The author has been described by News Ltd as an "iconoclast", "Svengali", a pollie's "economist muse", and "pungently accurate". Fairfax says he is a "Renaissance man" and "one of Australia’s most respected analysts." Stephen Koukoulas concludes that he is "85% right", and "would make a great Opposition leader." Terry McCrann claims the author thinks "‘nuance’ is a trendy village in the south of France", but can be "scintillating" when he thinks "clearly". The ACTU reckons he’s "an enigma wrapped in a Bloomberg terminal, wrapped in some apparently well-honed abs."

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Why global financial services reform is a joke

From The Oz this morning:

"Strenuous lobbying by banks worldwide and concern about the strength of the economic recovery, particularly in Europe, have led to such a watering down of the [Basel III banking reform] proposals since they were first canvassed in December that some Australian regulators believe the final result may be less demanding than the standards already imposed by APRA."