Australian Financial Review

It’s a question worth asking. So we’ll take a look at that in a moment.

But before I do, a quick note on today’s front page of the Australian Financial Review (AFR).

There’s a saying that “The pen is mightier than the sword.” In other words, the written word can be more powerful in its effectiveness than, we assume, stabbing someone.

It’s a nice phrase, but even so I’d rather someone wrote something mean about us than shoved a nine inch blade in our guts.

Anyway, it’s a phrase that should be embraced by the newspaper industry. In fact we’ve a vague recollection that one of the daily UK papers used to use the phrase in its advertising.

[click to continue...]

Time and again the mainstream press puts the cart before the horse.

They aren’t alone of course. After all, much of the time the mainstream press only writes what it does because it is fed with drivel by mainstream Keynesian economists.

The headline in yesterday’s Australian Financial Review (AFR) was a perfect example of the press getting things round the wrong way.

The headline was, “Strong jobs growth to fuel recovery.”

[click to continue...]

Before I get on to today’s topic, Australia’s most dangerous man hit the headlines again on Friday.

And like every megalomaniacal madman, there’s always a mum stood behind them.

Last Friday’s Australian Financial Review (AFR) contained the headline, “How Henry’s mother saved the economy.”

It retold the story how our hero, Treasury Secretary Ken Henry’s mum asked Ken if she should take all her cash out of the bank when markets started to meltdown late last year.

Rather than give you the answer, see if you can guess how Emperor Ken responded.

[click to continue...]

If you’ve got kids readers, you’ll know what the little… angels are like.

They ask for a donut – you say, “No.”

So they ask again. This time you say, “Only if you behave then.”

Of course, they agree, and you buy them a donut. Shortly after they’re as naughty as they were before.

So, what do you do? You can’t take the donut back because they’ve eaten it. So you tell them you’re not going to buy them one the next time they ask. But of course you crumble under the pressure. Anything to stop the shouting and screaming in the middle of the shopping mall.

Kids 2, Parents 0.

[click to continue...]