Economy Watch

Kia ora,

Welcome to Tuesday’s Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.

I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.

And today we lead with news markets are waiting for some big earnings reports, especially from Big Tech in the US. They are waiting in a positive mood.

But first in the US, the Chicago Fed's National Activity Index rose for a second consecutive month March, the first time that has happened since mid-2022. The result was mo...

Kia ora,

Welcome to Monday’s Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.

I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.

And today we lead with news the ongoing rise in the world economy is shifting some key metals prices into a bull-run.

But first a look ahead. The American data to be updated this week will be their advance Q1-2024 GDP which is currently expected to come in at +2.5%. That will follow key updates to durable go...

For open banking to really grab people's attention the focus needs to be on the services it can enable, rather than the technology behind it, says Andrew Dentice.

In the latest episode of interest.co.nz's Of Interest podcast, Dentice, a technology lawyer and partner at HudsonGavinMartin, discusses the data sharing that enables open banking, what open banking actually is, why progress towards it has been slow in New Zealand, what's going on with open banking overseas, the threat and opportunity of open banking for banks, the benefits of it for consumers, and more.

One of...

Kia ora,

Welcome to Friday’s Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.

I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.

And today we lead with news that while we weren't watching a few people are making financial bets so large they could hurt us all.

In its latest global financial stability report, the IMF says near-term risks have receded as disinflation (that is, the lowering of the positive inflation rate) is entering its "last mile" zone. But th...

Kia ora,

Welcome to Thursday’s Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.

I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.

And today we lead with news our meat exports to China face tough conditions, and not just from competition from excess Aussie lamb supply.

But first, US mortgage applications rose +3.3% last week even as benchmark mortgage interest rates rose to 7.13% plus points and a four month high. (A month ago it was at 6.84%.) But to be fair, the...

Kia ora,

Welcome to Wednesday’s Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.

I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.

And today we lead with news the US Fed is telling markets rate cuts from them are not coming soon.

First up today, the overnight dairy auction confirmed the recent rises, but didn't add to them in a subdued event. In USD terms overall prices were up +0.1 and in NZD terms up +1.5%. Volumes were seasonally small however. Pe...

Kia ora,

Welcome to Tuesday’s Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.

I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.

And today we lead with news that bullish American consumers are likely pushing back the likelihood the US Fed will cut its policy rate any time soon.

Financial markets now price in only two cuts this year, one in September and one in December and far less than the four priced in at the start of the ye...

Kia ora,

Welcome to Monday’s Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.

I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.

And today we lead with news of an export setback in China that may signal a tougher path for them in the rest of 2024.

But first, this week will kick off the US earnings season which will run for a few weeks until the Q1-2024 results are all in. Bank profits will be early in this se...

Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds says a re-elected Labour Government would have been willing to expand its planned public sector cuts to protect key programmes. 

The tax lawyer turned MP spoke on Interest.co.nz’s Of Interest podcast about the Coalition’s fiscal policy and her role in rebuilding the Labour Party after its election defeat. 

Part of that project will be rehabilitating the party’s economic credibility after presiding over a massive cost of living crisis. 

Ipsos’ February issues poll showed inflation, or the cost of living, was the number one issue facing New Z...

Kia ora,

Welcome to Friday’s Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.

I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.

And today we lead with news today's data releases in the shadow of yesterday's highish US CPI release, and there is some talk of rate cuts elsewhere.

First up in the US, the number of new jobless claims fell last week, consigning the prior week's jump to the 'anomaly' basket. There are now 1.9 mln people still on th...