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(posted 04/02/2009)
Small Business
Relief Package:
Prime Minister John Key today unveiled the Government's
small-business relief package to help lighten the load on the small
and medium-sized businesses which employ many New
Zealanders.
(posted 29/03/2007)
Kiwi fall won't be
far, warn experts
High commodity prices and New Zealand's low long-term inflation
mean the kiwi is unlikely to fall much below US60c when it
eventually drops.
(posted 09/03/2007)
Three weapons to knock
down housing
Three potential measures to give the Reserve Bank more traction in
the housing market remain under consideration.
(posted 02/03/2007)
Workers in NZ
keep more pay than US, Australia.
New Zealand may be in the bottom third of the developed countries'
league table for wages, but workers get to take home a higher share
than almost anywhere.
(posted 16/02/2007)
Southern
ports in merger talks
Lyttelton Port and Port Otago
have begun discussions about merging into a single South Island
super-port company to create a more efficient trading
system.
(posted 16/02/2007)
Business advocates
common currency with Aust
A clear majority of New Zealand businesses think the idea's time
has come,for a common currency between Australia and New
Zealand.
(posted 09/02/2007)
New hub needed -
South Island manufacturers
Manufacturers are calling
for a South Island freight hub to break Auckland's dominance as the
country's number one gateway and to lower costs.
(posted 08/02/2007)
Rabobank: Tough year
ahead for farmers
High interest rates and input costs will continue to squeeze
agribusiness profitability this year.
(posted 07/02/2007)
Business more confident in
BNZ survey.
Optimists are prevailing over pessimists for the first time in the
Bank of New Zealand Confidence Survey released
yesterday.
(posted 05/02/2007)
Interest
rates expected to rise under wages pressure
New
Zealand companies probably added workers in the fourth quarter,
keeping the jobless rate close to a record low and stoking wages
growth, which increases the likelihood that the Reserve Bank will
raise interest rates next month.
(posted 29/01/2007)
Dollar rises after year
of rate threats
The promise of a March rise for
interest rates has pushed the dollar to renewed highs.
(posted 17/01/2007)
The
amazing business confidence U-turn
Business
confidence soared to a four-year high in December
2006 8
2006
(posted 21/12/2006)
NZ falls behind living
standard target
The government's goal to lift the country's living standard to the
top half of the OECD group disappeared further into the distance in
2006.
(posted 19/12/2006)
Minimum wage goes up
9.8pc
The Government announces a 9.8 per cent boost to the minimum
wage
(posted 15/12/2006)
Economists tip
rate rise
Higher interest rates are on the cards if
New Zealand's economy is growing faster than expected or if
forecast government spending is expanding too fast.
(posted 14/12/2006)
Tax break to
keep business in NZ
Tied closely to the Government's
business tax reform, the move would exempt foreign subsidiaries of
Kiwi companies from domestic tax.
(posted 01/12/2006)
Avoid tax
cuts or govt spending.
OECD prescribes further fiscal
stimulus risks economy's recovery
(posted 29/11/2006)
Confidence hits two year
high
Confidence continues to improve, and has hit a
two-year high of 14% according to the latest National Bank business
outlook.
(posted 28/11/2006)
Pulse of the
economy: Beware of the false dawn
Some key
indicators in the past month suggest the economy is over the worst
for this downturn - but beware the false dawn.
(posted 17/11/2206)
Fledgling
business gets more government aid
The Government is
to increase its contribution to early-stage investments in young
businesses in a bid to attract more private sector financing.
(posted 17/11/2006)
Growth rises
across country
There is plenty to crow about with
economic activity rising almost 1 per cent and Southland 2.3 per
cent in the past three months.
(posted 09/11/2006)
Surplus grows
but Cullen shy on tax
The Government is continuing to rake in the cash from an economy
that just will not quit.
posted 08/11/2006)
NZ judged least
corrupt
A new survey by Transparency International
says New Zealand is the least corrupt country in the world.
(posted 08/11/2006)
Blueprint for
growth
Economic Development released papers
outlining the Government's economic transformation agenda.
