Central banks face threats to their independence − and that isn’t good news for sound economic stewardship (or battling inflation)
Nearly every country in the world has a central bank – a public institution that manages a country’s currency and its monetary policy. And these banks have an extraordinary amount of power. By controlling the flow of money and credit in a country, they can affect economic growth, inflation, employment and financial stability – all […]
Policymakers now expect only one rate cut in 2024
It was a double-whammy Wednesday for economic-data enthusiasts. During the morning of June 12, 2024, the Bureau of Labor Statistics published its latest inflation figures. The news was relatively good, showing that inflation rose 3.3% in the year to May 2024 – less than some analysts had expected. A few hours later, the Federal Reserve […]
Africa’s freeports should boost trade and foreign exchange earnings – but evidence is thin
The concept of a freeport – an area where normal tax and customs rules don’t apply – has existed for centuries. Over time, different terms have emerged. They include export processing zones, free trade zones, special economic zones and industrial free zones. West Africa has 29 free zones, spanning 11 countries. Examples in west Africa […]
Beyond Seinfeld’s ‘Unfrosted’ – lessons from Michigan’s serial cereal entrepreneurs
The recent release of “Unfrosted,” which was directed by Jerry Seinfeld, had an underwhelming debut on Netflix and has even been declared “one of the decade’s worst movies.” But with a star-studded cast that includes Seinfeld, Jim Gaffigan and Amy Schumer, plus America’s love of the Pop-Tart – $US3 billion sold in 2022 – the […]
The markets will overreact to the headlines
As the saying goes, “There are lies, damn lies and statistics.” And on the first Friday of every month, the American public gets a ton of new statistics to peruse. That’s when the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its latest jobs figures. Within minutes of the data drop, news organizations send out push alerts, […]
Does the US have a planned economy? You might be surprised
During the Cold War, a heated debate arose over the role of economic planning. Did the “planned” economy of the USSR or the “free market” economy of the U.S. allocate resources more productively? Arguments against planned economies centered on the limits of information processing, the feasibility of production forecasts and the inflexibility of centralized plans. […]
Does your service business need AI? Here are 4 rules to help you decide
Artificial intelligence is the big thing right now, with industries from finance to health care to retail scrambling to adopt AI or risk being left behind. But speaking as professors of business, we think some companies might be jumping the gun. Our recent research suggests that service providers shouldn’t automatically jump on the AI bandwagon. […]
Telstra says slashing almost a tenth of its workforce will help save $350 million. Why is the business under pressure?
On Tuesday, Telstra announced it will be cutting up to 2,800 jobs as part of a major restructure. Of these layoffs, 377 will take effect immediately from within the Telstra Enterprise business unit. Most of the remaining cuts will be announced in detail soon and finalised by the end of the year. Telstra CEO Vicki […]
Latest inflation figures are good news – even if they give a lot of people heartburn
The U.S. economy is slowing, but not crashing. In the dismal science, this is what counts as good news. That’s the message I took away from the latest inflation data, released May 15, 2024, which showed U.S. consumer prices rising 3.4% in the 12 months to April 2024. This is down slightly from the 3.5% […]
post-coup dialogue has mapped out path to democracy – now military leaders must act
At the end of April 2024, a long and peaceful process of national dialogue in Gabon between the military junta, presided over by coup leader General Brice Oligui Nguema, and civil society, represented by 580 civilians, came to an end. The national dialogue followed an August 2023 coup that removed Ali Bongo Ondimba from office […]