PODCAST · business
Business Briefing
by The Conversation
The Conversation editors, Jenni Henderson and Josh Nicholas, delve into a new topic every week, unearthing the latest business and economic analysis from our best academics.
Episodes
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What happened to the price of Bitcoin? The truth behind big bubbles and crashes
Justin Lane/AAP When Katherine Hunt’s dad asked her whether or not he should invest in Bitcoin, alarm bells rang, first she thought “he’s a musician”. Hunt is a lecturer in accounting at the Griffith Business School, and as someone who knows the five stages of a bubble and crash, she was worried...
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Business Briefing: questioning the economics of prison
The perimeter fence at Silverwater jail in Sydney's west AAP There are more than 41,000 daily full-time prisoners in Australia, according to the latest ABS data. Many of them are in private prisons - almost 20% of the prison population according to a 2014 Productivity Commission report. But we...
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Business Briefing: the ‘get rich quick scheme’ influencing what you buy
Advertising through online influencers is shaping consumer law, business models and people's careers. Nico Aguilera/Flickr, CC BY-SA It sounds like a get rich quick scheme. Amass huge numbers of followers on a social media platform like Instagram and you can get paid like a celebrity to mention…
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Business Briefing: are our standards dropping in the workplace?
How should you signal that you don't want to be disturbed? www.shutterstock.com Our workplaces are becoming less formal as the decor resembles what we have at home, companies relax dress codes, and technology makes it possible to work from anywhere. But the old formality had some advantages, says...
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Business Briefing: following the money in cricket
Cricket Australia has been unable to broker a new pay deal with the Australian Cricketer's Association. EPA/DAVID JONES Rather than just admiring a good hit or delivery, there’s another way to analyse what’s happening on a cricket pitch. Cricket players are actually business people, in the sense...
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The science of business decision making: giving out perks doesn’t necessarily lead to results
Office perks like slides down stairs may not be the best way to motivate good behaviour Scott Beale/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND Research shows that when it comes to cognitive tasks, like decision making, paying people more can lead to worse outcomes. If we want to get the best out of our executives, the...
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Business Briefing: how the attitudes of the next generation are changing the property market
Generation X and Y are equally, if not more aggressive than baby boomers when investing in property. Chris Devers/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND Generations X and Y are becoming just as, or even more aggressive, than the baby boomers as investors. An example of this are the “rentvestors”, who still don’t…
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Business Briefing: when robots and customers meet
Customer-facing roles may soon be taken over by cheaper, friendlier and more knowledgeable robotic retail assistants. Thomas Peter/Reuters When you call up a business, you might get an automated customer service giving you options and helping you to do whatever it is you need to. This is a…
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Business Briefing: what super is doing to banking and finance
Superannuation's influence on the Australian financial sector mostly balances out. www.shutterstock.com The total of superannuation assets in Australia is a staggering A$2 trillion and contributions to this are rising. But despite this significant influence, a new study shows the effects of...
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Business Briefing: Former chief World Bank economist on inequality and doing away with big money
The Modi government is getting rid of RS500 and RS1,000 notes to try and combat the black market and corruption. STR/EPA Doing away with big currency notes is a movement that is picking up all over the world, says Kaushik Basu, a professor of economics at Cornell University. While it may be a…
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Business Briefing: fixing culture in banking and finance
Commonwealth Bank of Australia CEO Ian Narev attends the parliamentary inquiry into the banking system. AAP Image/Lukas Coch Australian banks have been under intense scrutiny this year after various scandals called into question the culture of the industry. But it seems there’s no easy answer to...
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Business Briefing: breaking down the 457 visa myths
The majority of 457 visa holders are skilled workers AAP/Alan Porritt Peter McDonald, a professor of demography at the University of Melbourne, says a 457 visa worker is more likely to take the job of a young academic than that of a blue collar worker. Labor and the Coalition government are...
