Crikey’s call for an expert to explain what on
earth is going on in the economy has elecited an excellent critique
from a well-connected insider calling himself “Bernie Shylock”. Henry
Thornton is even speculating that “Bernie” is RBA governor Ian
Macfarlane himself. We can neither confirm or deny but strongly
recommend you take in all of Bernie’s excellent analysis on the site
here: https://uat.crikey.com.au/articles/2005/03/004-0001-3865.html

Henry Thornton on interest rates and Bernie Shylock

Henry
Thornton continues to unravel the interest rate story. What happens if
a PM wants to impeach a Reserve Bank governor, when the only grounds
for so doing are his madness? Who is Bernie Shylock,
clearly a nom de plume on the Crikey site – could it be Ian Macfarlane
himself? Will Terry McCrann please get on with the job of outing him.

Seriously,
folks, this is a bit of a mess. Why did the Reserve Bank hold down
interest rates for so long? What happens next given the conflicting
signals – eg weak retail sales vrs high consumer confidence? Do the
record numbers for the current account deficit CAD and international
debt (in both cases relative to GDP) matter?

We predict
that the Reserve will show great caution from here, and the further
rate hike built into the market may well need to be unwound. Read all
of Henry’s insights on the site here: https://www.henrythornton.com/article.asp?article_id=3136