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, January 27, 2012

ANZ: Small business sector sales healthy

More good news:

"ANZ today released its monthly Small Business Sales Trends report which showed sales increased by 3.3% year on year (y/y) in December 2011. This is the eighth consecutive month of positive annual growth in sales for small businesses, driven by growth in the mining states as well as non-retail and services sectors.

ANZ General Manager Small Business Nick Reade said: “The December figures reflect a reasonable Christmas trading period overall, with sales up 3.3% y/y and 1.9% year-to-date.

“A better than initially expected Christmas period was also seen in general by retail-related small businesses, with sales growth of 1.8% y/y. Anecdotal reports suggest retailers still had to discount strongly to achieve this growth rate and clear their stock."
at 6:39 AM