New Zealand is in recession, so why are so many in the finance industry so confident about the future? Fergus McDonald of Nikko Assset Management explains. This was a year of fear, anxiety, uncertainty and global economic defibrillation. And yet for investors and owners of assets – from art, to gold, to property – it … Read more
As 2020 draws to a close, Michael Andrew asks the economists what they made of a year of dire forecasts, record spikes, lockdowns, recessions and resilience. It’s April 2020, New Zealand is in the middle of the nationwide level four lockdown, and I’m on the phone with my old university lecturer, Professor Paul Hansen – … Read more
Working For Families payments are a lifeline for kids in poverty – but only if they happen to have a parent in paid work. It’s time to end this false dichotomy between the ‘deserving’ and ‘undeserving’ poor, writes Child Poverty Action Group’s Susan St John. As 2020 stumbles to an end and the wage subsidies … Read more
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern today addressed the business community in her first policy speech since last month’s election. Here’s what she had to say. What’s all this then? Speaking amid the din of the US election and new lockdowns across Europe, Jacinda Ardern today outlined her government’s economic plans to New Zealand’s business community. Referencing … Read more
Super-low interest rates are a blessing to those already on the housing ladder. For those still renting and without a deposit, it is yet another nail in the long-sealed coffin of potential home ownership. Last week, when Heartland Bank became the first lender in New Zealand history to offer a home loan interest rate below … Read more
Covid-19 has shoved New Zealand’s economy into recession, prompting a whole lot of businesses to downsize and slash their workforce. That’s why a support club has been formed to help the newly unemployed to get back on their feet. Redundancy can hit like a ton of bricks. The shock, uncertainty, the loss of income, that … Read more
We’ve heard at length from the five major parties. But what policies do the minor parties have to support businesses and rebuild the economy from the Covid-19 rubble? Geoff Simmons of TOP, Vernon Tava of Sustainable NZ, Billy Te Kahika Jnr of Advance NZ and John Tamihere of the Māori Party today addressed New Zealand’s … Read more
New Zealand’s housing market is going ballistic, defying economic forecasts and historic trends. Michael Andrew asks the experts what’s causing the clamour and what it means long term. Six months after Covid-19 first reached our shores, New Zealand’s economy has officially moved into recession. GDP is down 12.2% – the largest drop on record – … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Long forecast recession finally arrives, NZ First releases list for election, and scramble to come up with gathering guidelines for Auckland tertiary institutes. It almost doesn’t make sense to call this news, but the country has officially tipped over into recession. The reason it’s entirely unsurprising is … Read more
New Zealand’s economy is officially in a recession, with statistics released today revealing a record 12.2% decline in GDP. But as Jarrod Kerr of Kiwi Economics writes, it’s now time to focus on recovery. As economists, we love trawling through data. But we’ve never seen anything like this. This is traumatic. Service exports were stonewalled, … Read more
One month since the country’s newest upmarket shopping mall opened its doors, Commercial Bay is giving some of its tenants a rent holiday to help soften Covid-19’s economic blow, reports Amy Williams for RNZ. Commercial Bay – a $1 billion development with more than 120 shops – occupies a city block in downtown Auckland. It … Read more
The true economic turmoil of the Covid-19 downturn is yet to be felt. However, some family operations are old enough to have endured – and survived – many of these types of shocks before. Every once in a while, at Gemmell’s shoe and bag repairer on central Auckland’s Symonds St, a customer brings in a … Read more
It’s a state-of-the-art retail and hospitality centre opening in the jaws of a recession. Michael Andrew takes a look at the hurdles and hopes for the new billion-dollar Commercial Bay. Earlier this week, two days before its official launch, the Commercial Bay development in downtown Auckland opened for a discreet preview. A small group of … Read more
Debt has been a bad word in Wellington for decades. All of a sudden the government is planning to spend billions of dollars we don’t have because of Covid-19. Justin Giovannetti on the new appetite for debt, and how it compares with the rest of the world. New Zealand is about to embark on a … Read more
With billions paid out through the government’s wage subsidy scheme, Vanessa Schouten asks if all that was claimed by businesses was actually needed, and if it should be paid back. When the government introduced the wage subsidy scheme back in March, it was on the basis that the money would “help keep people attached to … Read more
Hatch GM Kristen Lunman shares some dos and don’ts for investing during a big market decline. Covid-19 has sent share prices from New Zealand to New York tumbling, sparking a wild ride over the last couple of months and into a volatile bear market. If you’re not familiar with the term bear market, it refers … Read more
With the global economy due for another slowdown, coupled with major economic disruption caused by Covid-19, we’re standing on the precipice of what looks to be a long and hard global recession. So what can we do to protect ourselves? Accountant and financial blogger Sam Harith has some advice. 1. Identify your personal income stream(s) … Read more
From the reemerging debate around capital gains tax to the increasing reach of tax authorities, Terry Baucher, writing for interest.co.nz, looks at a number of implications the coronavirus pandemic could have on the tax system. “There are decades when nothing happens and there are weeks when decades happen,” Lenin is said to have remarked, possibly … Read more
In times of economic uncertainty, good information can be an invaluable commodity. So we’ve been working on a way to channel it to you. For many people, knowing what to do in our radically changing economy is like trying to figure out what to do when the power in your house stops working. You’re at … Read more
While the government’s massive financial assistance package will provide some relief, experts say NZ business owners still need to be proactive and calm – and make hard decisions sooner rather than later. Called “the most significant peace-time economic plan in modern New Zealand history” the government’s $12bn financial package announced this week will provide much-needed … Read more
The effects of Covid-19 on New Zealand music won’t be short-lived. Here’s how some members of the industry – both on stage and behind the scenes – are coping. On a plane to New York, musician Joe Locke is dry-retching. He’s having a panic attack. Soon he’ll be flying home to New Zealand, back to … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: New travel restrictions make Covid-19 recession all but certain, further cases of the virus confirmed, and March 15 commemoration called off. Major new travel restrictions were announced over the weekend, making a recession this year all but certain to happen. Toby Manhire has put together the essential … Read more