Australia central bank to trim bond buying despite delta COVID risk

Hawkish decision surprises markets but RBA sees virus pressure as temporary

3 August 2021
Scott Morrison's problem is the lack of a Plan B.
Opinion

Australia's COVID-19 about-face is a warning for everyone

Scott Morrison should channel the Hawke-Keating era to get creative about reform

2 August 2021
A man fishes across the harbor from the Sydney Opera House on July 27. Residents and businesses in the greater Sydney area are under tight COVID-19 restrictions.
Coronavirus

Sydney COVID lockdown extended as double-dip recession fears grow

Australia's tight rules and low vaccination rate threaten economic comeback

28 July 2021
Dalilah Muhammad of the U.S. celebrates her gold medal in the women's 400m hurdles at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games on Aug. 18, 2016, in Rio de Janeiro.
Tokyo 2020 Olympics

Spending on Olympic medals pays off in swimming and track

Team sports require more money but win far less, as shown by Rio 2016 data

20 July 2021
Australian Trade Minister Dan Tehan tells Nikkei Asia about how Canberra is navigating its tariff and other disputes with China on July 17. (Photo by Yasunori Okamura)
Interview

Australia wants China talks but will be 'patient': trade minister

'Team approach' with industry mitigates Beijing tensions as Quad ties deepen

18 July 2021
Farmworkers prune Merlot vines on a farm near Griffith, Australia: they talk of piece rates that can sometimes yield as little as 3.00 Australian dollars an hour.
Opinion

Australia's shameful attempt to squeeze Southeast Asian workers dry

New ASEAN visa scheme will exacerbate exploitative conditions on farms

16 July 2021
Japan takes 36 times longer to process trade paperwork than France or Italy, the World Bank reports.
Trade

Blockchain greases trade wheels between 7 Asian-Pacific economies

TradeWaltz aims to keep supply chains of 5,000 companies moving at steady pace

11 July 2021
A shared working space in Tokyo: The city's remote working infrastructure, cultural attractions and other factors contribute to its appeal for "digital nomads." (Photo by Tetsuya Kitayama)
Economy

Tokyo and Singapore trail Melbourne in 'digital nomad' ranking

List highlights places best positioned to lure new breed of remote workers

2 July 2021
Bottles of Australian wine are seen at a store in Beijing: Australia's diplomatic relations with China, its largest trading partner, have worsened since Canberra called for an international inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus. 
Trade

Australia takes wine dispute with China to WTO

Canberra opposes Beijing's imposition of anti-dumping duties

19 June 2021
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson reviews the Brexit trade deal with the EU that he signed at number 10 Downing Street in London, on Dec. 30.
Trade

UK knocks on TPP door harder after EU exports fall 16%

Britain also nearing trade deals with India and Australia

4 June 2021
Scott Morrison's assertion that the aid package will secure a "boost to Australia's long-term fuel security by locking in the future" of its refining sector seems less plausible.
Opinion

Australia throws good money after bad propping up local oil refineries

Canberra should know by now that "fuel security" is a mirage

28 May 2021
SoftBank Group is set to report a net profit of more than $40 billion, the highest ever for a Japanese company. 
Your Week in Asia

SoftBank comeback, Kelly testifies in Nissan case, Australia budget

Your weekly lineup of Asia's biggest business and political events

9 May 2021
A passenger prepares to catch a flight to New Zealand at Australia's Sydney Airport on April 19, as the countries' quarantine-free travel bubble opens.
Coronavirus

Australia-New Zealand travel bubble off to fast, emotional start

Quarantine-free trips raise hopes for an economic shot in the arm

19 April 2021
Members of Victoria Police perform random checks in Melbourne in July 2020: Australian police have a insidious method of breaking the human spirit.
Opinion

Why I no longer call Australia home

The Lucky Country's unbearable slide into paternalism

9 April 2021
Mathias Cormann, Australia's former Finance Misister and the secretary-general designate of the OECD, pictured in October 2020: there is one way Cormann could be a real game-changer.
Opinion

The OECD should set its sights on China

Mathias Cormann's golden chance to even up the global economic system

8 April 2021
One analyst told Nikkei Asia that the central bank is "genuinely worried that the government will start to consolidate the fiscal position prematurely" as the economy improves.
Economy

Australia's fast COVID recovery leaves central bank nursing doubts

RBA wary of government focus on deficit as China looms and vaccines lag

6 April 2021
China continues to import Australian iron ore as part of its economic recovery push even as it imposes tariffs and other curbs on other Australian products.
Trade

Despite China feud, Australia resource exports to hit record by value

Soaring iron ore prices make up for friction in bilateral trade

30 March 2021
The International Energy Agency predicts that renewables will be the number one source of electricity within five years, overtaking natural gas and coal.
Opinion

How COVID-19 gave renewables an energy boost

Even oil majors concede pandemic may have marked peak fossil fuel production

27 March 2021
A man wades through his flooded yard in a Western Sydney suburb on March 23. Some experts say plans to build more houses in flood-prone areas should be scrapped.
Natural disasters

Australia floods raise alarm on Sydney's great housing gamble

Plans to meet surging home demand go underwater as rain wreaks havoc

25 March 2021
A barley crop in Canada. Chinese importers are responding to a high tariff on Australian barley by buying more from Canada, France, Argentina and Ukraine.
Agriculture

China tariff on Australia's barley reshapes global trade

Surging price hits brewers and livestock farmers while exporters shift to new markets

19 March 2021
A containership at Sydney's Botany Bay in October: Amid the coronavirus pandemic, Australian exporters faced escalating Chinese trade restrictions in 2020.
Economy

Australia's GDP bounce defies China's trade pressure

Exporters find alternative customers as Morrison's COVID response pays off

4 March 2021