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Business Briefing: what Australia can learn from a Polish economist
Australia and Poland could adopt similar policies to protect against economic shocks from China and the EU, respectively. Kacper Pempel/Reuters Andrzej Rzonca, a Professor of Economics at the Warsaw School of Economics and member of the Monetary Policy Committee at Poland’s central bank, is...
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Business Briefing: being funny with customers
Joking around with customers can improve satisfaction, as long as its the right jokes! Zeetz Jones/Flickr, CC BY-SA As part of a research team, Christine Mathies from the University of New South Wales Business School stood outside a suburban retailer (who had volunteered to be part of the study)...
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Business Briefing: rate tracker mortgages
Mortgage tracker rates follow the cash rate. www.shutterstock.com In the ongoing debate about the transparency of Australia’s big banks, the idea of rate tracker mortgages has been gaining traction. This is a mortgage that is tied to the cash rate set by the central bank (in Australia, the…
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Business Briefing: why the future is workless
Machines are set to take over all of our jobs in the near future, author Tim Dunlop predicts. Franck Robichon/EPA When Tim Dunlop, from the Centre for Advancing Journalism at the University of Melbourne, started to research the future of work, his economist friends pointed to all the research...
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Business Briefing: Trusting business to take care of your data
Businesses need to consult customers to work out what is reasonable when it comes to using and securing their data. www.shutterstock.com Former ACCC chief Graeme Samuel is calling on businesses to take a closer look at their data management practices in a bid to increase public trust in their...
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Business Briefing: treat the cause not the symptoms of problems with private health insurance
Health Insurers should be offering insurance that covers primary care, Paolucci argues. www.shutterstock.com Australia’s private health insurance industry has come under scrutiny over what is covered by the products it sells, how it sells them and high premiums. This all means consumers are left...
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Business Briefing: we’re overusing and underestimating ‘disruption’
Business leaders don't have a crystal ball to predict future disruption but they can have a stake in it. www.shutterstock.com “Disruption” and “disrupters” have become buzz words in the business community and are often used to describe any change or evolution in a sector. However businesses...
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Business Briefing: trusting an algorithm with investment decisions
Australian startups are trying to develop better algorithms to offer financial advice. Tracey Nearmy/AAP Automated financial advice has been around for quite some time. Usually a bank or a broker will type your details into computer software and rely on algorithms to advise you, especially if...
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Business Briefing: disrupted companies will need to think global to survive
Australian companies need to except the disruption from digital platforms is here to stay. Dan Peled/AAP Australian companies should better manage the expectations of shareholders who increasingly expect dividends and focus more on meeting the needs of global consumers, says UNSW Adjunct…
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Business Briefing: hack-proof, how business can stay ahead in cybersecurity
Cybersecurity risks increase with the amount of outsourcing a company does. Dave Hunt/AAP The first thing business gets wrong in understanding cybersecurity is assessing the value of the information it holds. Businesses need to know the information they are trying to protect. Is it information...
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Business Briefing: Simon McKeon on removing the retirement label
Those who want to work longer should be given the option to, McKeon argues. www.shutterstock.com Former Treasurer Joe Hockey did not get a warm reception when he confirmed the retirement age would increase to 70 by 2035. But Monash University Chancellor Simon McKeon thinks its not such a bad…
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Business Briefing: a better way to design an office
Better office design is not just about shaping space around tasks we do. www.shutterstock.com A lot of Australian building codes don’t actually refer to the maximum number of people a building should fit. That’s what researcher Agustin Chevez found when he started to delve into how a better…
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Business Briefing: the big bucks of broadcasting the Olympics
A TV cameraman shoots a Madame Tussauds Museum figure of US Olympic gold medal swimmer Michael Phelps at Banneker Pool in Washington, to coincide with the opening of the Rio Olympics on August 5. Gary Cameron/Reuters Since the first telecast of the Olympics in 1936 from Berlin, television has…
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Business Briefing: Abenomics fails to address Japan’s true woes
Japanese people are losing faith in Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's fiscal policies. FRANCK ROBICHON/AAP New moves by the Bank of Japan (BoJ) to modestly extend its monetary policy appears to suggest the country is running out of measures to combat its sluggish economy. Earlier in 2016, the bank...
