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. Today we lead with news China is wrestling with how to respond to its slowdown, with the measures announced so far causing volatility. But, first up today, and as expected, the American CPI inflation rate fell in September but by less than expected. It came in at 2.4%, down from August's 2.5%, but ...
Oct 10, 2024•5 min•Ep. 1418
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. Today we lead with news commodity prices go into reverse as the Chinese post-holiday rally stumbles after only a brief shine. It is an ominous sign. But first in the US there was a sharp fall in mortgage applications last week, down -5.5% from the prior week. That was because interest rates moved...
Oct 09, 2024•5 min•Ep. 1416
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. Today we lead with news China has not announced the new stimulus that investors were expecting, rather just re-hashing existing measures. Equity and commodity markets reacted negatively to the disappointment. But first, the American retail Redbook index rose marginally last week to be +5.4% abov...
Oct 08, 2024•5 min•Ep. 1415
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. Today we lead with news of powerful forces at work in both the US and China. All eyes today will be on the opening of the Shanghai equity markets after their week-long holiday. Many think outsized gains are likely. Over that same period the Hong Kong index rose +12%. And those changes will be in a...
Oct 07, 2024•4 min•Ep. 1414
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. Today we lead with news the world's economy is expanding in most places despite some 'hot' pressures. The week ahead will crescendo on Wednesday with the RBNZ Monetary Policy Review and OCR decision. But there will be a lot else going on too. India and South Korea will also have rate decisions this...
Oct 06, 2024•6 min•Ep. 1413
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. Today we lead with global economic attention should have shifted to tomorrow's labour market report for September, but the US waterfront strike, and the Middle East tensions has sidelined it. However first in the US, there was a minor dip in the actual number of initial jobless claims last week, bu...
Oct 03, 2024•6 min•Ep. 1412
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. Today we lead with news Hong Kong is gripped by an unusual stock market frenzy, up +6.6% on the day. But first, US mortgage applications fell slightly last week after the best two consecutive weeks previously. The benchmark mortgage interest rate was unchanged and still at a recent low. This week...
Oct 02, 2024•4 min•Ep. 1411
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. Today we lead with news of an expansion and the inevitable retaliations in the Israel/Gaza/Lebanon/Yemen flashpoints are now having an impact on global oil prices. It is also casting a pall over global sentiment as fears mounts for an even wider conflict. The shift toward safe-haven currencies h...
Oct 01, 2024•5 min•Ep. 1410
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 results from their insurers. As well as being CEO of Ando, an underwriting agency, he's also the former CEO of Lumley Insurance. Statistics NZ's Cons...
Oct 01, 2024•43 min•Ep. 1409
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. Today we lead with news we are into Q4 now and it is starting out modestly in most places, despite an eye-popping rise on the Shanghai stock exchange. First in the US, the Chicago PMI improved marginally in September although the gain was probably insignificant. Meanwhile the Dallas Fed factory su...
Sep 30, 2024•4 min•Ep. 1408
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. Today we lead all eyes are on some well-signaled and massive fiscal stimulus due for release in China. When it is announced, it will overshadow everything else. But this week will also feature a wide range of other economic data released. Top of the list will be September's PMI data from China, the...
Sep 29, 2024•6 min•Ep. 1407
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. Today we lead China is trying to get back on track to keep up with the US economically. First in the US, the number of initial claims for unemployment benefits fell again last week and by more than expected to 181,000. In fact there has been a consistent reduction each week since the end of July. T...
Sep 26, 2024•6 min•Ep. 1406
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. Today we lead with of a settling of the global economy after some big announcements by China. So far, little seems to have changed, other than investors now think they can't lose with Chinese equity investments. But first, the surge in American mortgage applications we noted last week has extende...
Sep 25, 2024•6 min•Ep. 1405
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. Today we lead with news of some major emergency moves in China to reinvigorate their economy. But first, there was a good GDT Pulse auction result earlier this morning, although the reverse of what the futures markets had signaled. There was no gain in SMP prices, holding its recent higher level...
Sep 24, 2024•6 min•Ep. 1404
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 aligned around how we can improve KiwiSaver and make it better for New Zealanders retirements,” Milford's Murray Harris says on a new episode of the Of I...
