Here's our summary of key economic events overnight that affect New Zealand, with news Iran and Oman say they have a deal on the Hormuz Strait, and the US says it is still hoping for a deal to open it up. But the US no longer has any cards, it seems.
Away from all that in the US, mortgage applications fell again last week with both new loan and refinance activity falling, probably due to the continued rise in home loan interest rates and pushing them up to year-ago levels of 6.81%.
Their ADP jobs report only signaled +44,000 July jobs added to private payrolls, much less than the expected low +70,000 and the low June level of +95,000. This report is the precursor to Saturday's July non-farm payrolls release where analysts expect July payrolls to have expanded +202,000. Those analysts may be in for some disappointment.
The ISM services PMI for July came in little-changed at a modest-to-moderate reading, boosted by good new order levels but held back by faster rising costs. Also, jobs in the sector contracted. Meanwhile the S&P Global version of the US services PMI recovered to a similar level, reporting activity rises at their strongest rate since October 2025, job creation at highest for eight months amid an improved outlook, but much steeper rises in both input costs and selling prices.
US crude oil stocks recovered somewhat last week with a rare rise. But this may have been because they are still drawing down their strategic reserves at a rate that is worrying many and now at almost an all-time low since 1983.
In China, their private S&P Global (RatingDog) services PMI fell back sharply. It is still expanding, but now only just. Total activity and new business both expand more slowly. Employment rose for third month running, the longest sequence since the second half of 2024. And they recorded the weakest rise in average input prices since January. Yes, this survey is better than the contracting official version, but the fall-away was faster in this report.
Singapore's retail sales rose sharply in June to be +4.0% higher than year-ago levels. Meanwhile their PMI rose faster and near its best-ever, but largely because firms there built stocks to retain resilience.
Japan's services PMI expanded at a slower pace in July as cost pressures remain intense there.
And Indonesia said its economic activity was +5.3% higher in June than a year ago with the rebound from the Q1 dip coming as expected - but slightly better than anticipated.
The copper price has surged again, now at a new all-time high of US$14,825/tonne (NZ$25,000/tonne, and at $25/kg no doubt a new target for thieves.).
The UST 10yr yield is now just on 4.62%, down -1 bp from this time yesterday. The 30 year yield is at 5.17% and down another -2 bps. The key 2-10 yield curve is now at +43 bps (unchanged). Their 1-5 curve is now at +30 bps (-3 bps) and the 3 mth-10yr curve is at +94 bps (-1 bp). The China 10 year bond rate is little-changed at 1.70%. The Japanese 10 year bond yield is now at 2.81%, down -4 bps. The Australian 10 year bond yield starts today at 4.93%, unchanged from yesterday. The NZ Government 10 year bond rate is at 4.69%, down -7 bps from yesterday.
Wall Street is unchanged in Wednesday trade with the Nasdaq down -0.5%. (SpaceX has fallen to US$110. The final lock-up period ends after the market close today and share on the market will treble from 659 mln to 1.55 bln.) Overnight, European markets were mixed between Paris's no-changed and Frankfurt's -0.3% dip. Yesterday Tokyo rose +3.7%. Hong Kong was up a minor +0.2% but Shanghai rose +1.5%. The KOSPI recovered another +3.8%. Singapore ended down -0.6%. The ASX200 ended its Wednesday trade up +0.9%. And the NZX50 rose +0.7%.
The price of gold has risen to US$4253/oz, up +US$165 from yesterday. Silver is up +US$2.50 at just over US$62/oz.
Oil prices are down another -US$1.50 from yesterday and now just on US$74.50/bbl in the US, while the international Brent price is now just under US$79/bbl and down -50 USc. Hormuz transits are still very constrained. There has been only one crude tanker and 6 cargo ship exiting over the past 24 hours (1 dark with transponders off) and eleven entering for new loads (6 dark), again all Iran-linked. The Red Sea activity is still low with much less than 20 either way.
