Nic Fildes

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Australia’s defence dilemma: projecting force or provoking China?

The shipyard in Osborne, a suburb 20km north of Adelaide in the St Vincent’s Gulf of South Australia, feels far removed from the simmering geopolitical conflict between the US and China.

The freshly built, modern facility has the air of a Hollywood set with enormous sheds connected via narrow roads. Golf cart-like vehicles ferry equipment and people between locations. A small strip of marshland, intended as a bit of greenery for the workers, is the only reminder of what used to be.

Now the Osborne precinct is the symbolic heart of Australia’s burgeoning military industry at a time when the country seeks to claim a seat at the “big table” of global affairs.…  Seguir leyendo »

War in Ukraine: when political risks upturn commodity markets

Like many people, Gary Sharkey has been constantly checking the news for the latest developments on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But his interest is not just personal: as procurement director of Hovis, one of Britain’s biggest bakers, Sharkey is responsible for buying in everything from grains for bread to steel for machinery.

Russia and Ukraine are both important grain exporters, between them accounting for almost a third of the world’s traded wheat. For Hovis, the surge in wheat prices caused by the invasion and the subsequent sanctions on Russia have important cost implications for its business.

“Ukraine and Russia — the flow of grains from the Black Sea is so important for the world market,” says Sharkey as exports from both countries have virtually come to a halt.…  Seguir leyendo »