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."

Friday, February 3, 2012

Another US data surprise: lower than expected jobless claims

From UBS:

* US: Initial jobless claims fell slightly more than expected in the week of Jan 28: -12k to 367k (cons 371k, UBSe 370k) from 379k (revised from 377k) last week. The down trend continues: the four-week average was 376k vs 377k end-Dec and 396k end-Nov. Some probably reflects underlying improvement, but some weather.
at 10:40 AM