Weekly Digest – 01 May 2024

Welcome to our Weekly Digest – stay in the know with some recent news updates relevant to business and the economy.

Interest rate cuts might have to wait until 2025

Inflation is not falling as quickly as economists expected, with one high-profile consultancy picking the next interest rate cut might not come until 2025.

Alliance asks farmers to help raise share capital in bid to stay farmer-owned

Red meat cooperative Alliance is asking its farmers to help raise share capital to ensure it remains 100 percent farmer-owned, in the face of significant financial pressures.

Retailers staring into a ‘difficult’ economic winter period

Retail businesses are reporting bleak trading prospects for the first quarter of the year — with a third concerned they won’t be able to make it through the next 12 months, according to a Retail NZ report.

Call for Commerce Commission to put NZ airfares under microscope

It is time the airline sector underwent the kind of market study that has been carried out in the grocery and banking sectors, Consumer New Zealand says.

NZ retailers urged to prioritise CX over tech advances

Customer experience should be the top focus for e-commerce retailers in Aotearoa New Zealand, rather than technological advances alone, according to Mark Presnell, Managing Director at Auckland-based eCommerce integration firm Convergence.

NZ fuel prices jump 26c/l as 91 reaches record high in Australia

Unleaded 91 petrol prices in Australia’s major capital cities have reached record highs this week, while our own have jumped 26c/l over the year so far. But a leading economist says New Zealand prices are “still a way from their highest point”.

Are rate cuts actually coming? How investors are dealing with the delay

The market has pared back expectations for rate cuts here and internationally, forcing more investors to take matters into their own hands. “The interest rate curve is now telling us perhaps not to expect that rate cuts until the very end of this year, if there are coming at all.”

Does fighting inflation always lead to recession? What NZ data tells

There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not immune to this issue.

More optimism by businesses on economy

More than half of business leaders are feeling more optimistic about economic outlook over the next 12 months, despite a continuation of tough trading conditions.

New Zealand business sector R&D expenditure reaches $3.7 billion

Research and development (R&D) expenditure in the Aotearoa New Zealand business sector continues to grow, reaching $3.7 billion in 2023, according to figures released by Stats NZ today.

A story of innovation’: NZ pushes wool forward

Wool could be making a comeback. The world’s largest wool processing facility has reopened near Napier following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project

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