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."

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

No surprise: Aussie growth expected to be "above trend"

From the usually very dovish Westpac:

The annualised growth rate of the Westpac–Melbourne Institute Leading Index, which indicates the likely pace of economic activity three to nine months into the future, was 4.1% in September 2012, above its long term trend of 2.8%...This is the second consecutive month that growth in the Index has been above trend with August and September the only months since August last year that above trend growth rates have been recorded. Westpac is a little less optimistic than the Index at this stage with our expectation that growth in the second half of 2012 will be around 2.5%, slightly below trend.
at 12:00 PM