Weekly Digest – 14 February 2024
Welcome to our Weekly Digest – stay in the know with some recent news updates relevant to business and the economy.
NZ beef and lamb exporters hope for New Year boost in China
Companies are hopeful Chinese shoppers will buy New Zealand red meat this Chinese New Year. Meat processor Alliance is busy pushing New Zealand lamb, beef and venison into China – just in time for Chinese New Year celebrations, which kick off when the new moon rises on 20 February.
Super Fund’s returns back in black after stellar year for stocks
The New Zealand Superannuation Fund has made up for previous losses with a 16.03 per cent return in 2023, taking its worth to almost $70 billion.
ANZ picks two more Reserve Bank rate hikes ahead
Strong employment data has prompted ANZ economists to change their forecast for the Reserve Bank’s rate path this year. In bad news for mortgage holders, it is now forecasting 25 basis point hikes in both February and April, taking the OCR to 6 per cent – from its current level at 5.5 per cent.
Westpac lowering some fixed housing rates, term deposits
Westpac says it will lower fixed housing rates across a range of terms from one year to five years. The bank said it would decrease some fixed home loan rates from 10 to 20 basis points.
Auckland fuel tax ending
The Auckland regional fuel tax is ending, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have announced. The pair made the announcement, saying the tax was not being used to fund projects that met the Government’s and mayor Wayne Brown’s transport priorities.
The NZ Infrastructure Commission’s Geoff Cooper outlines how thinking slowly and acting fast could improve NZ’s infrastructure
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.
NZ makes ‘Climate risk disclosure’ mandatory for big business
Publicly listed companies, insurers, banks, non-bank deposit takers, and investment managers in New Zealand will now have to make their climate-related disclosures public after the government made reporting mandatory.
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