Alex Tarrant | interest.co.nz

About

Alex is interest.co.nz's political journalist based in the Parliamentary Press Gallery in Wellington. He previously spent four years in London as a journalist and assistant editor at global financial newswire Mergermarket, which was part of the FT Group. Alex worked for interest.co.nz between 2008 and 2012, returning at the start of 2017.

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Member for

15 years 8 months

Latest articles

May farm sales highest in 3yrs

REINZ says 130 farms sold in May, highest in 3 yrs; Rural confidence rising due to high commodity prices

15th Jun 11, 12:02pm

by Alex Tarrant

REINZ says 130 farms sold in May, highest in 3 yrs; Rural confidence rising due to high commodity prices

Retail sales up 2% in March

Retail sales rise 2% in March qtr from Dec, as spending on fuel jumps 5.6%, Stats NZ says; Canterbury sales down 2.2%

15th Jun 11, 11:03am

by Alex Tarrant

Retail sales rise 2% in March qtr from Dec, as spending on fuel jumps 5.6%, Stats NZ says; Canterbury sales down 2.2%

Groser tries to calm Pharmac fears

Trade Minister Groser downplays Trans Pacific Partnership fears on Pharmac and hits out at US dairy lobbyists

15th Jun 11, 10:01am

by Alex Tarrant

Trade Minister Groser downplays Trans Pacific Partnership fears on Pharmac and hits out at US dairy lobbyists

'EQC acted quickly after Feb on reinsurance'

EQC acted quickly after Feb quake to get reinsurance in place, has sufficient reserves, Finance Minister English says

14th Jun 11, 2:34pm

by Alex Tarrant

EQC acted quickly after Feb quake to get reinsurance in place, has sufficient reserves, Finance Minister English says

Farm interest payments to rise 27%

MAF forecasts interest payments for the agriculture sector to rise 27% over 4 yrs as rates rise; Ag profits to rise 53%

14th Jun 11, 1:17pm

by Alex Tarrant

MAF forecasts interest payments for the agriculture sector to rise 27% over 4 yrs as rates rise; Ag profits to rise 53%

Vege prices up 21% from a yr ago

Vegetable prices rise 21% in May from a year ago, beef prices up 16%, milk prices up 9.3%, Stats NZ says

14th Jun 11, 11:00am

by Alex Tarrant

Vegetable prices rise 21% in May from a year ago, beef prices up 16%, milk prices up 9.3%, Stats NZ says

Eastern ChCh suburbs hit hard - Key

PM Key says significantly more land damage to Christchurch's eastern suburbs; Govt close to getting an idea on where rebuilding can't be done

14th Jun 11, 9:14am

by Alex Tarrant

PM Key says significantly more land damage to Christchurch's eastern suburbs; Govt close to getting an idea on where rebuilding can't be done

Should govt reveal lobbying?

Have your say: Green Party calls on government to reveal lobbyists, introduces Member's Bill to create lobby-list. Your view?

13th Jun 11, 1:59pm

by Alex Tarrant

Have your say: Green Party calls on government to reveal lobbyists, introduces Member's Bill to create lobby-list. Your view?

Key approached SkyCity for centre

PM Key defends govt support for Sky City convention centre, says can't expect shareholders to invest for 6 years without certainty

13th Jun 11, 8:41am

by Alex Tarrant

PM Key defends govt support for Sky City convention centre, says can't expect shareholders to invest for 6 years without certainty

RBNZ should eye intervention - Labour

Labour says Reserve Bank should be considering intervention to signal its unease over high NZ$

10th Jun 11, 2:54pm

by Alex Tarrant

Labour says Reserve Bank should be considering intervention to signal its unease over high NZ$

Alex's politico-economic blogroll

Alex's politico-economic blogroll: US doesn't want Pharmac precedent; Here comes Labour, can they stay over 30%?; NZ needs bigger firm focus; Cartoons

10th Jun 11, 2:00pm

by Alex Tarrant

Alex's politico-economic blogroll: US doesn't want Pharmac precedent; Here comes Labour, can they stay over 30%?; NZ needs bigger firm focus; Cartoons

Labour/Green/NZF/Maori/Mana govt?

