SHARE THIS Inflation is creating challenges for the New Zealand bond market and economy. In line with bond markets around the world, New Zealand’s market has had a difficult start to 2022. Bond yields and interest rates in general have been climbing as...
SHARE THIS The New Zealand market recovered well from the global plunge in equities seen in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February. The current events in Europe have had very little immediate impact on New Zealand, particularly from a...
SHARE THIS This month we focus on A-REITs, which are larger and more liquid relative to their New Zealand peers. One of the sector’s benefits over its New Zealand counterpart is its simple numerical advantage: Australia boasts 34 REITs, which is three...
SHARE THIS New Zealand’s equity market struggled in the first three months of 2025 amid global uncertainty due to trade tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. Although the market news flow was quiet in March overall, some notable developments...
SHARE THIS As in the rest of the world, consumers in New Zealand are facing significant headwinds as the cost of living rises. The consensus was for inflation to decline rapidly after peaking, but the data now show that New Zealand’s inflation is...
SHARE THIS In an encouraging sign for New Zealand equities, the benchmark NZX 50 Index ended August approximately 10% higher compared to the lows it saw in June, when it dropped below the 11,000 level for the first time in two years. However, the...
SHARE THIS New Zealand's fixed income market has struggled so far in 2024 and inflation has remained high. However, there is growing confidence that the Reserve Bank of New Zealand will lower the Official Cash Rate in the next six to 18 months due to a...
SHARE THIS Recent results in the New Zealand retirement sector have been strong almost across the board, with operators of retirement villages posting high sales of both new stock and existing units. Independent valuations of retirement village assets...
SHARE THIS The beleaguered New Zealand bond market received some respite in May, while the Reserve Bank of New Zealand raised the Official Cash Rate by 50 basis points to 2%, with the market pricing in the central bank hiking rates again in July and...
SHARE THIS The general election held in October resulted in a change in government for New Zealand. Although it is difficult to gain a full picture at this stage, we can make some key observations on monetary policy: the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s...
SHARE THIS New Zealand’s Official Cash Rate and short-term interest rates may stay elevated in 2023 but longer-term interest rates are likely to decline starting in the second half of the year as financial markets begin pricing in the possibility of...
SHARE THIS With the global outbreak of COVID-19 in the first half of 2020, the world was turned upside down. Under such circumstances, Japanese companies are now faced with new challenges to adapt to this “new normal”.
SHARE THIS New Zealand bonds went through a tough period in August. The rough patch reflects continuing uncertainty, with the bond market undecided about whether it should focus on inflation itself or pay more specific attention to the measures that...
SHARE THIS The equity market reaction to New Zealand’s second COVID-19 lockdown has been far more muted than the first time similar restrictions were imposed. The first lockdown from March 2020 caused an aggressive sell-off as investors and companies...
SHARE THIS We believe that the recent rise in New Zealand’s interest rates has put the bond market in a good place, as the alternative may have been a negative interest rate regime instead. Without higher interest rates the government would have found...
SHARE THIS We view 2024 with optimism—markets could begin to be driven by company earnings rather than by inflation outcomes and interest rate expectations as they have in the past year, and New Zealand’s market is well placed to shrug off volatility...
SHARE THIS New Zealand’s climate-related disclosures regime came into effect for reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2023 and the first rounds of annual reports were released in 2024. Now that the second year of reporting is underway, we...
SHARE THIS As New Zealand grapples with inflation and the spectre of a recession, we highlight the impact increasing mortgage rates may have on consumer spending. This is an important theme as it ties in with how we need to consider absolute interest...
SHARE THIS The Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s decision to have the Official Cash Rate (OCR) peak at 5.5% surprised the market, which had started to price in a peak of 5.75% or 6.0%. The lower-than-expected peak in the OCR is positive for equities as...
SHARE THIS New Zealand is seeing its first set of climate-related disclosures. Under this regime which began in January 2023, large organisations release "climate statements" about the potential impact of their operations on the climate and vice versa,...