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Alex Tarrant's picture
Alex Tarrant

Alex is interest.co.nz's political journalist based in the parliamentary press gallery in Wellington.
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Articles by Alex Tarrant
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Articles by Alex Tarrant


Growth lower than expected

Updated 20 Dec 12, 9:51am, Alex Tarrant
Economy grows at half expected pace in Sept qtr; Revisions show June qtr growth cut in half; NZ did have double-dip recession in 2010; But annual growth highest in 4 yrs

Current account deficit narrows

19 Dec 12, 9:53am, Alex Tarrant
NZ current account deficit narrows to 4.7% of GDP in Sept qtr from June, but more imports this year means more paid to rest of world than a year ago

Taxpayer bill from euro nations may grow

19 Dec 12, 9:05am, Alex Tarrant
Odds on NZ taxpayers helping fund more European sovereign bailouts via the International Monetary Fund have increased, Treasury says

Govt on track for small surplus

Updated 18 Dec 12, 11:39am, Alex Tarrant
Treasury lowers govt's forecast for 2014/15 surplus to NZ$66 mln from NZ$197 mln on Budget day; DMO increases debt programme; Tax revenue pick down NZ$8 bln

Petrol tax to be hiked 9 cents

Updated 18 Dec 12, 10:16am, Alex Tarrant
Govt to hike petrol taxes and road user charges 9 cents a litre over three years to pay for highway projects; But 'keen to keep overall costs down for households & business'

SOE sales go to Supreme Court

18 Dec 12, 9:54am, Alex Tarrant
Supreme Court grants leave for Maori Council to appeal High Court ruling that govt's asset sales decisions can't be reviewed

Ross liquidators to look to Madoff

18 Dec 12, 8:04am, Alex Tarrant
Ross Asset Management liquidators PwC have big task deciding whether investors who received money before collapse can keep it

PwC to liquidate Ross companies

17 Dec 12, 4:00pm, Alex Tarrant
PwC to liquidate Ross Asset Management companies; Warns 'premature to assume anything at this stage in regards to third party recoveries'

'Economy to be worse for longer'

17 Dec 12, 11:20am, Alex Tarrant
NZIER consensus forecasts show lower growth, OCR on hold till end of 2013, unemployment to stay high, NZ$ to keep rising, Govt won't hit surplus target

Key's 2013 goal: Cut unemployment

Updated 17 Dec 12, 7:38am, Alex Tarrant
PM Key says goal for 2013 is to reduce unemployment rate; Westpac consumer survey shows more 2013 pessimists than optimists; But overall confidence rises

Selling down your home in retirement

14 Dec 12, 12:06pm, Alex Tarrant
NZ needs to look at decumulation in retirement income debate, expat economist says; 'How do you convince retirees to start selling down their homes?'

Upton outlines economic challenges

13 Dec 12, 4:19am, Alex Tarrant
Ex-Cabinet Minister turned OECD official Simon Upton highlights range of risks facing NZ economy over 40yrs including global warming, pollution, pandemics, war, financial crises, deficits...

Cullen on managing Super costs

12 Dec 12, 10:10am, Alex Tarrant
Ex-Finance Minister Michael Cullen gives 3 ways to manage Super costs; Tax KiwiSaver withdrawals; Form of income testing; Super levy

Court throws out bid to halt asset sales

Updated 11 Dec 12, 3:29pm, Alex Tarrant
High Court rules govt decision to sell shares in four energy SOEs 'not reviewable'; Paves way for Mighty River sale; Maori Council already working on appeal

KiwiSaver as a monetary policy tool?

11 Dec 12, 2:02pm, Alex Tarrant
Could universal KiwiSaver be used for monetary policy means, former Finance Minister Cullen asks

'Housing affordability a key retirement income issue'

11 Dec 12, 8:08am, Alex Tarrant
Housing affordability a looming retirement income crisis, retiring Retirement Commissioner Crossan says

Billions to fix prone buildings

Updated 07 Dec 12, 9:51am, Alex Tarrant
'Ballpark' cost of upgrading NZ's 15,000-25,000 earthquake-prone buildings between NZ$2 bln & NZ$12 bln, Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment estimates

RBNZ hikes NZ$ forecast

06 Dec 12, 11:47am, Alex Tarrant
Reserve Bank hikes NZ$ forecast - TWI to stay above 71 into 2015; Says NZ$ higher than it wants; 'Due partly to major economy QE, NZ's relatively good prospects'

RBNZ’s house price warning

06 Dec 12, 8:06am, Alex Tarrant
Reserve Bank warns of higher interest rates if house price inflation turns excessive again

RBNZ leaves OCR unchanged

Updated 06 Dec 12, 8:04am, Alex Tarrant
Reserve Bank leaves OCR unchanged at 2.50%; Leaves rate projection pointing to early-mid 2014 rate hike unchanged