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."

Monday, February 7, 2011

Shadow MPC votes to raise rates

This just out:

"An influential panel of economists has told the Bank of England to ignore warnings about the strength of the recovery and to raise interest rates.

For the first time since the onset of the financial crisis, a majority of the nine-member "shadow" monetary policy committee (MPC) voted to raise rates, emphasising their concerns about inflation.

The five economists who called for a rise all said rates should go from 0.5% to 1%.

The shadow committee's decision appears to clash with the views of Mervyn King, the Bank's governor, who last month warned of Britain's "fragile recovery" and signalled an imminent rate rise was unlikely."
at 7:46 PM