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Business Briefing: what to do about low incomes
original Australia is facing an income recession warns economist Janine Dixon from Victoria University. To fend it off we need to increase different types of productivity. Income per capita, one way to measure living standards, is 3% below the peak of 2012 and this is tied to slow growth in...
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Business Briefing: The hurdles, pitfalls and payoffs of investing in Indonesia
A typical street business in Jakarta, Indonesia. Michelle Robinson/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND As Indonesia’s middle class grows, so too does demand for services and products, such as education, health and processed food. Australia is well placed to supply these, however businesses must first tackle…
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Business Briefing: Trouble in the South China Sea
Disputed: Taiping Island, in the South China Sea. Office of the President of Taiwan China is on the defensive after an international court ruled it had no claim to historic rights to resources within its so called “nine-dash line” in the South China Sea. This decision is the latest in a long...
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Business Briefing: are Hanson, NXT and the Nationals bad for business?
Barnaby Joyce of the Nationals and Senator Nick Xenophon and his team may have more influence post election. Alan Porritt/AAP Protectionism and nationalism may be the order of the day, judging by the recent federal election results. Picking up seats are Pauline Hanson from One Nation and Nick...
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Business Briefing: Zombie measures, crackdowns and Brexit worries
The uncertainty in financial markets from Brexit throws a spanner in the works of the election campaign in its final week. Dan Himbrechts/AAP The last week of the long election campaign started with the leaders of both major parties reinforcing their ideas for Australia’s economy, in the face of...
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Business Briefing: ASIC tries to prevent fintech startups from becoming scammers
ASIC hopes it will lure fintech startups from Australia and Singapore to its innovation program. www.shutterstock.com The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is working with its regulatory counterpart, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), to attract financial technology...
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Business Briefing: what breeds terrorism?
Reuters/Lucy Nicholson The nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, which has killed 49 people and injured 53 others, has shocked the world. Details are still emerging about the shooter and his possible motivations but it has been described as both an act of hate, and terrorism. Michael Jetter is…
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Business Briefing: how does Australia’s policy costing body, the PBO, compare?
Australia PBO could be more politically active. Mick Tsikas/AAP Australia’s Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) has only been in operation since 2012, but been used to cost the policies of the federal government, the Opposition and minor parties alike in this election campaign. While the results…
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Business Briefing: what happens to your credit history
The information in credit histories can affect a bank's decision to loan money. Stephanie Flack/AAP One of Australia’s major credit reporting agencies, Veda Advantage, is under investigation amid allegations it misused personal financial information and in some cases provided incorrect…
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Business Briefing: manipulating the BBSW
Westpac is one of the banks where ASIC alleges traders rigged the bank bill swap rate. Mick Tsikas/AAP As more titbits of detail come to light in the rate rigging case made against Westpac and ANZ, Pat McConnell, Honorary Fellow at the Macquarie University Applied Finance Centre, unpacks the...
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Business Briefing: jobs and growth in an election
Unemployment figures don't always tell the full story when it comes to the state of jobs in Australia. Joel Carrett/AAP Both the government and opposition are campaigning hard on their abilities as economic managers and jobs and growth have been the Coalition’s election cry. But is creating jobs...
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Business Briefing have?
Business Briefing currently has 37 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Business Briefing about?
The Conversation editors, Jenni Henderson and Josh Nicholas, delve into a new topic every week, unearthing the latest business and economic analysis from our best academics.
How often does Business Briefing release new episodes?
Business Briefing has 37 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Business Briefing?
You can listen to Business Briefing on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Business Briefing?
Business Briefing is created and hosted by The Conversation.
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