Thanks to falling interest rates and higher wages, mortgage affordability has remained surprisingly steady, writes Greg Ninness for interest.co.nz. But that doesn’t mean things aren’t a lot tougher for those trying to get onto the housing ladder. The latest house price figures make startling reading for potential first home buyers. According to the Real Estate … Read more
With New Zealand tourism in a lull – and backpackers in the firing line – Queenstown-based start-up Kiwi Welcome is creating a new model of sustainable travel where visitors add value to the land. For the past few years – up until Covid-19 began hoarding the headlines – one of New Zealand’s most pressing public … Read more
The Commerce Commission is undertaking a year-long study of supermarkets to see whether consumers are getting a fair deal, but it seems even the prime minister knows the answer will be an emphatic no, Justin Giovannetti reports. There might be something rotten with New Zealand’s supermarkets. Food prices are high and increasing, producers are being … Read more
The Reserve Bank considered it, the big banks hated it, so could negative interest rates actually work? Professor of finance Harry Scheule from the University of Technology Sydney explains. There’s a row brewing in the corridors of financial power. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) recently advised the trading banks that the official cash … Read more
With a Covid-19 vaccine potentially on the horizon, here’s how the markets reacted to the news. On Tuesday, pharmaceutical company Pfizer and biotechnology company BioNTech jointly announced that one of its vaccines was found to be 90% more effective in preventing Covid-19 in participants than those who received a placebo injection. Currently, the vaccine is … Read more
Which side spent more and why? Jihee Junn crunches the numbers and finds a few misleading claims along the way. Ahead of election day, a handful of interest groups took to Facebook and Google to lobby for their respective views on the assisted dying and cannabis referendums. In the end, New Zealanders voted decisively for … Read more
In the age of #gifted, what are people spending their own money on? Seven editors show Ensemble the receipts and share a recent, and genuine, style-related purchase. Leonie Hayden, editor of The Spinoff Ātea “I’m obsessed with discovering Māori and indigenous makers; my Instagram feed is mostly individuals and small businesses that make beautiful things inspired … Read more
A new survey from the CFFC has highlighted the gender gap when it comes to financial literacy, with some of the lowest scores among women with children and women over 35. (PLUS: How financially knowledgeable are you?) While much has been said about the wage gap between men and women in recent years, it isn’t … Read more
Jonathan Cotton looks at where the government is getting all the money to pay for the Covid-19 recovery, and where that debt is taking us. New Zealand is borrowing huge amounts of money to get us through the Covid-19 crisis. But borrowing what? From whom? And how will we pay it back? Perhaps even more … Read more
Many new investors in the US have started frantically buying and selling shares without considering the risks involved. Hatch GM Kristen Lunman explores the reasons for such behaviour and whether we’re seeing it happen in New Zealand. A share market rollercoaster, record low interest rates, and more free time on our hands have inspired a … Read more
All his life, Duncan Greive has basically hated his undies and found socks annoying. And then he tried Allbirds underwear. It is quite accurate to point out that fields as varied as medicine, transport and 90% of humans are brutally compromised by sexism. This, naturally extends to underwear, with most bras notoriously created for the … Read more
Which parties spent the most on Facebook and Google, and was it really all worth it in the end? The election is over and the results are in: Labour swept the polls, National lost big, and the Greens and Act are set to return to parliament with an even bigger cohort of MPs than they … Read more
BusinessDesk‘s Rebecca Stevenson looks into the controversial restructuring programme at New Zealand’s largest retailer, which has slashed hundreds of jobs and shuttered stores nationwide. I still recall as an employee of the former Fairfax Media business seeing a report in The Australian in 2013 which filled me, a junior reporter with an interest in business, … Read more
ACC has just started issuing their first bills to self-employed people for two years, and it’s exposed major shortcomings in the ACC levy system, writes James Fuller. In the last week or so, thousands of self-employed New Zealanders will have received their first ever ACC bill. For many it will be a confusing and frustrating … Read more
