We fear our children won’t own homes, say the nation’s business leaders. Housing is one of the biggest issues in New Zealand at the moment — that was the response from CEOs in this year’s Mood of the Boardroom survey.
Cathy Quinn, chair of law firm Minter Ellison Rudd Watts, says “New Zealand is a comparatively good place in the world and our economy is doing well. But like many New Zealanders, I worry about housing affordability in Auckland for our staff and our children.”
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Air New Zealand leads stock index down
New Zealand shares dipped, led lower by Air New Zealand and Vector, with Arvida Group and Tegel Group Holdings rising.
The S&P/NZX50 Index fell 11.98 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 7062.96. Within the index, 23 stocks fell, 20 rose and seven were unchanged. Turnover was $72.3 million.
Matt Goodson, managing director at Salt Funds Management, said the local market was in a holding pattern ahead of next month’s results season, with little news from listed companies.
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Whole milk powder prices fall again at latest GDT auction
Whole milk powder prices failed to live up to expectations by registering a slight fall at the latest GlobalDairyTrade auction, while product prices overall were flat.
It was a mixed bag for the Fonterra reference products, with the price of wholemilk powder – the product with the greatest bearing on Fonterra’s farmgate milk price – dropping by 0.1 per cent to US$3283/tonne.
Read more: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11784346
Economy expected to grow strongly in 2017 as confidence overcomes quakes
Businesses appear to be shrugging off the impact of the recent earthquake, with confidence in the capital at a two year high.
The Institute of Economic Research’s (NZIER) quarterly survey of business opinion (QSBO) for December found a net 26 per cent of businesses expect conditions to improve over the coming year.
Confidence remained robust in most regions, with increases both in the South Island and Wellington, despite considerable disruption to the capital from the November 14 earthquake.
Kiwis urged to tackle credit card debt
Kiwis are more likely to let their credit card payments slip in the first three months of the year leaving them exposed to higher interest costs and a bad credit score.
Research by Credit Simple has found between January and March 7.6 per cent of accounts are past due compared to 6.4 per cent annually.
Read more: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11784157