Christopher Mote

Talking Business is a podcast review of the Australian economy, presented by seasoned business journalists Leon Gettler and Garry Barker, produced in association with the RMIT College of Business. It features interviews with prominent business leaders and expert analysis from RMIT academics. Download this podcast to hear RMIT economist Jonathan Boymal talk about the reduction in building approvals caused by interest rate rises, and job vacancy figures showing a tighter labour market.

"Angels without Borders" will be the theme for the upcoming conference, which will feature an international guestlist of speakers and participants. Early-bird registration includes choice of accommodation and closes 26 November.

The Government of Victoria has launched a $6.5 million program designed to promote the use of small technologies, including nanotech, biotech and information technologies, among business organisations. It's doing so by offering vouchers.

In the first annual People's Choice awards for Australia's Best Bank, 23,000 banking customers cast their votes online for their most preferred financial institution. The voting was conducted by Mozo, an online finance comparison and reviews service.

This episode of Talking Business features an interview with Jannine Fraser, founder and managing director of outplacement specialists Directioneering, which offer career strategy and guidance to people who leave or lose their corporate jobs. She reveals the striking difference in the approaches men and women take when they exit senior roles at organisations and how this might impact the future of management hires.

Leon and Garry talk about how Australians should be bracing themselves for more interest rate rises, possibly four, as the RBA manages the largest minerals boom since the 19th century. Meanwhile, the Aussie dollar soars to a two-year high, and while Australia’s commodity forecaster predicts a jump in commodity exports, consumers continue to tighten their belts.

Leon and Garry talk about rising business confidence masking patchy business conditions. Consumer sentiment has dropped and fewer people are taking out loans; however, more people are using their credit cards. Meanwhile, a new report from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows Australians are wealthier and living longer.

Reforming the board’s composition proved to be essential for the turnarounds at Credit Suisse and UBS. But in both cases it took a severe crisis to provoke the reform. Will other companies learn to reform their boards before they are hit by a crisis? Or will the old maxim continue to apply: no change without a crisis? Paul Strebel proposes five requirements to encourage healthy corporate governance.

Talking Business is a podcast review of the Australian economy, presented by seasoned business journalists Leon Gettler and Garry Barker, produced in association with the RMIT College of Business. It features interviews with prominent business leaders and expert analysis from RMIT academics. This week, Leon and Garry talk to the general manager of Docklands, David Young, about the progress of the Melbourne development.

What happens when a clothing swap takes up shop in your company's break room? The Clothing Exchange, a five-year-old Melbourne-based company, is selling the idea by promoting swaps in corporate environments. And while the concept itself may not be revolutionary, it could give employees a creative outlet for expanding their fashion and social consciences.

RMIT economist Alberto Posso talks about the latest unemployment data and the issue of remittances from migrants sending money home to their families. Download this podcast to hear his take on how remittances can shape the government’s foreign aid policy.

In this podcast, RMIT professor Kosmas Smyrnios discusses the changing face of the Australian family business. He observes the difficulties business owners are facing and the reasons why younger generations are less inclined to inherit their parents’ firms.

Garry and Leon talk about the new Labor government just scraping back into office. Download the podcast to find out how it will affect the outcomes of Australia’s credit rating, the mining tax, the NBN and more, plus all the latest in business news.

At some point, many small businesses feel stuck – stuck behind a larger competitor with resources that far outstrips their own. All is not lost though because, according to Fiona Mackenzie, these businesses are prime candidates to turn to the Internet which offers a level playing field and where a small one-man band can be bigger than Goliath. Start with thinking small, she tells Anthill.

Public Relations is the art of relevant storytelling for corporations and individuals. It’s about finding your story and communicating your story to create allure and desire around your brand. Most importantly, it’s about effective, infectious communication which generates positive results.

In his previous article, Roger La Salle challenged innovation practitioners to examine the rate of return on their innovation investment. Here, he explains how to set a time scale to obtain this return: "If you can have an early win with innovation then you can be sure more budget will be forthcoming and still greater achievements can be obtained." To find the low-hanging fruit (and the lowest risk) for your startup, the best place to begin is with Process Innovation.

While the future shape of Government in Australia is still undecided, sufficient trends are emerging to enable IT managers to undertake some reasonable scenario planning. This is certainly not a time to sit around waiting for an answer, as the news is not all bad for government IT.

Today our guest is Katherine Howlett, founder and chief executive of the Blooms Group, a Melbourne-based mortgage broker that specialises in arranging finance for Australians and other expatriates working overseas. Now 31, Katherine has been an entrepreneur and property owner for more than 15 years.

In this podcast, economist Sinclair Davidson looks at the latest unemployment figures. He says the rise to 5.3% is not as bad as it seems because it shows the job market is picking up with more people looking for work.

This week’s episode of Talking Business features an interview with Craig Scroggie, vice-president and managing director for the Pacific of Symantec, the world’s largest data security company. Mr Scroggie talks about the changes that technology has wrought on the world, the opportunities it has brought for business, education, healthcare, entertainment and individuals and the growing criminal practices – fraud, identity theft and more – that lurk in its darker corners and threaten us all.