Trump is making a huge blunder. Here's how we seize the moment

By MILLIE MUROI, Economics Writer Eventually, Donald Trump will backpedal. Economists get plenty wrong, but one thing most believe – and get right – is that widespread tariffs are stupid. Why? Because they create more losers than winners.Trump is smart enough to know this. But he’ll look to twist arms with his tariffs until some of his demands are met (seemingly at the top of his wishlist: Mexico, Canada and China curbing...

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Trade deficits don't have to be wicked, unless you believe Trump

By MILLIE MUROI, Economics WriterWhile the US president-elect would have you believe a trade deficit is a wicked thing, it’s not a hard and fast rule. In fact, it can actually be good. We’ve become used to the word “deficit” being synonymous with “bad” (think about how many governments highlight when they’ve got a “budget deficit” – not a lot!). But deficits don’t have to be bad.Since late 2016, Australia has had a run of trade...

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We're investing more overseas than foreigners are investing here

 For pretty much all of Australia’s modern history, our strategy for getting more prosperous was to be a “net importer of [investment] capital” from the rest of the world. But four years ago, that was turned on its head, and we became a net exporter of investment capital.If you think that doesn’t sound like a good thing, I agree with you – though probably not for the same reason as you. I think it does much to explain why...

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