Reserve Bank 'jawboning' must continue

Reserve Bank 'jawboning' must continue
Reserve Bank of New Zealand chief economist Paul Conway. (Image: NZME)
Warren Couillault
The past few weeks have been all about the global banking system and bank failures, with Credit Suisse's collapse the most spectacular. Having said that, fears about German colossus Deutsche Bank could negate the final part of that sentence. We’ve also had a few months now of slowing economies, including a surprising contraction here in NZ in the past quarter. Everywhere, we're starting to see layoffs as last year's sharp interest rate increases start to bite, including at global giants like Amazon, Microsoft and Met...

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Manufacturing activity has contracted for 22 consecutive months
Economy

Manufacturing activity has contracted for 22 consecutive months

New Zealand’s manufacturing sector contracted in December, marking the first time in the survey’s history that all 12 months were in contraction. The seasonally adjusted Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) for December was 45.9, up from 45.2 in November but still well below...

Bank economists expect OCR rises in 2026
Economy

Bank economists expect OCR rises in 2026

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Westpac records soft December retail spending
Economy

Westpac records soft December retail spending

Despite a slight lift, Westpac data points to a soft end of year for household spending.Westpac’s retail tracker, released on Thursday, showed spending on Westpac-issued credit and debit cards was up 2% in December compared to last year.  Westpac senior economist Satish Ranchhod...

Staff reporters 16 Jan 2025
Price shakeup for cigarette brand
Retail

Price shakeup for cigarette brand

Cigarette prices typically go up each year. Not in this case.

Oliver Lewis 16 Jan 2025