Alan Bond on life support after triple-bypass heart surgery; Hockey feels vindicated from ‘clowns’ after GDP rise: Midday Roundup

The family of Perth entrepreneur Alan Bond has confirmed the controversial businessman is on life support and in an induced coma after undergoing triple-bypass heart surgery.

A statement released to Perth Now early this morning by Bond’s three children, John, Craig and Jody Fewster, said: “Our father Alan Bond remains on life-support and in an induced coma. He has been essentially stable for the last 24 hours and we take some hope from that.”

“The family has been overwhelmed by messages of support and it is truly appreciated,” the family added.

Bond’s doctors placed him in an induced coma following complications from a heart operation on Tuesday.

Both a successful and contentious business figure, Bond previously served jail time after being convicted of fraud for siphoning off $1.2 billion from Bell Resources into his Bond Corporation.

Hockey feels vindicated from ‘clowns’ after GDP rise

Treasurer Joe Hockey has labelled economic commentators who believe Australia is heading for a recession ‘clowns’, off the back of official data that showed the country’s gross domestic product is growing.

Australian Bureau of Statistics data released yesterday showed GDP grew by 2.3% over the year to March, which was better than most economist forecasts.

“We’ve had a terrific set of numbers that came out today and those numbers have proven that there are some clowns out there that are talking about recession and dark clouds on the horizon,” Hockey said, according to Fairfax.

“They have been proven to be looking foolish, those people, and we should be focussing on what is before us which is raw data that says the Australian economy is in the last quarter one of the fastest growing economies in the developed world. How good is that?”

Shares down on open

Local shares are flat this morning, following a rout in the global bond market, according to Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets.

“The draining of global liquidity will continue to affect all asset prices, with high yielding Australian shares particularly vulnerable,” said McCarthy in a statement.

“Despite gains on US and European forces, lower commodity prices and further selling down of yield plays could see the Australia 200 index finish in the red for the fourth session in a row.”

The S&P/ASX 200 benchmark was up 21.6 points to 5562 points at 11.45am AEST. On Wednesday, the Dow Jones closed 64.33 points higher, up 0.36% to 18,076.3 points.