NZ businesses turn pessimistic in March quarter as margin squeeze bites

Mon, 04 Apr 2016

By Paul McBeth April 5 (BusinessDesk) - New Zealand businesses turned pessimistic about the state of the economy in the first three months of the year, as their inability to pass on rising costs squeezed margins. A net 1 percent of firms surveyed in the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research's quarterly survey of business opinion expect general business conditions to deteriorate, turning from an optimistic net 13 percent reading three months earlier. A net 18 percent of firms experenced better trading activity, unchanged from Decembe...

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