Financial Times (February 19)
The Bank of Japan’s “ultra-loose policy is now on a somewhat pre-determined path — towards (if not quite through) the exit door.” The impact of investment flows retreating to Japan may be “most significant for the US Treasury market, where Japan is the largest single foreign holder.” But Japanese investors also hold sizeable market shares “in Australia, New Zealand and parts of western Europe. A shift in policy under Ueda will matter not just for Japan, but for pockets of global debt markets, too.”
Tags: Australia, BOJ, Europe, Exit, Impact, Investment flows, Investors, Japan, Market shares, New Zealand, Retreating, Sizeable, Treasury, U.S., Ueda, Ultra-loose policy
Bloomberg (February 1)
“Shaky property markets across much of the world pose another risk to the global economy as higher interest rates erode household finances and threaten to exacerbate falling prices.” From the U.S. to China, Australia and New Zealand, the housing slide could “threaten to undermine consumer confidence and weigh on household spending.” Moreover, “investment too could take a hit as developers scale back projects in response to falling prices, waning demand and higher borrowing costs.”
Tags: Australia, China, Consumer confidence, Demand, Developers, Falling prices, Global economy, Household spending, Interest rates, Investment, New Zealand, Property markets, Risk, Shaky, U.S.
The Guardian (September 12)
“New Zealand, which once eliminated the virus through the toughest pandemic rules in the world, has made relaxations similar to Australian or European conditions. Mask-wearing will no longer be mandatory in public places, and the last vaccine mandates will be ditched in two weeks.” Tests for inbound travelers “on arrival in New Zealand are no longer required but encouraged.”
Tags: Australia, Encouraged, Europe, Inbound travelers, Mask-wearing, New Zealand, Pandemic rules, Public places, Relaxations, Tests, Toughest, Vaccine mandates, Virus
The Guardian (December 11)
Under New Zealand’s ban on smoking, “those aged 14 and under in 2027 will never be able to buy tobacco products legally. The legal smoking age will increase with every year that passes–meaning that in 2073, someone who is 61 will be able to buy cigarettes whereas someone who is 60 will not. But, as the government ramps up anti-drug measures in the UK at the same time, you have to ask – when has criminalising a substance ever worked?”
Tags: Age, Anti-drug, Ban, Cigarettes, Criminalising, Government, Legal, New Zealand, Smoking, Tobacco, UK
The Guardian (March 23)
“Canada said it will not send athletes to Tokyo Olympics, New Zealand said it would consider boycotting Tokyo 2020 and Australia told its olympic athletes to prepare for the games to be held next year, in 2021 – all in the wake of Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, saying postponement could be an option.”
Tags: 2021, Abe, Athletes, Australia, Boycott, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Olympics, Tokyo 2020
Washington Post (July 29)
“Once again America woke up to news of a mass shooting. This time, it was at a popular food festival in California and among those killed was a 6-year-old boy, Stephen Romero, who had been playing at an inflatable bounce house when he was shot in the back.” Three died and twelve were injured. “It took just one horrific shooting spree in New Zealand to prompt leaders there to tighten gun laws, including a ban on most semiautomatic weapons. And so the question persists: “Why?”
Tags: Bounce house, California, Food festival, Gun laws, Injured, Mass shooting, New Zealand, Romero, Semiautomatic weapons, Shot, U.S., Why
New Zealand Herald (April 10)
New Zealand just experienced “a sickening demonstration of the killing power of semi-automatic weapons in the wrong hands.” This entirely justifies “Parliament’s haste in outlawing military style semi-automatic weapons…. All MPs except one are now doing what previous governments now know they should have done.”
Tags: Killing power, Military style, MPs, New Zealand, Outlawing, Parliament, Semi-automatic weapons, Sickening
Bloomberg (September 23)
“Singapore has done it again. The city-state beat New Zealand to rank first in a survey of expat destinations for the second year running…. Singapore is the best place to live, work and raise a family abroad.”
Tags: Destinations Live, Expat, Family, First, New Zealand, Singapore, Survey, Work
WARC (June 5)
“Digital advertising expenditure is set to grow across Asia in the next five years but most spectacularly in China where it will account for over half of all advertising by 2018,” as it grows from 40% of ad spend in 2013 to 55% in 2018. Other big gains are expected in South Korea (from 35% to 46%), Australia (30% to 43%) and New Zealand (19% to 28%).
Tags: Ad spend, Advertising, Asia, Australia, China, Digital, New Zealand, South Korea
Investment Week (May 19)
At just 3.6%, Japan’s unemployment rate is extremely low and this should promote inflation. “Labour shortages have already driven wages higher for part-time workers. Adding to this, the demand to provide new infrastructure for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo and the need to replace equipment should also serve to further stimulate the economy.” The OECD has forecast that “only Japan, New Zealand, and Israel are expected to grow faster than their previously forecasted GDPs in 2014.”
Tags: 2020 Olympics, Economy, Equipment, GDP, Inflation, Infrastructure, Israel, Japan, Labor, New Zealand, OECD, Shortage, Tokyo, Unemployment rate, Wages, Workers
