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, October 10, 2011

It's not every day you get an email from a Nobel Prize winner..

My heartfelt congratulations go to Professor Tom Sargent for jointly winning the Nobel Prize today. My own small connection with this event (yes, we all want to claim one!!) is that I was fortunate enough to meet Tom way back in 2003, and he sent me the following email. Tom struck me as possessing tremendous humility, and has certainly left an extraordinary research legacy. Unfortunately, I doubt whether I will have reason to communicate with him again...

"Dear Chris, I really enjoyed meeting you at lunch last Wednesday. I am very impressed by...what you are doing. I especially respect the way you seem to have anticipated all sorts of contingencies and possibilities. I hope to see you...in London next month if you have time. Best wishes for a happy holiday season, Tom"