What happened Wednesday

Economy / news

A review of things you need to know before you sign off on Wednesday; no retail rate changes, rental yields take breather, inflation indicators reveal upside risks, swaps firmer, NZD softer, & more

13th Mar 24, 3:59pm by David Chaston

Here are the key things you need to know before you leave work today (or if you already work from home, before you shutdown your laptop).

MORTGAGE/LOAN RATE CHANGES
None today so far.

TERM DEPOSIT/SAVINGS RATE CHANGES
None here either.

FLATTENING OUT
New analysis of residential property rental yields shows that after almost two years of improving yields, they took a breather at the end of 2023. The full analysis is here.

FOOD PRICE RISES QUASHED BY LOWER YEAR-ON-YEAR VEGETABLE & LAMB PRICES
Stats NZ says food prices fell -0.6% in February, while rent increases showed signs of stabilising and domestic airfares went up again. For food, this was the slowest annual pace rise at +2.1% since May 2021. The grocery food component is up +3.9% and more than the +3.7% Foodstuffs said its suppliers charged it in the same month.

RENTS STILL INFLATING HARD
House rents were up +4.5% nationally from a year ago in February. But the subcategory of rents for properties newly listed went up a sharp +6.0% nationally. It was +7.3% in Auckland, +2.2% in Wellington, and a massive +9.9% in Christchurch. In fact that is their third highest rise since 2013. Christchurch rent increases have been strong for 30 months now.

MORE EVIDENCE INFLATION IS NOT CONTAINED YET
Also inflating hard were petrol prices (up +12.3% from February a year ago), domestic airfares (up +7.7%), and local tourist accommodation (up +6.1%). However all these pale in comparison to the rise in international tourist accommodation (when prepaid in New Zealand), which rose more than +24% on the same basis. (The Taylor Swift effect ?) Gulp.

NOT AGING WELL. UPSIDE RISKS BUILDING
As a consequence of today's data release on prices, some analysts (Westpac for example) have already upped their inflation forecasts, in their case to 4.2%. That is well above the RBNZ's last MPS forecast of 3.8% for the March quarter (and going down from there). The RBNZ's forecast hasn't aged well and they will be well aware of that.

WILL UPDATE IN 2025
Under-funded Stats NZ today said it will be reviewing and revising the components of the CPI - but that work won't be released until April 2025.

HOUSE PRICE WATCH
The REINZ said it will release its February sales reports tomorrow (Thursday) at 9am. We will have full coverage.

PACE PICKING UP TO 2019 LEVELS
More than 36,000 people arrived in the country on work visas in the first two months of this year, more than half of them in February alone.

MORTGAGE BROKER SENTENCED
Natalie Ann Carter, a former Hawke’s Bay-based mortgage broker, has been sentenced to 12 months home detention following a criminal prosecution brought by the FMA. Carter pleaded guilty to three charges of forgery, tow of obtaining credit by deception exceeding, tow of attempting to obtain credit by deception, tow of using a forged document, knowingly misleading the FMA, and making a false or misleading statement. Imprisonment was ultimately commuted to 12 months home detention after discounts were applied.

EMERGENCY RESCUE OPERATION
In China a Beijing-directed rescue of property giant China Vanke is apparently underway. We should all hope it works. But even if it does it will take a tough toll on the Chinese economy, Shenzhen in particular.

IN CHINA, ALL DATA IS "NATIONAL SECURITY"
China's Ministry of State Security (MSS) is now increasingly focused on "food security". The MSS says “In recent years, national security agencies have cracked down various espionage activities related to food security, cutting off the "black hands" of foreign espionage targeting China's germplasm resources, preventing and addressing the risks of food security leaks, and ensuring the smooth implementation of the national food security strategy”. That will put paid to the normal global method of sending analysts into the field to assess upcoming grain and crop harvest (something necessary because satellite photos can't yet assess yield prospects - you need to be in the field.) Without that sort of crop intelligence from a major producer (China), global seasonal food planning is going to be far less accurate.

BIG JOB LOSSES
Media reports are suggesting that PwC Australia will swing the axe in the biggest round of job cuts in recent memory, with up to 400 staff set to be made redundant on today.

ONE CLEARED, TWO UNCERTAIN
And staying in Australia, prudential regulator APRA has cleared NAB (BNZ's parent) of having to hold extra capital due to inadequate governance issues. But is is strangely silent on both Westpac and ANZ who are also facing this capital penalty. CBA (ASB's parent) was never on the APRA radar.

