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Trade

Back to Black. "Mr Speaker, tonight I announce a projected surplus..."

Peter Martin - March 13, 2010 - 9:49am

It'd make a change from last year when he couldn't even bring himself to say "deficit"

So strong is Australia's emerging recovery analysts now believe Treasurer Wayne Swan may be on track to bring down a Budget surplus next year instead of in 2015 as officially forecast.

The dramatic turnaround identified by a range of forecasters who have spoken to the Herald flows from projected big gains in export prices, resurgent company profits and a jobs market which against expectations has piled on 200,000 extra jobs in the past six months. Read more »

Australia’s international trade – numbers that shock & awe

Harry Clarke - March 6, 2010 - 2:35pm

What’s happened to Australia’s international trade over the past 5 years? Most people know that Australia’s trade has grown strongly but I wonder how many understand the dramatic nature of the transformation that has occurred so very recently and despite the global financial crisis. Colleague RW collated figures for the year ended 2005 and for the year ended 2009 – they are derived from ABS Catalogue No. 5368 Tables 14a, 14b. I nearly fell off my seat when I saw them. Read more »

How things look now - 11 graphs from the Reserve Bank chart pack

Peter Martin - March 3, 2010 - 1:21pm

Wednesday column: You think there's agreement around the the Reserve Bank board table?

Peter Martin - March 3, 2010 - 10:32am

Strong disagreement more likely

If you can't make sense of what's happening to the economy you're in esteemed company. The Board of the Reserve Bank can't easily agree either. Read more »

Tea leaves

Peter Gallagher - February 26, 2010 - 7:40am

A hiccup? Or a sign that imported deflation—via low-priced Chinese imports—will now start to slow?

"‘Labour availability is tight right now in Guangdong compared to other regions,’ said Paul Hussey, chief executive of Strix. The Isle of Man company, which dominates the global market for thermostatic controls on electric kettles, maintains most of its manufacturing operations in the provincial capital, Guangzhou." Extract from FT.com - Labour shortage hits China export recovery

According to the FT, China's economic stimulus program has increased investment and employment opportunities in the hinterland provinces, reducing the availability of labor in the coastal manufacturing hubs. Read more »

Trade

Secrets, spies and steel: the Rio Tinto Case

East Asia Forum - March 9, 2010 - 10:00am

Author: Peter Yuan Cai, ANU

The 2009 arrest of Rio Tinto executive Stern Hu was a watershed event in the Sino-Australian relationship. Beijing’s unexpected intervention in the name of national security demonstrates not only how grave were perceptions of its disadvantage in the iron ore trade but also the murkiness of its laws regarding state secrets and the operation of the market. Determined intrusion from Beijing, especially by the Chinese intelligence services, could only happen with the blessing of top echelons of China’s political process.

But what could have made the Chinese government take such dramatic action at such a highly sensitive time in the iron ore negotiations and given the broader global ramifications that an intervention like this would inevitably have? Read more »

Apple’s patent protectionism

Peter Gallagher - March 4, 2010 - 6:51pm

In an action before the U.S. Federal courts and the International Trade Commission, Apple Inc. is attacking a Taiwanese manufacturer of Google's Android Phone for alleged abuse of 20 software patents. It seems the suits are aimed at slowing the growth of competition for the iPhone and, possibly, aimed at Google's proposed web operating system.

The prosecution of software patents, especially those for 'user interface innovations', is a dubious action at best that is sometimes (often? usually?) an abuse of market-competition principles. Worse, in this case, Apple has chosen to pursue it's competitors under the notorious, protectionist, S.337 of the US Trade Act of 1930 which does not provide damages for infringement of patent rights but prohibits imports of goods likely to infringe a U.S. patent. Read more »

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Trade

Two highlights from the GDP

Peter Martin - March 3, 2010 - 12:50pm

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Liquid electricity continues to flow

Larvatus Prodeo - March 2, 2010 - 1:24pm

It seems that Victoria’s aluminium smelters will continue to operate into the never-never:

THE biggest consumer of Victoria’s brown-coal-fired electricity is to continue operating for decades after the surprise announcement of a long-term power deal for Alcoa’s controversial aluminium smelters.

Unions were celebrating and environmentalists reeling last night with the news that aluminium giant Alcoa, Victoria’s biggest exporter, had signed electricity contracts with generator Loy Yang Power for the smelters at Portland and Point Henry, near Geelong, until 2036. The existing power contracts expire in 2016 and 2014.

The Age’s report also states that “Senior figures in the energy industry and government last night told The Age they found it hard to believe that Spring Street was not involved somehow in the latest deal.”

India’s deepening relations with Japan

East Asia Forum - February 25, 2010 - 10:00pm

Guest Author: Nabeel Mancheri, Jawaharlal Nehru University

The Annual Bilateral Summit in New Delhi on 29 December 2009 marked a stepping stone in the relationship between India and Japan. During the summit, Dr. Yukio Hatoyama and Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Ministers of Japan and India respectively, held discussions on bilateral, regional and global issues and reaffirmed that Japan and India share common values and strategic interests. They pledged to further develop their Strategic and Global Partnership in an effort to strengthen their bilateral relations and ensure peace and prosperity throughout the region and the world.