US data weaker; Japan rediscovers the nuclear advantage; China races to save their rice harvest; EU gets new gas price spike; Sydney to get world's tallest wood skyscraper; UST 10yr 3.11%; gold and oil up again; NZ$1 = 61.8 USc; TWI-5 = 71.1

Now they have to hope they can cling onto the $USD status as the world reserve currency, or else, oblivian!

Population now in decline unfortunately 

Oh yeah ? I lived and worked there for 36 years after a career in engineering, intelligence defence and energy in NZ, and while much of what you say is true and to be admired, there are always two sides to every coin. In Japan I worked as a business consultant, mainly in high tech, heavy, civil, aeronautical  and weapon related engineering sector and business intelligence, along with teaching Japanese diplomats and security forces officers and at some leading universities in the Kanto area.

One of the key things one needs to now about Japan are the concepts of tatemai and honne.  Tatemai is the face you present to the world and what you want the world to think of you; honne is the truth. Japan has been spectacular successful with the projection of its tatemai, especially in New Zealand, of presenting a wonderful image of itself to the point where many vendors use the word Japanese as an adjective to describe the products they are selling. And in many cases it is true because the Japanese took American developed TQC and pushed it into their work culture with the support of their CEOs - whereas the Americans, outside defence production, did not. Think Detroit. I will also say, having married into the culture and lived, unlike embassy and corporate staff, outside the gaijin ghetto as well as working at middle and higher levels of corporate and governmental Japan, that there is a dark and grossly inequitable and hopelessly inefficient side that is the honne.

Economically, their corrupt political/business culture has led to massive misallocation of resources in the form of bridges, roads, airports and tunnels with little if any traffic and no chance of the massive investment ever being paid back - and arguably the world's highest sovereign  debt, amongst other things. They are also the poster child of world wide demographic collapse - except for my two sons in Tokyo who seem to have inherited their filthy father's interest in Japanese women and are, unlike many of their generation in Japan, ensuring the continuation of my bloodline.

Really ? See my previous post. In aeronautical engineering and business in which I was directly involved, take a look via the 'Net at the YS-11 and its successor the Mitsubishi Regional Jet. Mind boggling incompetence and waste of money via the Iron Triangle. At least they got it right with the Shinkansen, whereas the Chinese, who as usual ripped off the Japanese designs, have dug themselves an enormous hole with their high speed rail network and, like the Japanese, are leaving this mess to what may be the fastest shrinking population in history.

Well Murray, I worked at Toshiba's Nuclear Engineering division not long after they took over Westinghouse and the engineers there told me they really did not know what they were doing. That is, they had bitten off more than they could chew. Today, the Toshiba where my father in law worked all his life as a loyal salariman is no more and is in the process of being broken up with various entities squabbling over how to dismember the corpse.

Or the developer goes bust and it stops half way through in which case the wood would rot and any new owner would have to completely demolish it and start again.

This article shows you what la-la-land some investors are in. Mr King, quoted in the article said he thought  sustainable prices would be when capital gains are between 5-8% per year. Some sums for Mr King:

Assuming a $750,000 price for a house (well below the national average in 2021) and the lower point of his range:

Īn 5 years: house costs $911,000

In 10 years: $1.16m

In 15 years: $1.48m.

Moving to the mid-range of Mr 100 houses King:

In 5 years: $965k

In 10 years: $1.32m

In 15 years: $1.81m

At the upper range:

5 years: $1.02m

10 years: $1.49m

15 years: $2.2m.

So in his fantasies he's wanting his 100 houses (assuming they all are $750k today) to earn him $63m in untaxed capital gains in the next 10 years.

Agree. He’s a limited thinker.

The question has been answered by NZDF.

LWOP.

Just what makes you think NZDF will now what they are up to ? This from a former JIB officer.

Operationally, it's highly unlikely the NZDF know what individuals are up to specifically, or care to know. They're not on deployment.

MFAT will take an interest for consular reasons. Other agencies might take an interest in specifics depending on other risk factors.

It’s an interesting one. The airline was bailed out by the government after the absurd venture into Australia, Ansett. Rough times then and now certainly. Didn’t much think so at the time but probably the bail out is now proven to be a correct action. Otherwise during the pandemic/lockdown NZ may not have had any certain good air connection with the rest of the world.