The Government could run a second retirement income scheme alongside NZ Superannuation as part of a transition to a new system, but according to Andrew Coleman, this couldn't be done without an increase in taxes on older people, or more general tax increases. Fresh from his 13 part interest.co.nz series on NZ's government retirement income system a…

New Zealanders should be grateful insurance companies remain committed to New Zealand given the country's risk exposure, John Lyon of Ando Insurance says. In the latest episode of the Of Interest podcast I asked Lyon how well general insurers are serving New Zealanders, how competitive the market is, and how the public should judge strong financial…

Milford Asset Management’s head of KiwiSaver says KiwiSaver – the country’s voluntary retirement savings scheme which is in its 17th year – is a teenager that’s about to head into adulthood. “I think it's the right time to have the discussions we were having at the [Financial Services Council] Conference. By and large, providers are pretty well ali…

The integrity of bond markets on both sides of the Tasman is at stake as regulators probe issues of potential market manipulation, Australian Financial Review senior reporter Jonathan Shapiro says. Shapiro is covering the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) probe of the ANZ Group's role in a A$14 billion 2023 Australian governme…

Grocery Commissioner Pierre van Heerden wants a third supermarket competitor to set up shop in New Zealand in order to tackle the country’s supermarket duopoly, but reducing the barriers to entry won’t happen overnight. “What we've been told by these players is when they come and they want to open up a large store in New Zealand, the cost to get a …

With US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell signalling interest rate cuts ahead, the US dollar's likely to weaken with the Kiwi dollar rising against it, Imre Speizer, Head of NZ Markets Strategy at Westpac Institutional Bank, says. Speaking in a new episode of the Of Interest podcast, Speizer says although the expected central bank interest rat…

The process of growth will be the main benefit from a scaled up Kiwibank, while public acclaim will be a key measure of open banking's success, Commerce Commission Chairman John Small says. Small spoke to interest.co.nz for the latest episode of the Of Interest podcast, which will be published later on Wednesday. The interview came after the Commis…

Deputy Governor Christian Hawkesby says the Reserve Bank's (RBNZ) Monetary Policy Committee might have taken a different stance in May if the economic activity forecasts had been more accurate. In May, forecasts had anticipated 1% GDP growth for the calendar year. But by August, that had been revised to a 0.4% contraction, with a deep decline in th…

The balance of power in the labour market sits firmly with employers, with a big rise in job applicants over the past year chasing a significantly diminished number of jobs, says Frog Recruitment Managing Director Shannon Barlow. "For our recruitment agency, we're probably experiencing around three to four times the volume of applications compared …

The Government's push to have more apartments, including shoebox apartments, built should be welcomed over time by a range of buyers including first home buyers, property investors and retirees, suggests John Bolton, founder of mortgage broker, lender and savings product provider Squirrel. Speaking in a new episode of interest.co.nz's Of Interest p…

Mainstream economics courses teach students money is a scarce resource and nature has boundless capacity to be exploited when in fact it's the other way around, argues Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) economist Steven Hail. Advocates say you don't do MMT, rather it's a description of how the monetary system works. And countries like New Zealand, where …

New Zealand's nascent private credit industry could account for up to 5% of business lending to operating companies over time, suggests Aotea Asset Management (AAM) executive director Will Carnachan. AAM, which launched three years ago, is a corporate debt fund manager organising wholesale investorsto contribute to direct secured loans to businesse…

The Reserve Bank surprised the market on Wednesday by dropping hints it was open to cutting rates sooner than planned, due to signs the economy was getting too weak. While the tone shift was unexpected, the central bank was reacting to the same data which had caused ASB’s economics team to change their own interest rate forecast the week prior. Nic…

New Zealand exporters to the United States might be at greater risk of being disrupted than those exporting to China, according to one trade expert. Despite talk about the need to diversify away from China due to geopolitical differences, it may be the United States that hits Kiwi businesses with tariffs intended to shut them out. Stephen Jacobi, t…

The first New Zealand and international wave of electric vehicle (EV) uptake is probably over, with cheaper cars and better public charging infrastructure required for further major growth in the uptake of these "batteries on wheels," says James Foster. In a new episode of interest.co.nz's Of Interest podcast, Foster, who runs the EVDB website, say…

Ask Cameron Bagrie how to improve business and rural banking and some words reoccur in his answers. Three of them are "risk", "productivity", and "bankability." With two parliamentary select committees set to hold an inquiry into banking competition, the business and rural banking markets will feature, unlike in the Commerce Commission probe into c…

