Ian Verrender

As Reserve Bank board members gather for the second day of meetings this morning, they already would have been peppered with dire warnings about the potential impact of the energy shock.

Australia is one of the biggest energy exporters on the planet, as the world's third-largest exporter of LNG and the biggest seaborne supplier of thermal and metallurgical coal. But when it comes to oil the country is horribly exposed.

"Up the stairs and down the elevator" has been the rule of thumb for decades in financial markets — but apparently it's not the case any longer.

For all the chaos, the terror and the loss of life in the past week following America's war on Iran, oil prices have managed to maintain a semblance of stability.

Before trading got underway on Monday, there was something of a bidding war on how far oil prices could surge, beginning at $US100 a barrel, right through to $US150. But there's plenty of time for things to turn pear-shaped.

Australian real estate now is among the world's most expensive, and that has made it a red-hot political issue as demographics shift.

Canberra's decision to sign a bilateral agreement with Canada to join forces on everything to do with critical minerals could prove to be a forerunner of things to come.

The theory goes that if you have just the right amount of workers on the unemployment scrap heap, you can keep inflation in check. The problem is that no-one knows exactly what the magic unemployment rate is.

Fresh warnings of further rate rises have been enough to send shivers up the collective spine of new homeowners, but if there's any comfort to be had, it's this: Don't believe a word of the forecasts.

A decade of technology failures, unplanned outages, management upheaval, irate investors and the torching of hundreds of millions of dollars has left the ASX's reputation in shreds.

Amongst tech investors the penny has finally dropped about just what the future may hold, and many are backing off or at least rethinking their strategy.

According to a well-sourced leak, changes to capital gains tax discounts could form the centrepiece of the next federal budget in May. And while the government has downplayed the idea, it has not been ruled out.

The good news is the economy ended 2025 in relatively good shape — with growth starting to pick up, the economy transitioning away from government-led spending, and a historically strong jobs market. Unfortunately, that's where it ends.

While the surging gold price has been a surprise, the driving forces behind it are not. Investors are losing faith in the United States and its role as the standard-bearer for global capitalism.

Unlike many Western economies, Chinese households stash away more than 40 per cent of their income. But the pressure to boost local consumption is mounting for Beijing.

For decades, global investors have bought US government debt as a safe haven when things turn pear-shaped. But investor attitudes are changing, and America's financial domination is at stake. 

There are signs Donald Trump's bold strategy to artificially lower interest rates could backfire, as a level of disquiet emerges on money markets, particularly in bonds.

The year is barely underway but already there's a power struggle between our biggest corporations as they fight it out for line honours.

In the past week, the US has dramatically expanded and accelerated its attacks both inside and outside its borders. Here's where Australia stands in the fray.

While debate rages over the legality and the potential fallout from America's incursion, there's been a quiet acceptance that it is all about oil.

After 20 years in the wilderness, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission's rehabilitation as a law enforcement agency seems almost complete.

The gas export industry has cost the nation dearly. East coast prices trebled soon after exports began.

The federal government has released its mid-year budget update.

The RBA's interest rate-cutting cycle is at an end, and now a hardcore handful of critics say they shouldn't have cut rates in the first place. Conveniently, you only need to look across the ditch to see what could've happened if we'd followed that path.

It was a pivotal moment in the nation's history, forever changing the way we were governed and the way in which we interacted with the rest of the world.