The Kiwi dollar is little-changed from yesterday at just over 58.9 USc. Against the Aussie we are down -30 bps at 83.4 AUc. Against the euro we have dipped -10 bps to 51 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at 62.5 which is down -10 bps from this time yesterday.
The bitcoin price starts today at US$64,698 and up +1.2% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has stayed low at just on +/-0.7%.
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44 Comments
“The US no longer has any cards.” What, not even aces and eights?
The more interesting bit will be Trump's reaction when the announcement reaches him. The US will still be at war with Iran while ME nations move further to distance themselves from the US. My question is does the deal have any reference to a US presence in Oman or other ME countries? I'd be surprised if it doesn't. Thinking about it I don't think the US has a significant presence in Oman, but the RAF are still be there. The UK haven't contributed to Trump's war so they don't appear to be a target.
The UK need to offload USA Debt big time for self-preservation IMO, or they will be struggling to when the proverbial hits the fan. Then again they need the LNG from the USA so they are quite beholden to them in energy terms.
They've still got the joker. Let's hope they get a better hand in 898 days time.
Count down to the next presidential election already? Those 898 days will not pass fast enough, nor will it be in time. No one will ever trust the US again. Future agreements will necessarily include clauses to limit US influence and control in the event they go rogue. One president has undone all the work of all his predecessors to build international consensus and alliances.
It will all be forgotten once the democrats are elected and beg for forgiveness. But that isn't guaranteed next election, could be 6 or more years away.
Once Trump has completed his new bunker, he'll be harder to get out of office than a tick buried in a cattle hide!
If the Dems can take a 2/3 senate majority in the midterms, it could much less than 898 days.
Dems will be lucky to get a simple majority. Kalshi have Dems winning senate majority at 45%. No one is even giving odds on Dems winning a 2/3 majority.
I really can't see how they could get a better deal than Obama got. I suspect the best case is Iran commit to nothing (still build Nuclear) and open the Strait (probably with toll). Then the Israelies will want to bomb them again. Any threat of wiping them off the face of the earth is now laughable, what else has the US got? Is he crazy enough to reach for the red button?
Whatever it was before the conflict the Iranian regime has now had it proven that the nation and therefore themselves, are virtually unbreachable. Whatever has been blown asunder can with the help of their friends be rebuilt and they have the oil to pay for it. But curled up in that, in sinister terms, any ambition to acquire nuclear weapons will now be even more determined and the possibility of actual deployment, possibly ditto. It should not be overlooked that their friends include Nth Korea who presently are supporting a foreign war in Ukraine without any concern to either their own casualties or others.
Trump has only ever been motivated by money, sex and adoration. Pressing red buttons doesn't supply any of those.
"Once upon a time" The straits were open.
Then some crazies sailed up their aircraft carriers and screwed it all up.
When some time later, when the straits reopen, they will claim victory and be proud of themselves.
Meanwhile Iranian schoolgirls died.
Election issues. What to do with our failed bureaucracy? The failed cervical screening system, the fraudster on MinJustice payroll for five (5) !!!! five years and a cost of $500k. The rot at Police HQ. The serial failures of Treasury and RB. And so on. Credit where credit due, Goldie said the right things yesterday. And possibly Erica took the boldest step, calling out INZ. Then we could talk about the local bodies bureaucracy, AT for example. Untouchable? My opinion, it’s not the pay, it’s the ethics. I think we have systematically replaced or devalued the public service ethos, in favour of some kind of kill or be killed corporate bs for the leadership. Blame the politicians we elect for this corruption. Until we have replaced them, today, this election cycle, we need a consensus from those politicians that there to be a consequence when the department heads fail, say for example, to their state pension.
Yes that word service is an affront, and many of them as well find it difficult to be civil. All authority, no accountability.
Central & Local govt bureaucracies behaviour is no different from any other legislated &/or corporate monopoly, protected from competition.
