Tag: budget

Government Announces Budget Deficit

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The Labour government is expected to curb spending in its upcoming “no-frills” budget following a larger-than-expected budget deficit forecast. Government coffers are set to take a major hit as plans are made to rebuild infrastructure following recent severe weather events and social welfare assistance is extended to those struggling to…

Growing Concern Over Rising Financial Services Complaints

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As economic pressures grow on consumers, there has been an increase in the number of financial services complaints. Financial Ombudsman, Susan Taylor, reported that there was a 17.5% surge in complaints lodged in the six months leading to December 2022. She noted that issues like higher interest rates and the…

Economy Records Strong Growth

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Despite experts predicting growth of just 0.9% for the quarter, the economy has surpassed expectations by growing 2% for the September quarter. Stats NZ reported that much of this has can be attributed to a surge in the service activity and growth in exports following the re-opening of the NZ…

Demand for Consumer Loans on The Rise

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With inflation and interest rates on the rise, it comes as no surprise that more people are struggling to manage tighter household budgets. According to a new Credit Indicator report released by credit bureau Centrix, consumer arrears rose by 5% in October as compared to a year before. There was…

Commerce Commission Urges Comparison Shopping

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The Commerce Commission is advising motorists to take more time to shop around for the lowest prices on fuel in their local areas. Commissioner John Small said that this would help drive healthy competition with time and was a key factor in exerting downward pressure on pricing at the pump.…

New Payment Regime to Benefit Small Businesses in New Zealand

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Minister for Small Business, Stuart Nash, recently confirmed that the Business Payment Practices disclosure scheme will help bring transparency to business-to-business payment practices. Under this scheme, firms with revenues exceeding $33 million a year would be required to report on their payment practices every six months. This threshold for what…

Kiwis Investing More Despite Volatile Economic Times

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In a new report from the Financial Services Council (FSC) titled “Money and You: Investing in Volatile Times”, it has been found that there is a growing number of New Zealanders that are choosing to invest in financial products. About 4 in 5 Kiwis were found to be doing so,…

Top NZ Banks Lower Home Loan Rates

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Over the last few days, three of New Zealand’s top banks have announced a reduction in their home loan rates. All this while multiple central banks across the world hike interest rates in an attempt to tame inflation. ANZ, BNZ, and Westpac have all recently slashed their home loan rates,…

Inflation Hits Highest Level in Three Decades

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A report by Statistics New Zealand has found that the consumer price index (CPI) has risen 7.3% in the second quarter of the year, up from 6.9% in the first quarter. This is the fastest increase on record since June 1990 when the CPI rose by 7.6%. The CPI rose…

RBNZ Hikes Benchmark Interest Rate To 2.5percent

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In another attempt to control inflation, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) has raised the benchmark interest rate by half a percentage point to 2.5%. This is the third time this year, following similar hikes in April and May, that the RBNZ has raised the official cash rate by…