Tag: Business

NZ Q2 Business Confidence Rises Slightly

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The New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER) has released the findings of its quarterly survey that indicate the country’s business confidence improved slightly in June despite the economy still being in recessionary territory. Based on seasonally adjusted figures, 59% of surveyed firms expect the economic conditions to deteriorate, down…

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…

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…

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…

NZ Dodges Recession with Strong Economic Growth

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The New Zealand economy grew by 1.7% during the June quarter, confirming that the country has managed to defy the odds and not go into a recession. This has been a positive result following a poor showing in the March quarter that saw the economy decline by 0.2%. Financial experts…

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,…

Small Business Wage Increases Match Inflation

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According to the Small Business Index report generated by online accounting software firm Xero, small businesses have increased wages by 6.8% annually. This comes close to matching the year-on-year annual inflation rate recorded in June of 7.3%. The wage hike is the highest since the series began in January 2017,…

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…