Extract from my comment earlier this week:
"Its mostly frustration at the majority of us facing increasing wilful & institutionalised disempowerment by central & local govt bureaucrats, facilitated by a largely complacent / captured mainstream media (along with corporates doing what they do best, making more money). Peoples franchise vote, whether for a party, politician or councillor means less than it used to."
AT ceases to exist in two months.
https://ourauckland.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/news/2026/05/transport-refo…
I think we have systematically replaced or devalued the public service ethos, in favour of some kind of kill or be killed corporate bs for the leadership.
Not so much an ethos thing from my experience in the public sector. More so it's a game of career ladder, with everyone playing the game trying to make a name for themselves to get to the next rung of the ladder, and once reaching a certain point, they have access to consultancy to outsource responsibility for any failures, and it then becomes a game of cover-ones-ass to keep one's job while still playing the game to move up.
The service part is definitely less so on the forefront, and the self takes precedent, however it is those at the bottom of the ladder who are told to, and often do, uphold the service and get shouldered with the blame vs those further up the ladder.
A friend in Wellington asked me this morning, when I thought the global fiat-Ponzi would collapse.
This prompted me to do some digging into the figures that neither the eCONomists, nor the status quo cheerleading brigade, will ever mention.
Below is a C&P of my reply. Please, by all means, anyone who is interested enough, critique these numbers for errors I might have made or any mitigating factors.
..................................................................
THE FISCAL DOMINANCE FIAT EXPERIMENTAL TRAIN-WRECK – the one that no self-respecting eCONomist dare mention.
"No one can predict the timing of this, as the banking cartels and governments of the various insolvent countries have so many tricks up their sleeves.
My indicator is the US 10 year bond price (its around 4.64% right now). The "hopium camp" expects it to stay below the 5% barrier due to slowing job markets and global demand destruction acting as a ceiling on long-term interest rates.
Personally, I follow the "fiscal dominance theory" where massive structural debt loading forces an economy like the US, Japan, UK, etc, (who already own truckloads of one another's debt) to choose between hyperinflation and sovereign debt default.
If yields hit 5.5% under the weight of unbacked spending the interest bill alone could trigger a further loss of confidence in holding government bonds, as there would be negative yield for the holders and massive risk of significant capital loss if held to maturity.
A move to 5%-5.5% in a 10 year treasury can create a classic vicious cycle where the mechanics of rising yields guarantees a blood bath for any bond holder.
This is where capital losses from holding on to a bond that is plummeting in value (because the newly issued bonds pay a much higher coupon value) coupled with negative real interest rates, as well as institutional holders, to dump sovereign debt, accelerating the cycle.
10 year bonds have a high duration risk - if it yields say 3.5% and the market goes to 5.5%, the market value of that lower coupon bond drops by ~16%.
Central banks, commercial banks, and pension funds, worldwide, hold trillions of dollars of US debt. Forcing them to mark these assets to market, wipes out their reserves, creating systemic insolvency.
Holding to maturity could be a hiding-to-nothing when their capital is locked up for a decade in a losing asset - and yet if they sell out to try to cut their losses, they then trigger a likely systemic market crash anyway.
These debt ridden economies, ranked below by NIIP (Net International Investment Position) and including unfunded liabilities per ACTIVE TAX PAYER ("active" averages out in the low 40%s for most populations)...
#1 US a mind-boggling ~$1.43 million per tax payer!
#2 Japan ~$384,000
#3 UK ~$320,000
#4 Belgium ~$265,000
#5 NZ ~$235,000
#6 Australia ~$230,000
#7 Greece ~$235,000
# Australia ~$230,000
#8 France ~$222,000
#9 Ireland ~$175,000 (adjusted with corporate shell figures stripped out)
#10 Canada ~$113,000
"Amazing to think that NZ and Aus sit above Greece, when that country seems to be habitually regarded as the global archetypical debt cot-case, and it in turn is exponentially better than the US.
