The US economy is just humming along at the moment, isn't it?

2.8% is their lucky number this morning. 2.8% annualised GDP for the September quarter.

Better than the Eurozone, better than the UK, and much better than New Zealand.

We're still going backwards.

We went balls to the wall with interest rate hikes post Covid and we were the first to do it. Adrian Orr and the Reserve Bank held higher for longer and the hangover is hitting like a 40 ounce of Smirnoff in the morning.

It's not pretty, is it?

Sure, the rates are coming down and we saw more of that yesterday, but boy, the mess that wrecking ball has left behind.

What's interesting about the Americans, even though their consumer confidence is low, as ours is well, they are still going out and using the credit card to buy stuff.

In other words, the sentiment there isn't matching the reality, which is what we're seeing in the GDP number they announced this morning, which we should envy.

Of course, they're a country that's run on domestic consumption. We run on trade and we haven't been helped by the likes of China and Europe. They're the markets that we must sell to, to make a buck.

But there is a question here for Nicola Willis, now that inflation is beat, how much further will you go with the belt tightening? Is a return to surplus at all costs, at any costs worth it?

She's repeatedly said not. How much does she mean that?

I guess we'll find out when we get the numbers for December on the 17th.

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