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."

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Is it me, or is the world getting more volatile?

I've written about volatility a lot in the past. How I think it has risen in a networked, increasingly globalised world where vast quantities of information are transmitted at light speed in mostly uncensored form to billions. How I think Australia is likely to face especially volatile conditions given the change in our trading partner mix. But recently, it seems like there has been an unusually large number of shocks. We had the GFC set against wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Then the European sovereign debt crisis. And just when things were starting to calm down in Q4, the devastating floods, Cyclone Yasi, the fall of the Egyptian and Tunisian governments, then a shocking earthquake in NZ that looks to have killed hundreds, and now Libya and possibly other middle eastern states...


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at 8:55 PM