SWAP RATES FIRMER
Wholesale swap rates have probably risen modestly today. Our chart below records the final positions. The 90 day bank bill rate is down -1 bp today at 5.64%. The Australian 10 year bond yield is up +4 bps from yesterday at 4.02%. The China 10 year bond rate is up +2 bps to 2.36%. And the NZ Government 10 year bond rate is up +2 bps at 4.69%, while the earlier RBNZ fixing was at 4.61% and unchanged for a third straight day. The UST 10 year yield is now at 4.15% and up +5 bps from this time yesterday. The UST 2yr is now up to 4.59% and so that key inversion is unchanged at -44 bps.

EQUITY WINNERS & LOSERS
Wall Street rose strongly today with the S&P500 up +1.1%. Tokyo has opened its Wednesday session down another -0.5% after yesterday's hold. Hong Kong is little-changed today at its open. Shanghai however is down -0.6%. Singapore is up +0.6% at its open. The ASX200 is up +0.3% in early afternoon trade. The NZX50 is down -0.3% in late trade.

OIL HOLDS
Oil prices are marginally firmer today although little-changed at just over US$77.50/bbl in the US while the international Brent price is still just over US$82/bbl. This has had no noticeable impact on the global oil price.

GOLD LOWER
In early Asian trade, gold is down -US$24 at US$2157/oz.

NZD SOFT
The Kiwi dollar is down -20 bps from this time yesterday at 61.5 USc. Against the Aussie we are softish at 93.1 AUc. Against the euro we are also a tad softer at 56.3 euro cents. That means the TWI-5 is marginally lower at 70.3 today.

BITCOIN HOLDS HIGH
The bitcoin price is little-changed at US$71,935 easing just -0.1% from this this time yesterday. Volatility has been high at +/- 3.0% today.

Daily exchange rates

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Source: RBNZ

Source: CoinDesk

Daily swap rates

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Source: NZFMA

This soil moisture chart is animated here.

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83 Comments

by Hastings | 13th Mar 24, 4:11pm 1710299498

Pay your police a living wage https://youtu.be/rMePrwQfT5I?si=Uvt8BKQmWKPtFchK

by lonewolfnz | 13th Mar 24, 4:16pm 1710299771

83k by your fifth year and 45 days of annual leave is a lot more than a living wage.

by JimboJones | 13th Mar 24, 4:21pm 1710300086

Still a pretty bad wage though considering the job.

by lonewolfnz | 13th Mar 24, 4:32pm 1710300744

Oh I agree.

Its just the living wage is $54k. Most teachers, police, nurses etc are on six figures now with all the new payscales and decent annual leave.

by Ngrrk | 13th Mar 24, 6:10pm 1710306617

I can tell you very very few nurses are on 6 figures. Most not even close.

by profile | 13th Mar 24, 7:43pm 1710312236

Pay Golly G a living wage until she exits stage left. What a rort.

by RickStrauss | 13th Mar 24, 10:00pm 1710320425

None of them paid particularly well, really, compared to housing costs. We've really set society out of kilter, and they can build a better life elsewhere.

They used to move here for the lifestyle despite lower wages but our abysmal policy approach overvaluing houses and under valuing work has put paid to that.

by Pa1nter | 13th Mar 24, 10:11pm 1710321073

There's actually been a global devaluing of human labour that pretty hard to escape. Much of former prosperity of an individual, tied to a level of scarcity that doesn't exist anymore.

Expensive housing just exacerbates the problem.

This is an almost synchronized phenomenon, with escape vectors few. You're better off getting off the bus than hoping it'll take you somewhere better.

by meh | 13th Mar 24, 11:01pm 1710324068

I suggest it's more than just a devaluing of human labour - it's a devaluing of the human to a function - it's been happening forever and is just more noticeable now. It's very noticeable in the economic narrative and language, and the labels used to classify groups of people - workers, beneficiaries, owners, investors, elite, wealthy, poor, middle class, taxpayer, consumer - there's not a lot of reference to humans, to people. Note also that property rights seem to be valued higher than human rights. It's a symptom of capitalism where the overarching value is.... capital. The only time human is referenced is as human capital, just another resource to be used.

by K.W. | 13th Mar 24, 6:00pm 1710306006

Standing on street corners handing out tickets to drivers for being on their mobile phone while travelling at 10 kmph doesnt seem like a strenuous job to me.