But the 'star' (sic) remains the U$ofA - in terms of total debt per tax payer it is more than 300% worse than Japan in position #2.
When blathering monumentally incompetent, Bessent is pissing about buying $billions of dollars of yen for the US Treasury (and liquidating Euros to buy them), don't believe a word of this George Soros-trained crook's spin - believe me, it's NOT the Japanese economy that he is desperately trying to save.
On the bright side of the road, the clear winner by a country mile is of course Norway with their ginormous $1.6 trillion dollar wealth fund, which acts as a giant overseas stock portfolio, and is owned by a tiny population. Their NIIP per taxpayer is a massive +$690,000.
Hong Kong comes in at #2 at $583,000, but this is misleading as it serves as a gateway to Mainland China, with local banks, institutions, and elite property firms hoarding colossal global asset portfolios.
Singapore, and of course Switzerland rank highly too, at +$363K and $188k.
In terms of relatively "normal" (whatever that is) real economies
Denmark at +$171K and Germany at +$103K rank well too.
Saudi Arabia the "one trick pony" economy sit at +$45K, but that could very soon disappear if they continue to poke away at both Iran and Yemen."
PS (I await the hysterical reaction from the resident russo-sinophobes, wanting to know why certain economies are not on this list, given that they remain in a state of permanent imminent collapse)
If all confidence is lost then Norway is in the same position as everyone else....they are the other side of the same balance sheet.
It is a belief system masquerading as wealth....when the belief is lost the real wealth remains but it will be havoc until a new faith is found.
How so, Frank? - even if their entire portfolio was wiped out to zero (not likely given its huge diversity), they could still enter a new financial-reset era with nil NIIP debt position.
They could also look at introducing a public utility banking system, which would immediately bring in a net $16.48 billion USD/annum into the treasury account.
That would be ~10% of annual state expenditure, and mirror the dividend yield of a massive sovereign asset, providing the state with regular non-tax revenue, without even requiring the extraction of natural resources... perhaps even PDK would love that prospect?
If the Norwegian Treasury captured this revenue, it would mean the state effectively redirects the capital growth that currently feeds private bank equity and retail dividends.
Instead of flowing to domestic and international stock investors holding shares in, eg, DNB (Norway's largest financial services group), the money would become a predictable, state-controlled liquidity pool alongside the Government Pension Fund Global (The Oil Fund).
A NIIP measured in what?.....if the US (for example) defaults or becomes illiquid then what does Norway own?....the real assets they currently do, but then they need to find an acceptable method to trade those assets for what they need/want.
They, like everyone else will be reduced to the real assets they have within their borders until such time as an acceptable currency is created.....and this is where you say gold....but physical gold is a clumsy medium that could not facilitate the range and volume of trade that the current systems demand.
And so it is in everyones interest to keep the plates spinning until they cannot any longer......and then after havoc, reset.
Thanks Frank. My debt is someone elses asset and vice versa. Double entry accounting for the global economy. "Oh we dont have the energy to underwrite it". Is that a bigger problem for the lender or the borrower? For a real country comparison we need to see GDP per capita and net overseas debt per capita.
You can see why Trump wants the rest of the world to pay their way right? Both by tarrifs (pay to play) and military investment (no friends with benefits any more, a shotgun marriage etc). And why we cant allow Iran as the wrolds centre of hate, intolerence, and terrorism to have nucleur.
Thank the US of A for 70 years of growth. Now the hats' being passed arround. The taxpayers of the America want their lunch back. Trump is just the enforcer.
WHH
"GDP per capita" can be a hugely misleading broad-brush approach that hides the ability of countries like the US to service their public debt.
When a recent study was made, using the PGDP (Productive GDP) figures, it was found that most of the raw GDP, and even GDP PPP, measures were in fact made up of mostly money shuffling, within the financial (FIRE) economy, that never contribute to the real economy or its ability to service debt.
My memory tells me that this PGDP figure was only ~1/6th of the total - this in fact tallies directly with the US's proven serial inability to service its public debt, and why it continually adds to the pile.
