Following the “revelation” that a loan shark in Porirua was charging 8% interest per week on loans, the government has offered to do nothing. Blogs on the left hand side of the spectrum were irritated by this, as they feel that people are being taken advantage of (the Standard) (Tumeke) (Frontline – prior to this […]
The RBA lowered the official cash rate to 7% yesterday, while GDP growth was a measly 0.3% over the June quarter. It appears likely that the RBA will cut rates again in October and further cuts following that cannot be ruled out. Given that this is the case I am not going to comment on […]
I’m always confused when I hear the economists are against strikes. After all, it is perfectly sensible to place strikes in the bargaining relationship between employees and employers. I think the confusion stems from the fact that many economists also say that there is a definite limit to strike action – as if it is […]
Over at the Big Picture, Barry Ritholtz has been constantly complaining that the GDP deflator is underestimating inflation. Well I’m not particularly surprised since the GDP deflator does not measure inflation persee. His specific concern is that the rising oil prices have decreased the GDP deflator – he thinks this is ridiculous, however, if we […]
Are inflation expectations anchored? Source: (RBNZ survey of expectations, J6)
Although the blogs appear to be quite quiet about it, I’ve heard a number of people complaining about the government compensating people for the impact of the emissions trading scheme. Effectively, people who are unhappy about it are telling me that such compensation appears to be pointless as it “cancels out the effect” of pricing […]