Its not like they actually investigate crimes any more. Burglaries and car thefts are simply ignored. Rapes go unreported because its a completely pointless exercise these days.

by Baywatch | 13th Mar 24, 6:08pm 1710306506

You should spend a week on the beat before making ludicrous comments like that KH?

by KH | 13th Mar 24, 7:06pm 1710309999

? Maybe you meant "KW" Baywatch.

by Baywatch | 13th Mar 24, 7:48pm 1710312489

Sorry W for anchor

by HouseMouse | 13th Mar 24, 10:23pm 1710321822

And he’s got 7 upticks for that crap. Wow

by Amokk | 13th Mar 24, 6:50pm 1710309034

Perhaps give it a crack champ if it's so easy.

by ThePonzi | 14th Mar 24, 9:19am 1710361188

K.W - You wouldn't last a week.

I haven't given out a ticket in months. However, in that time I attended 5 firearm jobs, 15 knife jobs, 4 deaths, had multiple staff assaulted, dealt with a dozen gang members, cases with children assaulted, sexual assaults and told some parents that their son died in a crash after having to put him in the body bag (and subsequently doing the unpaid overtime for the corresponding paperwork).

I haven't taken all my allocated meal breaks once, I've worked night shifts and had to teach/look out for new staff because we can't retain experience on frontline.

Saying that, I do hope someone had the time to give you a ticket. FYI a very large proportion of police funding is from NZTA and if police did not do road policing they wouldn't have enough $$$ to fund the other crucial parts of the job. If you feel like burglaries and thefts are going unattended you'd be absolutely right. We just don't have the resources for the demand.

And 100% Nurses, Teachers, Firefighters don't get paid what they deserve either. Quit? I care too much. But I care about making a fair wage too.

I know money is tight for most, but it would have cost you nothing not to write that.

by kensinma69 | 14th Mar 24, 9:34am 1710362068

Thank you for doing what you do mate/mateess - having spent a bit of time as an instructor in one of the prisons I have the utmost respect for the work that the Police do and realise that most people have no idea about how some of our society live/act

by tuisbest | 14th Mar 24, 11:02am 1710367351

Sorry to hear about all you've had to go through in your job, TP. I don't know what to say, other than that I'm grateful for all you do for us. Take care of yourself and be careful out there.

by Te Kooti | 13th Mar 24, 4:24pm 1710300253

Haha, ok Lone Wolf let's see you de-patch 5 Black Power solo in rural NZ at 1am.

by JustAnOpinion | 13th Mar 24, 4:29pm 1710300543

lol that's a hell of a high bar there TK, you're a hard task master!!

by lonewolfnz | 13th Mar 24, 4:41pm 1710301294

Nah just follow El Salvadore and throw them all in prison for ever. Crime solved.

by ChrisOfNoFame | 13th Mar 24, 10:00pm 1710320443

But then they can't work on all the roading projects this government has planned.

by Norm | 13th Mar 24, 7:29pm 1710311388

Lone Wolf's comment is correct though? Why the attack?

by mfd | 13th Mar 24, 4:26pm 1710300381

For comparison, our trainees are on $85k in their 5th year, having already spent 4 years unpaid getting a high quality Masters Science degree. This is in a technical Healthcare role.

After 5 years they move from 20 to 25 days annual leave.

by JustAnOpinion | 13th Mar 24, 4:29pm 1710300590

Australia thanks you.

by mfd | 13th Mar 24, 4:32pm 1710300721

I bet they do. At last count they took about half the trainees NZ produced (usually a 4-5 year scheme).

by tuisbest | 13th Mar 24, 5:05pm 1710302747

https://newsroom.co.nz/2023/08/22/junior-doctors-feel-forgotten-as-barg…

And for even more comparison, our junior doctors are now being paid less than our junior nurses.

a first year doctor with six years’ worth of study and student loan, who was working more hours on average, was now being paid less than a first year nurse with three years of study, fewer rostered hours and a smaller student loan.

Much as I appreciate police officers, I'm not sure they should earn more than doctors? This article - https://www.rnzcgp.org.nz/news/college/what-do-our-graduate-doctors-actually-earn-and-is-it-enough-to-keep-them-practising-here/ - unfortunately does not provide the salary for junior doctors in their 5th year, but here's what they earn up to their 4th year:

Doctors’ salaries will increase in January to $66,949 for first years, $71,896 for second years, $75,571 for third years and $79,242 for fourth years.