The only way the US could halt that trend, is through austerity and masive budget trimming, especially to the Ministry of War, both of which they are unable to politically broker.
If you read my hypothesis again you might notice that, rather than measuring net overseas debt per capita, which IMO is a very rudimentary measure, I went two steps further...
#1 Measuring using the tax payer stat, gives a much clearer picture of the sustainability of the debt load, and for that same reason it also factors in some of the demographic factors.
#2 Debt by itself is meaningless if it is counterbalanced or even exceeded by massive overseas assets = which is precisely why I used the NIIP figures.
Thank the US of A for 70 years of growth.
And wars, parasitic suction of resourcs form countries that disagreed with their methods or wished to sway away from the petro dollar. Nothing flash about that.
Exuberant consumerism from them caused this growth as well. They are now reduced to a gaping wealth divide and the middle earners getting money hoovered out of their pockets by the elite class whom have such influence in government at all levels that the common man holds no power to enact change no matter how much they try. They can't even save seeds to grow for the next season in many states thanks to monsanto, which I find abhorrent to commercialise food with such vigor.
The world needs to shift from this international bully of a regime that is the USA, and find other trade partners to sell to, but time will cause this to happen no matter what our opinion is. They will be the victims of their own eventual demise.
"we cant allow Iran as the wrolds centre of hate, intolerence, and terrorism to have nucleur."
So you believe the Captialist Jesus, fascist, imperialist, alternative "fact" United State of Collapse isn't a bigger global threat? Turn off State TV Fox and give your brain a rest from the mental pollution.
Gold won't be the medium of exchange, Frank - I have never advocated for that antiquated system.
Physical unencumbered gold will be merely one of the hard-backings used for the various mediums of exchange as currencies (led by China and Russia), hard-back their currencies for international trade purposes.
They will also barter goods-for-goods, and use one another's (trusted hard-backed) currencies to trade with one another, where only the surpluses/deficit trade balances need to be settled out.
All the "massive amount of gold needed for trade" narrative, both in the macro and micro sense, which is parroted around, is nothing more than spin for the fiat status quo fan-club to hold onto.
Talking of "spin", the longer the fiat plates twirl, the more monumental the ultimate economic carnage will be... especially for those who continue to confuse credit with real money.
Gold backed currency dosnt preclude debasement or inflation however....it is merely an underwrite for fiat.
The only way I can see of avoiding a complete breakdown is a Bretton Woods 2.0 arrangement that the worlds governments negotiate....what chance that do you think in the current climate?....took a world war (or two) last time.
Frank... IMO, in a new reset system, required and designed from the ground up, specifically to prevent the structural flaws of previous gold standards, cannot be dismissed as "merely an underwrite for fiat".
In fact, simply by definition alone, it is the polar opposite.
In the status quo fiat-Ponzi model, ~97% of the MS is created as debt when commercial banks issue loans. This inherently requires continuous expansion to pay back the principal plus interest, baked-in inflation, and boom-and-bust cycles.
By shifting the Money Supply (MS) to a public utility status, money creation is divorced from private bank ledgers.
The Shift: Instead of money being loaned into existence by commercial banks, it is issued directly by a public authority based strictly on economic output or fixed commodity reserves
The Result: This removes the structural requirement for permanent inflation, directly addressing the "train-wreck" of the legacy fiat system.
The Role of the Public Banking System (PBS)
A Public Banking System (PBS) acts as the operational engine for this new framework, fundamentally changing how capital flows into society.
Non-Inflationary Lending: Because private banks can no longer create credit out of thin air via fractional reserves, lending must be backed by real, existing capital or specific public allocations.
Leveraged Lending for Public Good: Rather than maximizing shareholder returns through speculative asset bubbles (like real estate), the PBS directs capital toward high-utility societal benefit - such as infrastructure, technology, and sustainable energy
Rekindling the Savings Dynamic via Deflation
I also point out a major blind spot in mainstream Keynesian economics: the fear of deflation. In a sound-money system, mild, productivity-driven deflation is a positive force.