Now mathematically possible for a Labour-led govt if NZ First hits 5% of the vote, iPredict says

10th Jun 11, 1:43pm

by Alex Tarrant

Now mathematically possible for a Labour-led govt if NZ First hits 5% of the vote, iPredict says

Card spending flat in May

Card spending flat in May as spending on big ticket items falls; Canterbury included in figures, Stats NZ says

10th Jun 11, 11:01am

by Alex Tarrant

Card spending flat in May as spending on big ticket items falls; Canterbury included in figures, Stats NZ says

Bollard not keen on NZ$ controls

RBNZ's Bollard watching other central banks' currency interventions, although has seen little success; Says can't change NZ$ direction

9th Jun 11, 1:16pm

by Alex Tarrant

RBNZ's Bollard watching other central banks' currency interventions, although has seen little success; Says can't change NZ$ direction

RBNZ sees floaters staying floating

RBNZ happy with short-term borrowers, expects Kiwis to stay more short-term like Aussies meaning less need for OCR hikes

9th Jun 11, 12:48pm

by Alex Tarrant

RBNZ happy with short-term borrowers, expects Kiwis to stay more short-term like Aussies meaning less need for OCR hikes

Govt banking contract costs NZ$4m a yr

Government's soon-to-be-tendered banking contract with Westpac costs taxpayers approximately NZ$4 mln a year, Treasury says

9th Jun 11, 12:32pm

by Alex Tarrant

Government's soon-to-be-tendered banking contract with Westpac costs taxpayers approximately NZ$4 mln a year, Treasury says

RBNZ sees subdued house prices

RBNZ says consumer spending rises will be below retail banks' projections; House price rises to remain at or below inflation rate

9th Jun 11, 9:37am

by Alex Tarrant

RBNZ says consumer spending rises will be below retail banks' projections; House price rises to remain at or below inflation rate

'We understand consumer spending'

Govt optimistic about growth forecasts now Treasury has figured out how much consumers have altered spending habits, English says

8th Jun 11, 5:11pm

by Alex Tarrant

Govt optimistic about growth forecasts now Treasury has figured out how much consumers have altered spending habits, English says

Key not keen on currency intervention

PM Key says currency intervention doesn't work, but doesn't think RBNZ Act should be changed

8th Jun 11, 2:51pm

by Alex Tarrant

PM Key says currency intervention doesn't work, but doesn't think RBNZ Act should be changed

Treasury keen on property tax debate

Treasury still keen to look at savings vs property tax treatment debate

8th Jun 11, 1:38pm

by Alex Tarrant

Treasury still keen to look at savings vs property tax treatment debate

Residential building activity drops

Residential building activity falls 2.1% in March qtr from Dec, third consecutive fall, Stats NZ says

8th Jun 11, 11:23am

by Alex Tarrant

Residential building activity falls 2.1% in March qtr from Dec, third consecutive fall, Stats NZ says

High NZ$ hits govt debt valuations

High NZ$ pushes gross Crown debt 4.2% above budget forecasts, but doesn't hit net debt, Treasury says in govt financials

7th Jun 11, 9:59am

by Alex Tarrant

High NZ$ pushes gross Crown debt 4.2% above budget forecasts, but doesn't hit net debt, Treasury says in govt financials

'Govt aware of debt impact on NZ$'

Govt fully aware its borrowing programme is creating demand for NZ$, potentially pushing currency up, English says

7th Jun 11, 9:25am

by Alex Tarrant

Govt fully aware its borrowing programme is creating demand for NZ$, potentially pushing currency up, English says

Alex's politico-economic blogroll

Alex's politico-economic blogroll: Why are Ministers different?; Quake insurance claim backlog; Why the Westpac hooha is off the mark; Bob Clarkson cartoons

3rd Jun 11, 11:32am

by Alex Tarrant

Alex's politico-economic blogroll: Why are Ministers different?; Quake insurance claim backlog; Why the Westpac hooha is off the mark; Bob Clarkson cartoons

Home consent trend at new low

Trend for new home consents hits new low in April, but decline eases; Only 21 quake consents in 8 mths, Stats NZ says

3rd Jun 11, 10:55am

by Alex Tarrant

Trend for new home consents hits new low in April, but decline eases; Only 21 quake consents in 8 mths, Stats NZ says