By Gareth Vaughan How seriously is the public sector taking the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing? This question comes up in a new episode of interest.co.nz's Of Interest podcast, featuring barrister and solicitor Fiona Hall and anti-money laundering auditor and consultant Martin Dilly. In a recent article the two raised concer…

The Australian Government's a Future Made in Australiainitiative could attract skilled migrants and potentially investment and entrepreneurs from New Zealand, and ultimately be a catalyst for a much more sustainable future, says Kylie Walker, the CEO of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences & Engineering. In last month's budget, Prime Mi…

The fund backing New Zealand's incoming depositor compensation scheme is going to be small, it's going to take a long time to reach its target level, and the lack of depositor preference in the scheme is a mistake, according to a deposit insurance expert. Geof Mortlock, an international financial regulatory consultant who does work for the Internat…

Renting in New Zealand today is more difficult than a decade ago, with fewer properties available, rents continuing to increase, and the quality of rental properties not much better, Shamubeel Eaqub says. However, the economist and co-author of the 2015 book Generation Rent, rethinking New Zealand's priorities, says it's not all bad news. Speaking …

With economic growth no longer producing benefits seen in the past such as raising living standards for the middle class, and human activity having exceeded some planetary boundaries, it's time to embrace degrowth, argues Jennifer Wilkins. Wilkins is a researcher and advocate on sustainability in business with a focus on degrowth. In a new episode …

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 op…

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…

The departing Chief Executive of the Insurance Council of New Zealand says if Wellington is hit with an earthquake on a similar scale to the Canterbury quakes, it would “raise some questions” on whether NZ insurers would be able to continue to purchase reinsurance at an affordable cost. “I think reinsurers would still be there. But the ability to p…

In five years' time we would see things we can't imagine today if the Government adopts the Commerce Commission's recommendations to boost competition for personal banking services, Commission Chairman John Small says. Speaking about the Commission's draft report from its banking market study in the latest episode of interest.co.nz's Of Interest po…

With a United States presidential election looming in November, Patrick Watson, Senior Economic Analyst at Mauldin Economics, says it's difficult to say what the key economic battleground will be because many voters are "living in their own realities." Speaking in a new episode of interest.co.nz's Of Interest podcast, Watson says there's not a grea…

The "cheer squad" make it hard to have a proper debate on housing, especially when looking to address the question of what we want from the housing market from a public policy perspective. So says Cameron Murray, Chief Economist at Fresh Economic Thinking, a new Australian think-tank. In the latest episode of interest.co.nz's Of Interest podcastMur…

China's economy remains mired in a post-Covid hangover like much of the rest of the world, but the technology, catering and tourism sectors are encouraging, according to David Mahon. Mahon, the Beijing-based Managing Director of Mahon China Investment Management, spoke to interest.co.nz in the latest episode of our Of Interest podcast. The relative…

The coalition government's select committee banking inquiry could look at how to encourage banks to lend more to "productive" sectors of the economy rather than having such a big focus on "unproductive" housing lending, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. The National-NZ First coalition agreement says the government will estab…

New Zealand should be working towards a 100-year planning horizon when it comes to infrastructure, and viewing planning as "an exercise in dynamism and inquisition" rather than a "bureaucratic exercise." That's the view of Geoff Cooper, General Manager of Strategy at the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission. Speaking in interest.co.nz's Of Interes…

Although the war on inflation is being won, there are still battles to come and it's too soon to expect Reserve Bank interest rate cuts, says Kiwibank Chief Economist Jarrod Kerr. Speaking to interest.co.nz for the first 2024 episode of our Of Interest podcast, Kerr says the cost of living crisis is improving for households and businesses. "We are …

Following COP28's call for a transition away from fossil fuels, a key test will be how quickly a rethink of the market capitalisation of oil and gas companies starts emerging, says Rod Oram. Fresh from attending COP28 in Dubai, Newsroom journalist Oram spoke to interest.co.nz for the latest episode of our Of Interest podcast. COP28, or the 28th mee…

By Gareth Vaughan The first-half of 2024 is likely to be tough with rising unemployment and more businesses failing as the economy "bounces along the bottom," says BNZ Head of Research Stephen Toplis. In a new episode of interest.co.nz's Of Interest podcast, Toplis delves into the swathe of domestic economic data from the past week including Gross …

Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr says he's "extremely confident" the world is heading back to a period of low inflation, saying the central bank is prepared to do "whatever it takes" to achieve its mandate of low and stable inflation. Speaking in in the latest episode of interest.co.nz's Of Interest podcast, Orr talks about the reaction from financ…

On the 22nd of November, while the National Party was putting the finishing touches on its coalition agreement, the European Union (EU) ratified a new trade deal with New Zealand. It was the latest in a long line of agreements NZ has struck since 1983, but it could be the last. Speaking in in the latest episode of interest.co.nz's Of Interest podca…

Although trading in foreign exchange markets is inherently very risky, the Reserve Bank (RBNZ) boosting its capacity to do so makes sense both from monetary policy and financial stability perspectives, Westpac New Zealand Chief Economist Kelly Eckhold says. Speaking in in the latest episode of interest.co.nz's Of Interest podcast, Eckhold whoformer…

New Zealand should be one of the easiest places in the world to get to net zero greenhouse gas emissions and we should be planning for net negative, the next step after that, says Christina Hood. Hood, the head of energy and climate policy consultancy Compass Climate, spoke to interest.co.nz in a new episode of our Of Interest podcast. Hood is also…

After the 2014 election, Peter Dunne got a phone call from Prime Minister John Key to say National wouldn’t need the support of United Future to form a Government. The same call was made to the Act and Māori parties, which had also signed confidence and supply agreements after the 2011 election. Key invited all three parties to stay in the tent, if…

The new Football Manager game is coming and with it being the last one until the game moves to the Unity engine, we were skeptical, with emphasis on WERE.

New Zealand's supply chains are in "a serious, if not critical condition," requiring holistic systems thinking and a long-term focus, investment and government support to become stronger and more resilient, says self proclaimed supply chain tragic Dave Christie. Christie, who has worked in supply chain roles for the army, PwC, the Warehouse, Fonter…

So it's been exactly one week since the last one and we're glad to be doing our next installment, good to see you!

The Green Party’s finance (and transport) spokesperson Julie Anne Genter has an unlikely ally on a handful of policy issues: Mayor of Auckland Wayne Brown. Both politicians agree New Zealand needs to scale up its public transport, move more freight by rail, implement congestion charging, and build cheaper versions of big Labour projects. The Greens…

Labour Party finance spokesperson Grant Robertson admits to overspending in one area, his own personal home sound system, but he doesn’t regret it. “I probably spent more money on stereo equipment than [I should’ve], but I get a great deal of joy out of it,” he said, after Interest.co.nz asked for an example. It turns out he is something of an audi…

The New Zealand First deputy leader and finance spokesperson Shane Jones is calling for higher growth and more productivity as a way to bring prosperity to a wider class of New Zealanders. He adds this is the way to help Maori overcome negative social statistics, and the thicket of regulation governing business in all areas of the economy only make…

The Chinese people are very concerned about their country's tense relationship with the United States and it's a factor in weak consumer confidence, says Beijing-based David Mahon. Mahon, a New Zealander who has lived in China since 1984, is Managing Director of Mahon China Investment Management. He spoke to interest.co.nz in the latest episode 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 central banks in both China in the EU have been active overnight, both dovishly. But first up, initial American US jobles…

New Zealand ought to change its political party funding system so it encourages politicians to connect with as many ordinary New Zealanders as possible, Max Rashbrooke argues, whilst noting it's not in political parties' interests to do so meaning such a change probably won't happen anytime soon. Rashbrooke, a senior research fellow in the school o…

The Commerce Commission should be looking closely at banks' overall interest margins in its market study into personal banking services, says David Cunningham. Cunningham is CEO of Squirrel Group, a mortgage broker that also offers lending and investing products and services, and a former CEO of The Co-operative Bank and manager at Westpac New Zeal…

New Zealand's anti-money laundering (AML) regime could be simplified and improved, although care would need to be taken to avoid jeopardising our good standing in the international community, not to stop information flow to the police, and to avoid creating loopholes criminals can exploit, says leading AML lawyer Gary Hughes. Hughes speaks about th…

Ten years from now Kiwibank CEO Steve Jurkovich wants New Zealanders to be thinking about their big five, rather than big four, banks, with Kiwibank in there mixing it with the four Aussie owned banks and not the smallest among them. In the latest episode of interest.co.nz's Of Interest podcast, Jurkovich speaks about where the now 21 year-old Kiwi…