Rewarding Thrift: When money gains purchasing power over time, citizens are incentivised to save rather than being forced to chase yield in risky asset markets just to beat inflation.
Real Capital Accumulation: True investment requires deferred gratification. A deflationary or stable-money environment rebuilds the pool of organic, un-leveraged savings, providing solid ground for the PBS to fund long-term projects.
My 2 cent verdict on your critique:
When viewed through my framework, the original statement ("gold is merely an underwrite for fiat") fails because it assumes the new system will simply repeat the fractional-reserve tricks, plus others, of the 19th and 20th centuries.
My vision describes a complete structural reset where:
(i) Gold and other hard assets serve as an absolute, uncompromised anchor.
(ii) The monetary transmission mechanism is a public utility, not a debt engine.
All fiat is underwritten by the assets of the issuing realm....the problem is being able to realise it.
As to the rest....Bancor
Frank...
#1 By definition fiat "money" has value solely by government decree, and has no intrinsic backing. Gold-backed currency has a fixed redemption value in a tangible commodity. Calling it fiat, conflates the token with the economic system.
#2 Fiat can be printed infinitely. Gold backed currency cannot be printed beyond the amount of gold held in reserves under a strict standard, and yet you choose to ignore this massive constraint.
#3 Gold is not an "underwriter" for paper - the paper is a warehouse receipt for gold. The value originates from the intrinsic value of gold, whereas in a fiat system, the value originates from government taxation power and legal tender laws.
#4 It is important that we all understand the fundamental difference between money and credit, and don't conflate commodity money (wealth that exists physically) with credit instruments, which are nothing more than a claim on wealth.
Real money (gold and silver) are tangible assets - there is no counterparty risk. If you hold a gold coin, it is a final settlement of value.
Credit on the other hand, is essentially merely a currency token - only a promise to delver something of value later. It requires a counterparty (a bank or a government) to fill that promise.
When you pay with a fiat currency or credit card, you are swapping one form of debt for another. The transaction never closes out into a physical asset - it merely stays within the loop of promises.
#5 In a gold-backed system, the paper is just a temporary convenience to avoid carrying heavy metal. The ultimate settlement occurs when the paper is redeemed for the physical gold.
We need to avoid confusing the delivery vehicle (the paper credit) with the cargo (the real money) and mistakenly believe that the underlying economic reality is the same.
#6 Central banking history is largely the story of converting the public's trust in real money (gold and silver) into trust in credit (paper promises), and then removing the real money entirely as a store of societal wealth.
This is why the average private wealth portfolio for American citizens varies between a minuscule ~0.10-0.5% in terms of their gold holdings, with NZ even lower at ~0.05% to 0.15%.
In the US household, wealth is overwhelmingly dominated by the $112+ trillion market in equities, bond funds, and RE. When spread across the entire population PM register as barely a blip on the private financial radar.
In NZ, liquid capital tied up in PMs is also historically microscopic, with the average citizen having 70-80% of their net worth tied up in residential property and Kiwisaver.
IN SUMMARY - A gold-backed currency relies on the strict, unalterable physical supply of the metal in reserve. Treating it the same as fiat, simply because they both use paper tokens completely misses the underlying economic mechanics.
"IN SUMMARY - A gold-backed currency relies on the strict, unalterable physical supply of the metal in reserve. Treating it the same as fiat, simply because they both use paper tokens completely misses the underlying economic mechanics.
"
Excepting there is one word in that statement that is incorrect (false)...'unalterable'.
The ratio between gold (or any other commodity) and currency is by decree....as has been demonstrated time and time again.
Human construct....human failings
"Excepting there is one word in that statement that is incorrect (false)...'unalterable'."
For goodness sake man, this is becoming tedious - we are hours into this, and yet you still fail to grasp this simple distinction?