To be fair, they usually earn more per year by working overtime.

by JimboJones | 13th Mar 24, 5:11pm 1710303119

WTF! Way better off being a plumber

by tuisbest | 13th Mar 24, 5:16pm 1710303412

Just be sure to be a healthy plumber. Or if you 'decide' to fall sick, you might need to fly to Oz to be seen by a doctor.

by K.W. | 13th Mar 24, 6:03pm 1710306182

And we wonder why we cannot recruit doctors from overseas, and the entire graduating medical class in NZ are applying for jobs in Australia.

by kiwikidsnz | 13th Mar 24, 6:27pm 1710307675

"...and the entire graduating medical class in NZ are applying for jobs in Australia. "

Including those who received preferential entry to medical school (on lower entry qualifications) based on racist privilege because they will then be culturally able to better serve "their people"?

At least half their medical education is funded by the NZ taxpayer. They should be bonded to work in NZ for at least 3 years &/or pay it back before they are permitted to leave the country.

by Gracey | 13th Mar 24, 9:06pm 1710317199

Lower entry qualifications of an 85% average. Yes, that is correct. Those doctors are amazing and way above average intelligence. But I guess that won't fit your ill informed narrative. And yes, I do know. I'm in the trade!

by SilverSnake | 13th Mar 24, 4:33pm 1710300828

The salary is actually only $74k - while they get a nice superannuation boost that makes up most of the gap to $83k, that doesn't exactly help you pay your bills. $74k is a crap rate for 5 years into a career where you're regularly being put into life threatening situations, shortening your life with shift work and dealing with the absolute worst of society, especially if you're based in a major centre with a higher cost of housing. No number of "better work stories" could convince me to do their job for such a low salary.

by lonewolfnz | 13th Mar 24, 4:44pm 1710301441

I mean I totally get that but I think there could be some easy changes that help with this other than just pay.

For example - assault a police officer = life in prison (maximum security, solitary confinement) no parole. Threaten a police officer = 10 years. Arm police and exempt them from liability and so on. Kill a police officer = death penalty. Gang member = life in prison (El Salvadore style)

Being a police officer wouldn't be too bad in my world.

by Baywatch | 13th Mar 24, 5:00pm 1710302448

You would need some big prisons there Lonewolf..happy to pay higher taxes to achieve these goals?

by Noncents | 13th Mar 24, 5:26pm 1710303995

Bullets are cheaper than Prison.

by Foxglove. | 13th Mar 24, 6:57pm 1710309420

“Death is the solution to all problems. No man - no problem.” Courtesy of Stalin. Both he & Adolf soon realised what a tremendous weapon terror was but Stalin was years ahead in understanding that death was an even better solution.

by lonewolfnz | 13th Mar 24, 5:28pm 1710304084

Not really.

Keep in them the dark. No heating. Just a concrete block with cells. Fill them 30 to each cell and never let them out. One piece of bread a day. If you are naughty you go in the hole for a few years.

Super cheep and get a Chinese private company to manage them.

by Nzdan | 13th Mar 24, 9:31pm 1710318663

Tents work too.

by the Joneses | 14th Mar 24, 6:32am 1710351169

And in this fantasy of yours, none of you friends or family end up in this jail do they? Only other people.

by meh | 13th Mar 24, 6:23pm 1710307410

Days gone by it was said the police were the biggest gang - having them all in prison (El Salvadore style) probably won't solve our policing issues.

Sounds like El Salvadore is your world to be in.

by lonewolfnz | 13th Mar 24, 5:47pm 1710305276

Well the murder rate fell 99% almost instantly. That's a pretty big workload shift.

by K.W. | 13th Mar 24, 6:05pm 1710306300

Considering that the vast majority of crime is committed by reoffending criminals not first timers, then locking them all up for longer would seriously reduce the police workload, and improve community safety.

by Justa comment | 13th Mar 24, 7:28pm 1710311304

They deserve parity with teachers and nurses who got the big rises last year. The rolling shifts are really tough, the nights are freezing in the winter, and on top of that the people you are dealing with are mostly bad or not the full quid. They definitely deserve good pay. Meanwhile money is there for property investors and skiers. Really looking like an unlikable one term government.

by mfd | 13th Mar 24, 9:35pm 1710318947

The nurses pay rise was a pay equity settlement, comparing this female dominated field against comparable male dominated fields. Some of the comparable fields were detectives, detective sergeants, and detective senior sergeants.

Nurses are not considered comparable to a fresh policeman, particularly considering the training and education required to get into the profession.

