Not even if today's GDP numbers show a booming economy.

And that probably holds for the October meeting as well. On the assumption that the GDP numbers won't show a boom, or if they do it'll be unreliable.

Then, thus, it's over to the banks. If they want to lift their home mortgage rates -- they probably would prefer to tack 15 points on top of 25 from the RBA -- they are going to have to do it all on their own.

The RBA isn't intending to cut its rate, either next week or any time soon, either. But I have to make the qualification that it would if we got ambushed by some form of global meltdown.

The simple point is that it can if necessary. Indeed, it can slash rates by as much as it did in 2008 and they would actually flow through to borrowers. Fed head Ben Bernanke can only whistle nervously and unconvincingly in a very cold wind.

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