RICARDO'S BUSNIESS || Swanning along

Federal TreasurerWayne Swan has been awarded the title of Euromoney Finance Minister of the Yearfor his handling of the Australian economy during the global financial crisis.

The only other Australian treasurer to also gain the award was Paul Keating in 1984 for floating the Australian dollar and opening up the banking sector.

But if Mr Swan is to win the award again, he's going to have to steer Australia through some further tough times.

New data from Westpac suggests Australia's economy is going to slow in the second half of this year, prompting a potential interest rate cut.