Heard of the Hawk List? Neither had Quidnunc. Apparently it has been dreamt up by economists as yet another method of predicting the future. Naturally, like most means of divining bears and bulls, it is wrong more often than right. The latest, from Dow Jones, gives scores to all 17 members of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank. Top of the Hawk List means tough on interest rates and likely to raise them at the first sign of danger - in other words using the rates as an economic manipulator. German Otmar Issing, who was in Dublin this week, is tops, followed by Italy, Finland, France and then the Dutch president Wim Duisenberg. Belgium comes last. At Number 12 comes our own man Maurice O'Connell. The commentary says he is one of the most silent on the ECB Council, with only four public appearances a year and rarely giving interviews. Do they know about the DIRT inquiry?