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."

Thursday, November 8, 2012

SMH: Wayne Swan backs Yellow Brick Road/Macquarie

From the SMH today:

A spokesman for Treasurer Wayne Swan said the move showed competition was starting to heat up in the banking sector following a range of reforms last year. ''The government is supporting smaller lenders to compete with the big banks so that Australians who aren't happy with their bank can walk down the road and get a better deal,'' the spokesman said. Since 2007, the big banks have increased their mortgage rates by an average of about 135 basis points compared with the cash rate. For credit unions and mutuals, the increase has been about 97 basis points relative to the cash rate.
at 6:29 AM