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."

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

More signs of a recovery in consumer spending

According to CommSec's Craig James:

"A key gauge of economy-wide spending rose again in September. The Commonwealth Bank Business Sales Indicator (BSI) rose by 0.2 per cent in September in trend terms after a 0.1 per cent lift in August – the first back-to-back gains in 10 months.

The Commonwealth BSI is obtained by tracking the value of credit and debit card transactions processed through Commonwealth Bank merchant facilities.

This is the best news that businesses have had in a long while, especially those dependent on consumer spending. It seems the purse springs are being loosened but we would caution that the runs aren't on the board as yet. However if the Reserve Bank stays on the interest rates sidelines, people will be confident to spend again, especially with the Aussie dollar rising and the job market still strong."
at 9:39 AM