Large tracts of the Australian continent are ablaze. Beyond the toll in lives and property, the most remarkable thing about this bushfire season is that people can see it, taste it and feel it. While fires have long been a product of the country’s hot, dry climate, they remained a remote idea for most Australians — something you caught for ...

It’s that time of year at the Federal Reserve, when the voting members that comprise the Federal Open Market Committee undergo their annual rotation. Don’t, however, expect to see any changes in policy this year now that the more hawkish central bankers have come to terms with last year’s dovish pivot. For 2020, the Fed anticipates holding policy rates steady ...

As a new decade begins, I see five big questions facing macroeconomists, which I’ve listed in a roughly increasing order of difficulty. Why not make full use of our productive resources? Inflation has been stuck below the Federal Reserve’s target of 2% for much of the past decade. It is expected to remain low for at least another year or ...

The Houdini-esque escape by Carlos Ghosn from his court-monitored Tokyo residence may be shrouded in intrigue, but one thing has been left in plain sight: A turnaround at Nissan Motor Co. won’t happen any time soon. Whatever he has to say from his refuge in Lebanon will be largely inconsequential for the Japanese car company. Nissan is in a state ...

The past decade hasn’t done much to inspire optimism about the future of the planet. Emissions from burning fossil fuels and land-use changes since the start of 2010 have been equivalent to about 407 billion tons of carbon dioxide. About one-sixth of all carbon emissions in human history happened in the past decade alone. Doom Loop Depending on the estimates ...

The Mid Valley Megamall in Kuala Lumpur has more than 100 restaurants, cafes, and snack stands to meet every kind of craving. As of this month, that list includes a novel and seemingly quixotic option: Santan, a cafe that serves airplane food in cardboard boxes. As restaurant concepts go, “quick airplane food” isn’t an obvious winner. But Santan is owned ...

Internet-enabled industry disruption defined business strategy in the 2010s, but as 2020 begins, that era appears to be winding down. The disruptors have largely become the new establishment, and unlike a decade ago, it doesn’t look like the new leaders will be displaced any time soon. Today’s internet is a mature and mainstream technology. This was not the case a ...

Bloomberg Former Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke delivered what he called “a relatively upbeat” assessment of the US central bank’s ability to fight the next recession. While the Fed has limited room to cut short-term interest rates because they’re already so low, Bernanke argued that quantitative easing and forward guidance could provide enough extra punch to combat a future economic ...

Bloomberg Emerging Asia’s top-performing currency in 2019 may find itself dethroned this year by a rival that’s also armed with a strong current-account surplus. Both the Thai baht, which took the regional crown with a 9% gain last year versus the US dollar, and the Taiwanese dollar climbed above the psychologically significant 30-per-dollar level this week. Scotiabank, among the top ...

Bloomberg Argentina’s “strict” foreign-exchange regulations will remain in force as the government seeks to stabilise the economy, the Pagina/12 newspaper reported, citing Production Minister Matias Kulfas. Lawmakers last month handed President Alberto Fernandez extraordinary powers to renegotiate debt terms with creditors and increase taxes, marking a victory on his first legislation since taking office last month. “In the current context, ...