.jpg?itok=o0Z6VJwZ "‘Some of us are poor’: What to do when your wealthier friends want to meet up for an extravagant dinner")
With the battle won, the monetary authorities that have refused to budge yet are looking isolated.
The Reserve Bank of Australia’s mantra of “not ruling anything in or out” was a neat formula, especially early in the year when inflation numbers looked a bit ambiguous. The language also had a public relations role: Governor Michele Bullock could distance herself from her predecessor, Philip Lowe.
Bullock’s line has outlived its usefulness, especially when she has conceded that hikes haven’t been on the table lately. Something has been, in effect, ruled out. Inflation is retreating: Consumer prices climbed 2.7 per cent in August from a year earlier, the first time since August 2021 that they have been within the bank’s 2 to 3 per cent goal.
Australia’s central bank needs a better way to describe its stance than nothing-to-see-here-folks.
THE WAR IS PROBABLY BEHIND US
You would be forgiven for missing this good news. After all, most of the headlines from the IMF were about a reduction in growth forecasts.
While technically accurate, this terminology obscures a broader point. The expansion will likely be 3.2 per cent in 2025, the same as this year. It’s a mere 0.1 percentage point slower than the prior projection.
This is a positive outcome given the anticipated costs of quashing inflation. Despite China’s travails, the global picture isn’t too shabby. A boost to US numbers is compensating for some softness in China.
