Hard bump ahead? Drop in insolvencies and bankruptcies is a ticking time bomb

By Kevin Davis, Emeritus Professor of Finance, The University of Melbourne

The vast arsenal of fiscal, monetary and legal measures used by Australian governments to offset the COVID-induced economic crisis have worked well. They did not prevent a recession (popularly defined as two quarters of negative GDP growth) but things could have been much worse.

What is particularly interesting is that the expected consequences have not shown up in the official statistics for financial distress – insolvent companies entering administration and individuals declaring bankruptcy.

Indeed, a misleading impression of 2020 being one of “economic good times” could…

Read complete article

~	The Indigenous Peoples Camp that calls for rights every April in Brazil

~	Pillay: Israel is helped by ‘powerful States’ in violation of Palestinians’ rights

~	Debates on campus safety in response to Palestine solidarity activism show we need strategies to navigate discomfort

~	El Salvador: Constitution “à la carte” could deepen human rights crisis in coming years

~	Arrest Warrant Issued for Former Central African Republic President

~	With eyes on Gaza, violations against West Bank journalists multiply

~	On World Press Freedom Day, the planet and Palestine are on the Caribbean's radar

~	Collecting live snakes in remote Amazon regions for study is no easy task – here’s how we do it

~	‘Jeremy Hunt is probably right to oppose the finance watchdog’s plans to name and shame firms under investigation’ – expert Q&A

~	The ancient Egyptian goddess of the sky and how I used modern astronomy to explore her link with the Milky Way