Housing’s Mr 18.6pc is pure fiction but is still scaring markets

Mr 18.6 per cent is this week’s barbecue stopper.Wesfarmers management can’t go into a post-results meeting without being asked about it, economists can’t analyse June-quarter GDP without thinking about it, it has a standing reservation in any interview Treasurer Jim Chalmers does between now and forever, and bond markets – well, they may be reacting to it, but there’s so much else going on it is impossible to know.Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Fetching latest articles