Thursday, September 09, 2004
Spot the Difference, or not
Remember when you were a kid and you had to look at picture A and then picutre B and find 10 differences, try doing it with these:
Exhibit A: National Party Finance spokesman press release yesterday afternoon:
Michael Cullen must explain potential protocol breach
National Party Finance spokesman John Key says Michael Cullen must explain why he appears to have broken all the protocols surrounding interest rate announcements.
In answering a seemingly innocuous patsy question in Parliament today, Dr Cullen said, ‘the National Bank Business Outlook observes good news in the economy seems to be everywhere. And although the Reserve Bank raised interest rates today it did so because growth is so strong’.
The problem with that announcement is that the Reserve Bank is due to release that highly sensitive interest rate information tomorrow.
“Dr Cullen has admitted he was briefed by the Reserve Bank, and now seems to have let the cat out of the bag, one day early,” says Mr Key.
“This is potentially a concerning breach of the rules which guarantee the Reserve Bank’s independence.
“This also has the potential to cause a major distortion in the market place, as investors take advantage of the 24-hour head-start that Dr Cullen has delivered them...
Exhibit B: extracts from a NZ Herald story this morning covering Cullen's gaffe:
'Cullen jumps the gun and cat jumps out of the bag'
Oops ... the cat was let out of the bag by Finance Minister Michael Cullen yesterday - a cat with the rather formal name of Official Cash Rate.
Tripping over a patsy question in the House, Cullen spoke of growth so strong that the Reserve Bank had been forced to raise rates - today.
That was one day too early.
He then scrambled to stuff the cat back in the bag...
National Finance spokesman John Key spied a breach of protocol.
The gaffe, he said, had the potential to cause "a major disruption in the marketplace" as investors took advantage of the 24-hour head start....
Exhibit A: National Party Finance spokesman press release yesterday afternoon:
Michael Cullen must explain potential protocol breach
National Party Finance spokesman John Key says Michael Cullen must explain why he appears to have broken all the protocols surrounding interest rate announcements.
In answering a seemingly innocuous patsy question in Parliament today, Dr Cullen said, ‘the National Bank Business Outlook observes good news in the economy seems to be everywhere. And although the Reserve Bank raised interest rates today it did so because growth is so strong’.
The problem with that announcement is that the Reserve Bank is due to release that highly sensitive interest rate information tomorrow.
“Dr Cullen has admitted he was briefed by the Reserve Bank, and now seems to have let the cat out of the bag, one day early,” says Mr Key.
“This is potentially a concerning breach of the rules which guarantee the Reserve Bank’s independence.
“This also has the potential to cause a major distortion in the market place, as investors take advantage of the 24-hour head-start that Dr Cullen has delivered them...
Exhibit B: extracts from a NZ Herald story this morning covering Cullen's gaffe:
'Cullen jumps the gun and cat jumps out of the bag'
Oops ... the cat was let out of the bag by Finance Minister Michael Cullen yesterday - a cat with the rather formal name of Official Cash Rate.
Tripping over a patsy question in the House, Cullen spoke of growth so strong that the Reserve Bank had been forced to raise rates - today.
That was one day too early.
He then scrambled to stuff the cat back in the bag...
National Finance spokesman John Key spied a breach of protocol.
The gaffe, he said, had the potential to cause "a major disruption in the marketplace" as investors took advantage of the 24-hour head start....
Comments:
Post a Comment