For those who had hoped we might slowly leave the Great Recession behind, this week brought bad news on both sides of the Atlantic. In the US, the government shutdown after Republicans and Democrats failed to reach an agreement on the budget. Read more

Following Germany’s federal election last Sunday, most international commentators concluded that Chancellor Angela Merkel has reached the zenith of her power. Her party won 41.5 per cent of the vote and missed a parliamentary majority by only five seats in a Bundestag of 630 MPs. Read more

Less than a week after David Cunliffe's ascension to the Labour leadership, the details of his policies remain unsurprisingly sparse. However, there is no doubt where the inclinations lie on tax policy. Read more

A grey outlook on Europe’s pension reform | Dr Oliver Hartwich | Business Spectator The crisis of its monetary union may be Europe’s most pressing economic problem for the coming years, but it is not the continent’s greatest challenge in the long run. Europe’s demographic change is an even more serious issue. Read more

If Australia’s new government needed a reminder of what economic challenges lie ahead, the recent Global Competitiveness Report 2013-2014 delivered it. For the first time since the World Economic Forum started gathering data on the economic attractiveness of different countries, Australia dropped out of the global top 20 and is now in 21st place. Read more

Most followers of the euro crisis agree that the German elections, to be held on September 22, will be a watershed moment. Everything that had been put on hold in the crisis will finally be allowed to happen once Angela Merkel has been returned to power. Read more

Imagine the following situation: Your next-door neighbours are going to have a party. They know it will be noisy and it might last till the wee hours. Read more

Last month, New Zealand celebrated emphatic victories over Australia in the Bledisloe Cup. For many years, sporting competitions like this were the only opportunity for Kiwis to beat their cousins across the Tasman. Read more

Now here's an economic policy idea: What if we strategically placed a few pocket-sized atomic bombs around New Zealand and detonated them? Not too devastating to wipe the country off the face of the earth, of course. Read more

Speech by Dr Oliver Hartwich to The Centre for Independent Studies 'Consilium' conference In previous years Dr Oliver Hartwich spoke at The Centre for Independent Studies 'Consilium' conference about the future of capitalism and about Europe's economic and social decline. His presentation to this month's gathering in Queensland is closely linked to these topics. Read more

Government spending has been rising for the past one and a half centuries. The increase itself is startling, but even more worrying is the composition of government spending in the developed world. Read more

Ahrensburg is not the place where great political announcements are made. Usually, the small town in the North German state of Schleswig-Holstein does not generate any headlines relevant beyond the city boundaries. Read more

Whether you like Canberra or not, there is no doubt it properly fulfils its functions as Australia’s capital. The federal government, parliament and the High Court all operate in close proximity to each other. Read more

If a week is a long time in politics, two years is an eternity. In 2011, Wayne Swan was named the Euromoney Finance Minister of the Year. Read more