The New Zealand Official Cash Rate (OCR) was left unchanged at its latest review. At the quarterly Reserve Bank OCR Review, on January 28th, it was announced that the rate would remain at its current level of 2.5 percent. Alan Bollard, Reserve Bank Governor, said that the decision comes as a result of the economy remaining consistent with projections made in the December Monetary Policy Statement. He continued on to say that the annual CPI inflation is situated squarely in the target band ... Read More

Alan Bollard, Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ), has stated that he wants to see new taxation measures ensure that New Zealand adequately handles property taxation, to prevent a housing caused economic lull. Alan Bollard made comment on November 11th regarding New Zealand’s reliance on debt-fueled property investments. Though he did not go into specifics, he made it clear that it is the belief of the Reserve Bank that tax measures should be instated that would reduce the relative ... Read More

The New Zealand economy is showing definite signs of recovery, though warnings have been given not to over-estimate its pace. According to statements made by John Key, New Zealand Prime Minister, and reports by the New Zealand Reserve Bank, the economy will continue to recover over the second half of 2009. The Prime Minister said that the New Zealand GDP in the fourth quarter will be “quite good” and that the third quarter figure “won't be bad either”. The recovering economic figures ... Read More