Oil Slips off an 11-Month High
Oil prices reached their highest level in eleven months in the middle of last week. The front-month futures contract did not post a key reversal on June 9, but the continuation contract did. Since reaching almost $51.70, prices have pushed...
Nearly Double the Price, but Only Halfway Back
With today's gains, the price of Brent has nearly doubled from its lows in January. Of course, the price of oil is still less than half of levels that prevailed two years ago. At the same time, many leveraged investors...
How could Fossil Fuel Divestment be Bad?
The global divestment movement is gaining steam. This involves investors like city councils, pension funds and universities publicly withdrawing their assets from coal, oil and gas companies – those that produce fossil fuels. The global divestment movement is gaining steam. This involves investors like city councils, pension funds and universities publicly withdrawing...
OPEC: Higher Prices, but not Higher Hopes
Just a couple months ago, some were declaring the old oil order dead after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) failed to agree on coordinated action at its April meeting in Doha. Just a couple months ago, some were declaring the...
OPEC Meeting: I’ve Got Expectations in Low Places
OPEC ministers meet in Vienna tomorrow. Expectations could hardly be lower. Attempts to agree on an output freeze were stymied by the Saudi's insistence that is rival Iran participates as well. Iran cannot agree to limit its production yet, or...
Could Cuts Now Create Oil Production Supply Reductions Later?
Total global oil production could decline for the next several years in a row as scarce new sources of supply come online. According to data from Rystad Energy, overall global oil output will fall this year as natural depletion overwhelms...
A Lesson on Competition in Aged Care Services
More competition in the delivery of human services, as recommended by the Harper Inquiry, is likely to increase the variety of services available, reduce the price of services and may encourage innovation. However, when it comes to aged care sector, competition...
China’s Great Firewall
For the first time this year, the United States Trade Representative’s (USTR) ‘National Trade Estimate Report’ took note of China’s Great Firewall. Granted, it was with this tame statement: ‘China’s filtering of cross-border Internet traffic has posed a significant burden...
Oil, Lithium, and the Global Energy Situation
The energy sector was certainly a bargain in January, but no one really knows where oil will be around Christmas. While we may have already seen the bottom, stock prices are not the bargain they were. There are other plays....
Turning to Businesses to Close the Pay Gap
In recent months, debates about global economic inequality have reached boiling point. In Britain, voters will soon decide whether to exit the European Union against the backdrop of a growing Brexit movement fuelled by perceptions of an unfair European trading...
The ‘Glass Half Full’ Part of New Overtime Rules
The Obama Administration issued new rules this week that will allow millions more Americans to qualify for overtime pay. The Labor Department regulation, which will take effect in December, will double the annual threshold that helps determine who qualifies for overtime when...
When is a Millennial not a Millennial?
Reading the headlines on Gen Y, Gen X and millennials it’s clear many people believe distinct generational categories exist, that there are very real differences between them, Reading the headlines on Gen Y, Gen X and millennials it’s clear many people believe distinct generational categories exist, that there are very...
Take Me to Your (Intelligent) Leader
The world today is characterised by increasing variety, interdependency and connectivity, complexity, change, ambiguity, seamlessness and sustainability. There’s no doubt that more intelligent leaders are needed to deal with these emerging challenges and demands. However, the world is relentlessly fast...
7-Eleven’s Self-Regulation Appears Faded in the Interest of Economics
The head office of the 7-Eleven franchise is dismantling an independent claims panel headed by Professor Allan Fels, established in the immediate wake of the underpayments scandal. In its place, 7-Eleven Stores Pty Ltd (7-Eleven) intends to process any outstanding...
Don’t Cry Over Spilt Milk, it’s Cheaper
A structural change is underway in global dairy markets. A perfect storm has emerged through a coincidence of events, technology and policy changes across the major dairy producing nations, including Australia, which will result in a long-term significant reset of...