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."

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Outstanding Q&A with Ric Battellino--Can we extend his Deputy Governorship?

Ric is just terrific in this Q&A, which covers a lot of territory. Very honest, very accurate, and very balanced. And the bottom line: the RBA's 1st, 2nd, and 3rd concern is inflation, and keeping it within the 2-3% target band (thank god--just a pity about their Board). And they are very worried about structurally higher global inflation given Chinese disinflation is behind us. Some of the questions are hilarious. Will you drop inflation targeting, Ric? Will you cut interest rates if inflation is heading above the target band if growth is weak? Why are Australian rates high and Canadian rates low (hint: 75% of Canadian exports go to the US, whereas >30% of Australia's go to China/India). Ric on the labour market: "it has not softened at all". Love him. Can we get a campaign to extend his Deputy Governorship?
at 5:56 PM