Even ignoring this, we have a very circular argument if pay equity deals lead to male dominated fields getting similar pay deals in response.

by meh | 13th Mar 24, 9:56pm 1710320207

The comment obviously flew right over your head.

by the Joneses | 14th Mar 24, 6:40am 1710351642

The party of law and order doesn't want to pay for law and order?

by Jonny.Foe | 13th Mar 24, 4:13pm 1710299606

So, over the last three months, over 90% of our 'inflation' (measured monthly) has come from international airfares, overseas accommodation, cigs and tobacco (excise uplift), and rent (population spike). How do bank economists and analysts look at this and say that we need higher rates for longer? What is the plan here - to dive so deep into recession that enough people leave the country to reduce pressure on rents?!? Utter madness.

by J.C. | 13th Mar 24, 4:30pm 1710300607

So, over the last three months, over 90% of our 'inflation' (measured monthly) has come from international airfares, overseas accommodation, cigs and tobacco (excise uplift), and rent (population spike).

How on earth can they measure this accurately if at all?

by JustAnOpinion | 13th Mar 24, 4:54pm 1710302071

Yeah, they can't of course but does it really mater? The measures themselves (International airfares, overseas accommodation etc) are carry overs from the low inflation past or obvious (cigs n rent). The point is there is an actual job for an economics graduate that uses their degree. Be kind.

by lonewolfnz | 13th Mar 24, 4:15pm 1710299704

"RENTS STILL INFLATING HARD

House rents were up +4.5% nationally from a year ago in February"

Sorry but if house rents are going up at a rate lower than inflation, that is a decrease in real terms. Not inflating hard.

I wonder how that compares to housing related costs?

by JimboJones | 13th Mar 24, 4:22pm 1710300165

So we don't need a landlord subsidy ASAP?

by JustAnOpinion | 13th Mar 24, 4:25pm 1710300349

I'm up for that, where do I sign???

by JimboJones | 13th Mar 24, 4:50pm 1710301824

Tickbox next to Labour, but you needed to do it months ago.

by JustAnOpinion | 13th Mar 24, 4:55pm 1710302115

Oh so you were just teasing about the Landlord subsidy :( ok.

by lonewolfnz | 13th Mar 24, 4:31pm 1710300692

I think we do. The Government are already suggested that landlords should house emergency tenants.

I can't imagine what is going through the mind of a new investors right now

by JimboJones | 13th Mar 24, 4:44pm 1710301449

Something like "Sorry I can only pay you 50% of your asking price as I need to make a profit"?

by meh | 13th Mar 24, 5:12pm 1710303125

Are they an investor or wanting to provide a service or good?

by Nzdan | 13th Mar 24, 5:19pm 1710303597

I heard they're businesses.

by Norm | 13th Mar 24, 7:36pm 1710311769

They are, they have income, expenses, they have to follow rules and regulations, pay tax, GST (if registered), etc.

by RickStrauss | 13th Mar 24, 10:02pm 1710320546

Also heard they need their dignity restored.

by Speedmax | 13th Mar 24, 5:33pm 1710304436

Most are not investors, simply speculators hoping for tax free capital gains

by Uninterested | 13th Mar 24, 7:20pm 1710310824

Not any more.

by J.C. | 13th Mar 24, 4:48pm 1710301683

Toyota laying down the challenge for corporate Japan.

Toyota Motor agreed to give factory workers their biggest pay increase in 25 years on Wednesday, heightening expectations that bumper pay raises will give the central bank leeway to make a key policy shift next week.

Steelmaker Nippon Steel also said it had agreed to union pay requests in full.

This potentially has potential to booster JPY. Hang on to your hats.

Economists see substantial wage increases as a prerequisite for the Bank of Japan (BOJ) to declare that its long-held goals of sustainable wage growth and stable prices are in sight and usher in an end to negative rates in place since 2016.

https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/japan-inc-set-offer-big-wage-hikes…

by IT GUY | 13th Mar 24, 4:56pm 1710302177

Get even shorter NZDJPY

by J.C. | 13th Mar 24, 4:55pm 1710302108

An unprecedented Chinese gold rush looking like they could obliterate the western paper markets very soon. Jamie Dimon will be furious and asking for his PhD'ers for some kind of solution.

Chinese people have started a gold rush as property crashes. Sales of gold, silver, and jewellery have been brisk for months, defying wobbles in the Chinese economy centred around the protracted crisis in the property market.

