The Coalition has accused Jim Chalmers of trying to stack a part of the Reserve Bank that will set official interest rates,putting at risk key RBA reforms.
The rivers of gold from high commodity prices and a strong job market have beefed up the budget. But Jim Chalmers says the rivers are starting to run dry.
The former Reserve Bank governor has joined the chorus of voices warning that interest rates may have to stay higher for longer.
Former treasurer Peter Costello told a Senate inquiry that parliament would surrender its sovereignty if the treasurer lost the power to overrule the bank.
Lenders have started cutting fixed interest rates on home loans,as markets bet the Reserve Bank will reduce official interest rates later this year.
Spending in December has been slashed as cost-of-living pressures and soaring mortgage repayments strike a blow to consumer confidence.
Financial markets had priced in early and aggressive interest rate cuts by the US central bank this year,but comments by a Fed official have soured that optimism.
There was nothing in Wednesday’s November inflation data that would provide an incentive or excuse to raise rates in three weeks.
Reviled not long ago for letting prices surge,US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and his peers have been anointed by traders as saviours of the world.
Michele Bullock has put home buyers and businesses on notice that further interest rate pain is on the way,saying inflation is homegrown.
Population growth,the war between Hamas and Israel,pressure in the rental market and even El Nino threaten to keep inflation higher for longer.