How to stop procrastinating and actually (finally) get on top of investing. Because there’s a good chance that if you’re reading this, you don’t know a single thing about it. I can’t say I have a lot of good habits, but one habit I can vouch for is my inclination to save. I’ve saved up … Read more
Apple has finally announced its long-anticipated content bundle Apple One. So what do you get, and for how much? What is Apple One? Apple One is a new content “bundle” that gives you access to the company’s music, TV, games and storage offerings via a single subscription. It was announced this week in a virtual … Read more
Tax can be confusing – it seems to have its own special language, and politicians have a habit of saying things quickly and authoritatively about it that might not make much sense. So let’s clear that up – and see how New Zealand stacks up. The biggest tax promise from a major party so far … Read more
The price of gold hit record highs last month, and New Zealanders are lusting for it. Josie Adams investigates the age-old attraction of this precious metal – and where we’re getting it from. Gold is real money. You can’t print it from a machine or birth it from a Bitcoin maths equation. You find it … Read more
New Zealanders owe more than ever, but Covid-19 has brought with it a new question: is $120,000 a head too much debt, or not enough to get the economy back on its feet? NZ Herald’s Liam Dann investigates in this Herald Premium article. “There is room to accommodate more debt in the economy,” says Chris Bloor, manager … Read more
Compliance has dropped compared with the last time New Zealand was in a lockdown, a new Stickybeak poll for The Spinoff shows. Plus: how many people have taken a financial hit? Around the world, regions or nations that have exited then returned to lockdown have faced what has been called “lockdown fatigue”. It was certainly … Read more
The first time around, lockdown birthed a wave of artisan bread makers and K-Fry truthers. This time, it’s the craftspeople’s turn. If you live in Auckland, the likelihood is you’ve been spending a lot more time inside than you usually do. Not only because the city has been placed into a level three lockdown, but … Read more
Despite the economic downturn, recent months have seen more everyday New Zealanders investing their money than ever before. But why? What with all the financial uncertainty of Covid-19, it’s a surprise anyone would choose a national lockdown as the time to start investing. But that’s exactly what 24-year-old Hanoz* did back in March. Stuck at … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for August 17, bringing you the latest on New Zealand news and Covid-19 as it returns to the community. Auckland is now in alert level three and the rest of NZ level two. More details here. Official information here. Contact me at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 7pm: The day in sum There are … Read more
What do they do? Do I really need one? And how much do they cost? Gillian Boyes from the Financial Markets Authority breaks down the basics. When it comes to important money decisions, having someone to help can make a big difference. A financial adviser can be your money coach – they can help you … Read more
Sales and discounts hook people in, but do they really live up to the hype? A recent survey found some supermarket products were on promotion so often that shoppers risked being misled about the savings they were really getting. Consumer NZ’s Belinda Castles explains what they found and why it’s time to put supermarkets under … Read more
Good habits start young, and with Money Week this week, now is a great time to look at how we can support and nourish our kids’ financial journeys writes Banqer’s Simon Brown. For some reason, a lot of people see money as a boring topic. But the fact is, it’s a construct we operate within … Read more
Buying secondhand clothing is one of the best ways to refresh a wardrobe without spending wads of money or contributing to the wasteful fast fashion industry. But there’s a fine art to finding pieces that are worth your time. I’ve never been hunting but I imagine, in a lot of ways, it’s similar to shopping … Read more
Without a capital gains tax, taxing inheritances is the best opportunity to address the entrenched inequalities of inter-generational wealth, argues Jonathan Barrett. The world’s wealthiest people will transfer US$15.4 trillion in assets to their heirs in the next decade, according to a recent report. Published by specialist data analysts Wealth-X, the report focused on the … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for July 31. The latest on New Zealand news, politics and the Covid-19 crisis, updated throughout the day. Get in touch at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 5.45pm: The day in sum An inquiry found serious failings by the NZ Defence Force in the wake of 2010’s Operation Burnham raid which killed a … Read more