Level 3 = Level 4 + KFC + 420,000 extra ...
Judith Collins so elegantly put it last year that Level 3 is basically Level 4 with KFC, but she forgot to mention the extra 23% of people heading back to work.
Benje Patterson
Shipping headaches could be a $10 billion export problem
It was reassuring to see export data show New Zealand's exports rose in August, but shipping challenges could pose a $10 billion opportunity cost for exporters.
Playing fair with small business
Businesses are playing fairer with each other. Xero’s time to be paid indicator shows that the average small business now waits 23.6 days for an invoice to be paid, down from 26.7 days in June a year ago.
An oversupply of convention centres
Changes in demand due to the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as increased awareness about carbon emissions, may mean that New Zealand finds itself with an oversupply of convention centres.
Megatrends of relevance to exports from the regions
Megatrends are long-term overarching global and domestic forces that have significant implications for business, economy, society, and the personal lives of people. These forces have the potential to alter the types of goods and services New Zealand has a comparative advantage in trading, and who we trade with.
Interview: Politics, housing, and travel bubbles
It was a pleasure to talk to Andy Thompson on The Muster recently about politics, housing, and how the Trans-Tasman travel bubble help or hinder regional economies.
Back up the bus – the labour market isn’t as ...
Everyone keeps telling me we have a tight labour market. But that is not 100% true. There is actually quite a lot of slack in the labour market of people wanting to work more.
Renters are running out of affordable places
It is one year since New Zealand’s initial Covid-19 lockdown, and the property market has confounded expectations since then. Even though rents are increasing in around 80% of New Zealand’s 67 territorial authorities, there remain a few places where rents have fallen in the wake of Covid-19.
Winter will still be tough for some destinations
The Trans-Tasman bubble will not be a silver bullet for every tourism destination over the winter months. Put simply – many kiwi destinations may struggle to attract Aussie travellers during the colder months, and instead will miss out on New Zealanders who head to warmer destinations across the ditch.
Will Australians travel differently?
With a two-way Trans-Tasman bubble set to kick off after more than a year of border closures, my mind has turned towards thinking how travel patterns may have evolved in the intervening time.
Interview: finding and retaining staff in the regions
I recently spoke to Kerre McIvor on Newstalk ZB at length about how employers can solve the challenge of finding and retaining staff. COVID-19 has left some employers exposed, particularly in regions and industries that had relied on a steady stream of itinerant labour from abroad.
Business closures spike, but startups remain high
There were 10,827 businesses removed from the Companies Register in September, well up on the lockdown low of 839 in April. Nevertheless, don't get too concerned just yet. Offsetting these closures have been surprising levels of business startups, which rose sharply in the September quarter.