.Nicholas Moore, managing director of Macquarie Group, rang an awkward tone dealing with an inevitable media question on a FY2017 pay package for himself rounded to A$18 million. Asked by The Australian's new banking writer something like: "With the cost of living pressures facing families, how can you justify your pay?" Moore, who earned almost as much the year before, responded: "I don't see the relevance". Macquarie Group's $2.2 billion profit for the full year to March 2017, an ROE of 15.2 per cent and the best result for the group in many years. Macquarie's brass were reluctant to endorse optimistic scenarios. Instead, the group framed the outlook in the same old language of, paraphrasing now, "same again next year, and almost same the year after that." One measure of cynicism over restraint on where opportunities will lead the group, the record $96 share price reached fleetingly yesterday. "The smallest unit - banking and financial services - shone brightest," a cheery account on the result in The Australian reports. The Reserve Bank of Australia's quarterly Statement on Monetary Policy drew out the media on more traditional economic topics yesterday: a mildly higher forecast on the rate of economic growth and renewed worrying on low wage growth. This ABC report is one within this genre. From the media outlets the pundits at MacroBusiness deride as Domainfax there was scant repurposing of the last month's blizzard of articles on APRA lending curbs, mortgage stress, banking stability and all that (given the journalists strike at Fairfax big city titles). It's mostly in there in the quarterly statement, it's RBA pro forma, but for one day, lacking the Fairfax finesse, the rest of the media saw it as too tucked away, too dull or too overworked for an encore, yesterday or today.