If you ask anyone who has been following the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) closely over the past decade or so to describe the bank in just one word, it’s a safe bet that “optimistic” will feature heavily. Year after year, it seems to be optimistic about almost everything. The global economy. Check. The Australian economy. Check. The outlook for Australian wage growth. Check. The return of inflation back to within its 2-3% target. Check. The RBA’s latest economic forecasts, released earlier this month, are a sign that this undying optimism remains as strong as ever in early 2018. It expects Australian economic ... (full story)