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, July 3, 2012

RBA: Growth "stronger than earlier indicated". No more cuts?

A notably neutral statement from the RBA today. Key take-aways were that growth was stronger than they had previously thought (unambiguously above-trend in the year to March), monetary policy has been "materially" eased over the last six months, and the current level of interest rates "remained appropriate" given both the RBA's inflation and global growth outlook. No hints whatsoever of any further rate cuts. Could this be the end of the easing cycle? Only time will tell. But several economists (eg, Bill Evans) are calling for another 75 to 100 basis points of interest rate relief. Experienced observers like Stephen  Koukoulas expect the RBA to cut by 50 basis points at the next (August) meeting. It is shaping up as a fascinating few weeks!
at 2:37 PM