Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe announces big changes to RBA board, including fewer board meetings a year, and press conferences after every meeting.
Sounded like maybe Jim Chalmers was implying that Lowe wouldn’t be serving another term this morning talking to Patricia Karvelas. If that’s the case, I wonder if Lowe will squeeze in one more rise before he heads off, just to give his successor the best chance of starting with a clean slate / no bad blood with the public, if they had to do another rise in short order?
I would certainly hope that absolutely no consideration is given to the comfort and ease of the job for the next chair. It would be terrible to raise on that basis.
The only consideration should be whether a rise is to the benefit of the economy, or stability of the currency, with inflation, employment and growth as consideration only, as is their mandate.
…if they had to do another rate rise in short order
… then it’s either the first thing the next governor has to do, or the last thing Lowe can do since he’s already the scapegoat.
It seems like a number of the RBA’s upcoming changes make clearer that it’s a board decision, and not one person.
I wonder if he could get away with starting hyper inflation (if that’s the right term) by setting the cash rate to 420.69%, just for fun?