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The European Central Bank’s decision to cut interest rates for the first time since 2019 is a significant turning point in the Eurozone’s monetary policy. After months of grappling with stubbornly high inflation, the ECB has finally blinked, betting that the worst of the post-pandemic price pressures are behind us. Read more

Yesterday, 6 June, was the 80th anniversary of D-Day, the Allied landings in Normandy. This day marked the beginning of the liberation of Western Europe from Nazism. Read more

The nation is in shock following reports that former President of the USA, Donald Trump, is eyeing up New Zealand as a retirement option. With the two-term limit on the American presidency due to kick in if he wins the coming election, the former host of NBC’s ‘The Apprentice’ is considering a quiet exit from politics as New Zealand’s premier. Read more

As the European Parliament elections loom next month, a political earthquake is reshaping the landscape of the continent’s far-right. In a stunning move, Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National (RN) party has abruptly severed ties with its long-time German ally, the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD). Read more

White sand beaches. Palm trees waving in a gentle breeze. Read more

Chinese Ambassador Wang Xiaolong’s speech at the China Business Summit 2024 in Auckland on Monday was, at first glance, a typical diplomatic address. He extolled the strength of China’s economy, the benefits of bilateral trade, and the importance of the New Zealand-China relationship. Read more

Pierre Elliot Trudeau, Canadian Prime Minister for most of 1968 through 1984, and father of the current Canadian Prime Minister, had a wonderful quip about being neighbours with the United States. In a 1969 state visit with President Nixon in Washington, Trudeau said, “Living next to you is in some ways like sleeping with an elephant. Read more

New Zealand has an infrastructure deficit of at least $100 billion, a huge amount for a small country and a significant drag on productivity and economic growth. Not all of this can be financed from within New Zealand, meaning a need for overseas investment. Read more

Even today’s sharpest critics of economics should give economists credit for two substantial wins for liberalism over the past couple of centuries. In 1849, Thomas Carlyle called economics ‘the Dismal Science.” The name stuck, but most people using the term have forgotten why Carlyle gave us that name. Read more