After months of stagnation, the gold market sprung to life on March 1. Prices broke the December record on Tuesday and have been rising steadily since then. On Friday, spot gold in New York rose to a fresh high of $2,185.19 per ounce.

https://www.chiangraitimes.com/news/chinese-create-a-gold-rush-as-prope…

by meh | 13th Mar 24, 5:39pm 1710304755

https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/fandd/issues/2024/03/Symposium-Reth…

Power: Our emphasis on the virtues of free, competitive markets and exogenous technical change can distract us from the importance of power in setting prices and wages, in choosing the direction of technical change, and in influencing politics to change the rules of the game. Without an analysis of power, it is hard to understand inequality or much else in modern capitalism.

by Boomtown | 13th Mar 24, 5:43pm 1710304995

Ah Maths

The beautiful thing about huge price jumps is that it lets you report subsequent tiny jumps as LOW inflation

SO inflation of 300% followed by 1% increase ... and

Boom

we have hit and surpassed our target band

Time for a rate increase

by longjohndrop | 13th Mar 24, 6:19pm 1710307174

… is that you Sharon?

by K.W. | 13th Mar 24, 6:07pm 1710306445

So Eden Park being unable to host Taylor Swift due to some stupid rule limiting its ability to hold prosperous economic events to 6 per year, has caused higher inflation. Thanks Auckland Council! And Eden Park NIMBYs.

by kiwikidsnz | 13th Mar 24, 6:23pm 1710307390

...& thanks to Aunty Helen

by IT GUY | 13th Mar 24, 6:33pm 1710307993

Thats Five House Helen to you......

by Baywatch | 13th Mar 24, 7:49pm 1710312575

Raise you two and a Tesla subsidy for wifey

by kiwikidsnz | 13th Mar 24, 8:06pm 1710313606

I suppose its not all bad. Apparently the Eden Park rules also require a 1030 curfew for noise mitigation so concerts start much earlier. My 2 (middle aged) kids attended the Pink concert Saturday night & I was very pleased to hear that they were safely home before midnight.

by nz-it-worker | 13th Mar 24, 6:36pm 1710308199

Holes and Homes... Boats and Hoes...

Greece's former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis is in Australia right now, and just made a speech at the National Press Club.

He went onto advise Australia to "ditch the old rentier business model of banking on holes and homes".

"That’s now a Ponzi scheme whose maintenance will result in a country marred by minimal investment, low productivity, debilitating inequality, high inflation and low wages pushing its talented people into a low innovation sinkhole."

"It has never been so dismal to be young in Australia."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-13/asx-markets-business-live-news-march13-2024/103580154#live-blog-post-78172

by RickStrauss | 13th Mar 24, 10:04pm 1710320640

He's not wrong eh. Entitlement Mentality to free money from houses is wrecking society.

by J.C. | 13th Mar 24, 7:19pm 1710310777

Florida condo market getting slammed - described as a 'train wreck' - as prices drop and increasing insurance rates scare away buyers. Never expected this.

Listings have soared as prices fall in major Florida cities, according to a new report from real-estate listings site Redfin. The number of listings in February jumped nearly 30% in markets like Jacksonville and Miami compared to the same time last year. Meanwhile, prices dropped by as much as 7% in Jacksonville, to $254,000, and 3% in Miami, to $385,000. By contrast, median condo prices nationally rose 8% over the same period, to around $340,000.

It's a symptom of the increasing cost of property ownership in the Sunshine State, where the rusk of flooding and worsening weather have scrambled the homeowners' insurance market. Florida homeownership has become increasingly expensive in general as home prices continue to rise, mortgage rates remain frustratingly high, and property taxes keep climbing.

https://www.businessinsider.com/florida-condo-owners-prices-drop-insura…

by J.C. | 13th Mar 24, 9:06pm 1710317162

Maccy B taunting the 'woke media'

On housing, how can we find a solution to Albo’s calamitous housing shortage if we don’t mention the primary driver in immigration? Woke and a property-compromised media is the culprit here:

https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2024/03/australia-is-muzzled/

by Averageman | 13th Mar 24, 9:56pm 1710320201

Sound familiar...

by RickStrauss | 13th Mar 24, 10:07pm 1710320833

"Woke" really has replaced "communist" for riling up the talkback types and scaring some grumps.

by HouseMouse | 13th Mar 24, 10:33pm 1710322429

Personally I prefer ‘phoney, virtue signalling, hypocritical progressives’ to the term ‘woke’. But the latter is much easier to say

by RickStrauss | 14th Mar 24, 9:46am 1710362765

Phoney and virtue signalling seems to abound across the political spectrum - that was the critique of Luxon's entitlement to taxpayer money, for example.

Woke seems to have become proxy for "says something I don't like".

by meh | 13th Mar 24, 11:38pm 1710326296

"Woke" really did get hijacked by other interests.