Welcome to the online library we have created for placing reports and specialised commentaries too large or detailed to go into our flagship publication the BNZ Weekly Overview.
Weekly overview
The BNZ Weekly Overview is sent out each Thursday night to over 25,000 subscribers. The publication covers the latest data on the NZ economy, the housing market, interest rates, and foreign exchange with a special section for migrants on the NZD/GBP exchange rate.
BNZ Confidence Survey
The survey is sent out to each of the 25,000 subscribers to the BNZ Weekly Overview on the first Thursday of each month and results are published the following Monday. It is the most up to date gauge of changes in business sentiment in New Zealand and accurately picks changes which subsequently appear in other surveys released with lags of many weeks.
What’s New
Global Outlook Deteriorating Again Courtesy of Europe
BNZ Weekly Overview Regular Publications
Thursday May 17th 2012
Apart from Germany surprising with 0.5% growth during the March quarter there is very little positive news coming out of Europe and it seems just a matter of time and another general election in a few weeks before the Greeks leave the Euro and go back to the drachma. There are no rules for doing this and deepening concerns about the impact on holders of Euro-denominated debt in Greece, questions about whether other indebted countries may follow, and uncertainty about how much tolerance the Germans have to easing off fiscal austerity mean investors are increasingly voting with their feet and leaving the Euro. This is supporting the Pound, Yen and greenback, but adding to weakness in the NZ and Australian currencies which tend always to fall when bouts of the heeby geebies grip world markets.
That Which Lies Ahead
Newspaper Column Regular Publications
Tuesday May 15th 2012
Lets say you have made it through the past four years of recession, global crises, muted recovery, deteriorating European situation and US wobbles and have a business which is doing okay but not thriving. What are the sort of messages you might want to impart to your staff to get them in a better frame […]
House Prices Rising
Friday May 11th 2012
Our May BNZ-REINZ Residential Market Survey has found a record net 64% of agents perceive prices to be rising compared with just 25% in April. First home buyers remain very active in the market and more investors are appearing. However, consistent with the comments received from people in the real estate sector in our BNZ Confidence Survey distributed earlier this week, there is little evidence of panic buying or of a boom. Agents feel the market is neither firmly in favour of buyers or sellers.
Economy Not Growing Firmly
BNZ Weekly Overview Regular Publications
Thursday May 10th 2012
Data regarding the state of the NZ economy have been thin on the ground this week. No matter because the big events driving financial markets have been offshore. Weak US jobs data and the European election results and ensuing confusion have caused a wave of risk aversion to sweep across the markets. This has pushed the NZ dollar down along with wholesale interest rates.
The European uncertainty is going to be around for a long, long time. But at least in Australia recent data on retailing and employment growth have been better than expected and this will help support NZ growth at a time when falling commodity prices mean farmer willingness to spend will be possibly declining rather than rising.
Business Confidence Eases Slightly
Tuesday May 8th 2012
A net 22% of respondents to our May BNZ Confidence Survey indicated that they expect the economy to be better in a year’s time than it is now. This is down slightly from a net 34% positive in April but almost equal to the average for the past 12 months of a net 24% optimistic. As such it suggests that as yet there is no solid reason for expecting the economy’s growth rate to lift much above the 1.4% achieved over 2011 although when we allow for the special factor of Christchurch rebuilding our expectation of above 2% growth in a few quarters remains.