Bill Gross seems to have a direct line to the chairman of the US Federal Reserve. In his 35 years at the helm of Pimco, the 61-year-old has developed a reputation for predicting the market with an accuracy that is the envy of rivals, and makes him arguably the most successful bond manager in the US.

Gross speaks his mind. In his March investment outlook he demanded the US government paint the picture like it is and admit the current account deficit was unsustainable. He suggested this year's Economic Review of the President looked like it was written not by the Fed chairman, but by Dick Cheney, "a man who not only cannot shoot straight, but seems to have difficulty talking straight, too".