If the physical is properly assayed in a strictly controlled and regulated vaulting system, then essentially it is unalterable.
The following is complete nonsense too...
"The ratio between gold (or any other commodity) and currency is by decree....as has been demonstrated time and time again."
For crying out loud, man, the ratio is governed by physical inventory and mathematics, not by a politician's pen. Under rigid regulations, independent 3rd parties constantly audit and assay the gold, which eliminates the need for standard "decree".
The value ratio is maintained by a verifiable physical presence, making it a legal and physical reality, rather than a governmental illusion or claim.
For a backed currency to work under modern regulations, holders must have the right to redeem the currency for the physical gold. If anyone can trade $X amount of currency for 1 oz of gold at any time, the free market will naturally maintain that exact ratio. Arbitrage ensures the market matches the regulatory rate.
Historically, governments failed because they decreed ratios for currencies that they had created out of nothing. The new model binds the hands of the issuer. You cannot "decree" more value if you do not physically add more gold to the vault. The regulation itself, enforces scarcity.
That's it - I'm over and out.
Alasdair Macleod just weighed in on the looming bond market debacle, and the scenario he paints is very similar to mine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FRP-tNqlU0
"But the US no longer has any cards, it seems." If only gaslighting was an actual energy source............
All those spaceX engineers poured their life into a space company for equity share and ended up owning a dodgy AI company. Probably very keen to offload.
Who wouldn't want to own a share of a platform for fascist tweets though?
"The Prime Minister says he will call a referendum on the country's MMP voting system"
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/politics/903205/christopher-luxon-will-call-…
When I am forced to pay tax, there's nothing I like more than it being spent on nonsense like this.
"The question I keep saying is, I don't need some yahoo or numpty from some other party around that (Cabinet) table,"
That's a little insulting to the 62% of the electorate that thought you weren't worth a vote Chris.
"I can do a lot more to get the centre-right agenda, centre being the operative word, done and out the door"
Yeah, nah. This is why we voted for a change of voting system in the first place Chris. Cognative dissonance much! I doubt many have forgotten?
”Some yahoo or numpty” in a sensethen, without a lot of stretch that description implicates the current ACT and NZF ministers in cabinet. Within a week this Prime Minister insults in turn small business owners and his coalition partners. Can’t recall any New Zealand Prime Minister in modern history so adept at vague inarticulate statements on one hand and on the other, mindless clumsy gaffes.
The difference between CEO and the employee of the people of NZ. Something Luxon hasn't quite grasped yet apparently?
Not entirely detached though. Best couple of CEOs in my experience were efficient team leaders in their own right and capable of overseeing departments and their functions and managing the interconnections. There has to be quite a bit of that too in running a cabinet and particularly so with coalition members therein. But as far as the public is concerned that should exist in the background and first and foremost the Prime Minister should be exactly that, the prime ministership itself full stop. This Prime Minister has proven himself to be unsuited to politics in the first place, and that is hardly a criticism, and if he had served a normal apprenticeship in parliament that likely should have become clear to him and his colleagues.
Do we choose between an AI data centre or having hot water?
The good people at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment are offering to stand behind their advice and pay any increase in energy costs to consumers due to AI data centres out of their own pocket. I am joking of course!
"(MBIE) officials have advised her they don't expect data centres rolling out over the next 12 months to put upward pressure on electricity prices, given the arrangements they have in place."
https://www.interest.co.nz/technology/139655/finance-minister-nicola-wi…
extract from the stuff article. "It is fairly rare for New Zealand to need diesel generation, as there is a lot of renewable electricity - and the Huntly coal power station - available." Sun and wind are usually called unreliable so it looks like Stuff had to throw this in. The high demand was between ~6-8am when there would essentially be no sun energy available. Possible to get some wind but very low temperatures can coincide with no wind. Stats are available on TP's website but I haven't looked. Huntly was probably going full bore unless one of its generation units was down.
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