The New Zealand trade surplus for March has been reported at $324 million, a high number for March, a low number for surrounding month. New Zealand posted a total of $324 million as its trade surplus for the month of March, which is the highest March surplus for New Zealand since 2002. Although this figure is 56% lower than the $489 million of February. Since February, the demand for import items has increased by 25% and the demand for exports only 16.8%. ... Read More

A bill has been introduced into parliament, the Student Loan Scheme (Repayment Bonus) Amendment Bill, which will see a ten percent bonus to student loan repayments that surpass a certain threshold. The new bill will see a 10% bonus to student loan repayments that are made voluntarily and amount to over $500 per year. These changes also come into effect for those that are based over-seas. The Bill is scheduled to be enacted by the end of 2009, although provisions have been made ... Read More

On the 24th of April, Prime Minister John Key announced two new appointments to join the Reserve Bank’s Board of Directors. Sue Sheldon and Keith Taylor have been appointed as the new directors to the Reserve Bank’s Board of Directors. Keith Taylor is a Wellington based professional director and a consultant, with a history in the insurance industry and as a chief executive and chief financial officer of Tower. He has also had experience at the Earthquake Commission, Government Superannuation Fund Authority ... Read More

According to a recently conducted survey, New Zealand consumers are seeing a brighter future soon and are less pessimistic. According to research published by Roy Morgan Research, which questioned 2,156 people between the 2nd and 18th of January, New Zealander’s are becoming more optimistic about the country’s economic outlook. From a consumer perspective, of those surveyed the percentage who says that “now is a good time” to buy home appliances has increased by 6% to 48%. Conversely, the percentage of those saying it ... Read More