Budget spending programs to push pandemic deficit to $200 billion, Westpac pushes rate cut bet to November

Economists are finetuning their forecasts for next week's federal budget with a pandemic-induced deficit of $200 billion now likely. 

The Reserve Bank is also poised to cut the cash rate to a new record low of 0.1 percent. 

But Westpac chief economist Bill Evans believes that rather than a budget day rate cut, the RBA will hold off until the Melbourne Cup Day meeting in November.

Here's my report from The World Today