Insights: Australia's Best Businesses in 2018: by Phil Ruthven
September 2018 Over the past three years to 2017, barely one in eight businesses at the big end of town – our 2000 largest enterprises, accounting for over 40% of the nation’s revenue – achieved world’s best practice (WBP) profitability....
Insights: Global Issues in 2018 and Beyond: by Phil Ruthven
August 2018 The term shrinking world is appropriate for the 21st century. As the below exhibit suggests, the world has been aggregating into larger governed entities, but without eliminating any of the preceding layers of government. Each step up the...
Insights: Manufacturing in a Modern Economy: by Phil Ruthven
July 2018 Older members of a workforce and society sometimes attach a level of importance – and even a value (as distinct from an undeniable benefit) – to industries that dominated the economy and labour force in their working life,...
Insights: Business Outsourcing: by Phil Ruthven
June 2018 Most of us would not be aware that the creation of industries in any country is mostly due to outsourcing. Households began outsourcing activities from the time of the Agrarian Age, thousands of years ago; although Australia has...
Insights: Taxes In World Perspective: by Phil Ruthven
May 2018 As Benjamin Franklin famously penned in 1789: “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Thankfully, we will be discussing the latter in this newsletter; and despite what we may assume, taxation...
Insights: Making Sense of Politics: by Phil Ruthven
April 2018 Over the past 10 years or so, older members of society in most developed economies have been appalled by the state of politics in their countries. Towards the other end of the age spectrum, many young voters (the...
Insights: Revolutions in the Retail Industry: by Phil Ruthven
March 2018 Retailing is a big industry, with revenues close to $400 billion in F2018. It accounts for 10% of the nation’s employment; 8% of its revenue; 4% of GDP; and a modest 2% of all capital expenditure, which is...
Insights: The Ascent of Asia: by Phil Ruthven
December 2017 The proposed departure (Brexit) of the United Kingdom from the European Union (EU) and the latter’s potential for other difficulties and defections, coupled with a more insular United States under the Trump presidency, points to an even greater...