(posted 07/11/2006)
Wages up as
jobs boom, prices tumble
Merry Christmas - wages are up, petrol is down, there are plenty of
jobs and the high dollar is making imports cheaper.
(posted 06/11/2006)
Cullen
airs doubts on business tax cuts
The Government is
talking down the advantages of a cut to the corporate tax rate,
saying other tax breaks for business are better for the
economy.
(posted 27/10/2006)
The risk of another interest rate rise this cycle may have
passed:
The money markets and most economists believe
the risk of another interest rate rise this cycle has passed after
Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard left the official cash rate
unchanged at 7.25 per cent yesterday.
(posted 17/10/2006)
Economist sounds growth rate
alarm
The economy's sustainable growth rate may be
weaker than policymakers have assumed, with implications for
interest rates, debt levels and, potentially, New Zealand's credit
rating.
(posted 17/10/2006)
Port
deal will be three-way split
Ports of Auckland would probably end up owning just a third of the
super-port to be created if it goes ahead with the planned merger
with Port of Tauranga,
(posted 17/10/2006)
Freight carriers react
to port merger plan
A merger between New Zealand's two biggest ports could be bad news
for rail operator Toll.
New Zealand should eventually move to just one container
port.
(Posted 10/10/2006)
Home-loan battle here to
stay:
Competition between banks on home-loan interest rates will be an
ongoing feature of a market reshaped by the rise in popularity of
fixed-term loans.
(posted 05/10/2006
KiwiSaver – 11th Hour Changes
One important change
involves giving employers the option to contribute.
(posted 01/09/2006)
NZ
Consumer confidence unbowed
Despite growing concerns about the state of the local economy, New
Zealand consumers have retained a top placing in global consumer
confidence rankings.
(posted 25/08/2006)
Tax changes to KiwiSaver alarming say
accountants
Finance Minister Michael Cullen is being
accused of-
(posted 25/08/2006)
Oil
prices drive down trade figures
Car imports are collapsing, but higher oil prices and the purchase
of a big new aircraft pushed the July trade balance to a much worse
than expected $745 million shortfall.
(posted 01/08/2006)
Petroleum
rush in deep south Great South Basin bidding opens
Bidding for oil and gas exploration permits in the Great South
Basin off the Otago/Southland coast has opened.
(Posted 25/07/2006)
Tax cut plan 'not
enough'
Business groups and tax specialists say Finance Minister Michael
Cullen is not going far enough with a proposal to cut the company
tax rate to 30 cents in the dollar.
(Posted 25/07/2006)
'Is that it?' Govt
is asked on tax review
Revenue Minister Peter Dunne says it is the "most significant
review of business taxation since 1988" but businesses are
wondering "is that it?".
(posted 25/07/2006)
Government puts
tax-cuts back in spotlight
The Government has raised
expectations of a corporate tax cut and is set to come under
renewed pressure to deliver personal tax cuts as a result
(posted 18/07/2006)
Soaring NZ inflation a
worrying sign.
New Zealand's consumer price index jumped a whopping 1.5 per cent
in the June quarter - the biggest rise in 16 years - lifting the
annual rate to 4 per cent.
(posted 17/7/2006)
Cullen
kills hopes of large tax cut
Finance Minister
Michael Cullen has again warned of the "folly" of sizeable tax
cuts, just days ahead of the release of the eagerly awaited review
of business tax.
(posted 17/07/2006)
Inflation knocks rate-cut
prospects
The annual inflation rate probably
accelerated to the highest in more than five years in the second
quarter
(posted 03/07/2006)
Cycle slows but growth
still respectable
Business confidence remains
negative but firms are more upbeat about their own prospects.
(Posted 03/07/2006)
Volume of
freight set to double
Freight volumes are expected
to double over the next 15 years, with road transport tipped to
pick up the lion's share of the increase.
(posted 20/06/2006)
Deficit forecast to hit $14
billion
New Zealand's current account deficit may
have widened to a record in the year to March 31 as surging oil
prices drove up the value of imports and export growth slowed.