Sep 24, 2024•22 min•Ep. 1403
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. Today we lead with news the global expansion seems to be getting more uneven. In the US, the good economic data keeps on coming. They reported a healthy PMI expansion in September, driven primarily by their service sector which is now expanding its fastest since March 2022. And the Chicago Fed's N...
Sep 23, 2024•5 min•Ep. 1402
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. Today we lead with news a risk-on shift will start the week in most major economies. As we wind down September this week here, into both school holidays upcoming and daylight saving on the weekend, the key focus will shift to Fonterra's results on Wednesday, and local consumer sentiment on Friday. ...
Sep 22, 2024•5 min•Ep. 1401
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. Today we lead with news stock markets are roaring today after the US Fed rate cut, many, including Wall Street, powering up to record highs. And interest rate curves are steepening. But first, the actual number of people making initial unemployment benefit claims in the US dropped from the previous...
Sep 19, 2024•6 min•Ep. 1400
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. Today we lead with news of a big call by the US Federal Reserve. First up you should know that the US Fed cut its benchmark policy rates by -50 bps, to the 4.75%-5.00% range, a larger cut that most professional observers had anticipated, but in line with some advance financial market pricing. (An...
Sep 18, 2024•5 min•Ep. 1399
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. Today we lead with news we are in the shadow of tomorrows US Fed rate decision. There almost certainly will be a rate cut, but the size of it is still in doubt. Place your bets. Meanwhile, today's dairy auction was a relatively tame affair, largely delivering what the derivatives markets signale...
Sep 17, 2024•4 min•Ep. 1398
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. Today we lead with news financial markets are now expecting a -50 bps rate cut from the US Fed later in the week. But first up in the US, the next regional factory survey came in surprisingly strong. The NY Empire State Manufacturing Index unexpectedly jumped sharply in September to its highest si...
Sep 16, 2024•4 min•Ep. 1397
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. Today we lead with news the world's second-largest economy is having trouble convincing anyone it is under control. This coming week it will be all about the US Fed rate decisions, and the size of the rate cut. We will get that on Thursday NZT. And there will be central bank rate decisions this wee...
Sep 15, 2024•7 min•Ep. 1396
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. Today we lead with news it is Friday the 13th, so don't expect too much from the day. The actual number of American jobless claims last week were +178,000, a one year low, taking the total number of people on these benefits to 1.71 mln, a nine month low. But the seasonally adjusted level reported w...
Sep 12, 2024•6 min•Ep. 1395
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. Today we lead with news inflation is easing in the world's largest economy. First up today, the American August CPI inflation rate slowed for a 5th consecutive month to 2.5%, its lowest since February 2021 and below market expectations of 2.6%. But it was up +0.2% from July, which was as expected...
Sep 11, 2024•5 min•Ep. 1394
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. Today we lead with news that while oil producers see sharply lower demand, the world's largest economy shows rising retail demand. But first, the overnight dairy Pulse auction saw SMP dart higher than expected to US$2800/tonne, its highest level since February 2023. The WMP component however sli...
Sep 10, 2024•6 min•Ep. 1393
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. Today we lead with news the EU has suddenly realised it is on the wrong track, with an unstainable mix of policies which are leading them into blind social and economic alleys. But first, US consumer inflation expectations for the year ahead were unchanged at 3% in August, the same as in July and ...
Sep 09, 2024•6 min•Ep. 1392
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 government bond sale, and taking an interest in the Financial Markets Authority's probe into possible manipulation in New Zealand's wholesale interest rate an...
Sep 09, 2024•30 min•Ep. 1391
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. Today we lead with news expectations of flatter demand are hurting commodity prices. And that includes some key food prices which are also impacted by healthy supply levels. But first, this coming week will bring more attention to inflation rates. We will get monthly updates from the US, China, and...
Sep 08, 2024•6 min•Ep. 1390
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 spade in the ground is double that of Australia,” he says in a new episode of the Of Interest podcas t . “Now that is significant. And when they look ...
Sep 06, 2024•25 min•Ep. 1389
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. Today we lead with news mixed news but the underlying vibe is positive. First in the US, all eyes are now on tomorrow's August non-farm payrolls report. Analysts expect a rise of +160,000 jobs. But today's pre-cursor ADP Employment Report sharply undershot that level suggesting only +99,000 jobs wi...
Sep 05, 2024•5 min•Ep. 1388