(posted 16/06/2006)
Eyeball to
eyeball over rail upgrade
Rail operator Toll New
Zealand and government rail agency Ontrack are entering arbitration
to decide how much money Toll should contribute toward upgrading
the rail network.
(posted 13/06/2006)
NZ purchasing
power climbs
New Zealand's purchasing power with the rest of the world has risen
in the first three months of the year because of higher commodity
prices and a lower New Zealand dollar.
(posted 09/06/2006)
Bollard warns of
inflation till mid-2007
The Reserve Bank expects inflation to be stronger for longer,
fuelled by rising oil prices and a sinking dollar.
(posted 07/06/2006)
Tax depreciation rates amended
The Inland Revenue
has published new tax depreciation rates
(posted 31/05/2006)
World
Bank: NZ easiest for business.
The World Bank says that New Zealand is still a top performing
economy, by rating it the easiest country out of 155 to do business
in, Australia ranked sixth.
(posted 29/05/2006)
Worst could be over for
trade deficit.
Higher-than-expected exports and
lower-than-expected imports in April are raising hopes that the
worst may be over for the trade deficit.
(poasted 25/05/2006)
ANZ
predicts dollar will fall to US53c
Further relief is on the way for exporters, with the ANZ predicting
the exchange rate will fall to 53 US cents and 75 Australian cents
in the next year.
(posted 23/05/2006)
N.Z.
Will Review Competition Law, Allowing Bigger Mergers
New Zealand is reviewing its antitrust law to ensure local
companies aren't restricted from mergers and takeovers that would
give them scale to compete with global rivals.
(posted 22/05/2006)
N.Z. Dollar's
Drop Reflects Economic Fundamentals
The currency is
the world's worst-performing currency this year.
(posted 19/05/2006)
Budget 2006:
Pledge To Clear Away Red-tape hurdles
The Government will conduct a review of business regulation,
focusing on the views of business owners.
(posted 18/05/2006)
Growth slows
as economy hits brakes
Economic growth is running at
its slowest in five years, the National Bank says.
(posted 17/05/2006)
Oil giant
in fight for Great South Basin
ExxonMobil, the
world's biggest oil company, is trying to get its hands on
exploration rights.
(posted 09/05/2006)
First Quarter stats
show wage rise of 0.7%
(posted 02/05/2006)
No
interest rate cuts this year – Bollard
The
continuing world oil price "shock" will mean rising prices,
according to Reserve Bank governor Alan Bollard, but some
economists still expect interest rate cuts as early as
September.
(posted 02/05/2006)
59
million trade surplus for March
The monthly trade balance for March 2006 is a surplus of $59
million (1.9 percent of exports), the first surplus since May
2004.
(posted 02/05/2006)
Union's punt for
7pc wage claim
New Zealand's biggest union's bid for
a 7 per cent pay rise for its most influential collective agreement
has been dismissed as "crazy" by the manufacturing
sector.
(posted 01/05/2006)
Unions
threaten industrial action:
If the probationary employment bill is not withdrawn in 90
days
(posted 27/04/2006)
Low dollar tipped to
lure more Japanese
The falling number of Japanese tourists may be reversed later in
the year, tourism industry figures say.
(posted 26/04/2006)
Business
confidence has rebounded sharply
The National Bank's
latest survey shows a sharp rebound with the lower dollar providing
the most likely trampoline.
(posted 20/04/2006)
N.Z.'s Annual
Inflation Rate Accelerates to 3.4%
New Zealand's
annual inflation rate accelerated in the first quarter as fuel
prices and the cost of house construction rose, dimming prospects
the central bank will cut interest rates this year.
(posted 19/04/2006)
The
Government moves to counter extreme use of salary
sacrifice.
The government is to introduce legislation to minimise the use of
excessive 'salary sacrifice'as a means of paying less tax,
(posted 13/04/2006)
Lower dollar gets
manufacturing moving
The manufacturing sector has shifted out of reverse gear, the
Business New Zealand performance of manufacturing index
shows.
(posted 12/04/2006)
Tax
overhaul started.
The tax overhaul has started off with the tax treatment of
investment,
(posted 05/04/2006)
Flatter Tax Structure
Chamber of Commerce
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