Bernard Hickey | interest.co.nz

About

Bernard is back as a senior contributor on interest.co.nz. Until September 30, 2012 he was the managing editor here. He had previously worked for 18 years for Reuters, the FT Group and Fairfax as a financial journalist and editor. He is now the publisher of The Kaka.

Member for

15 years 6 months

Latest articles

Painful percentages

Bernard Hickey finds flat fees charged to customers for using credit cards are an egregious rip-off; he bridles at the lack of choice

24th Feb 13, 10:02am

by Bernard Hickey

Bernard Hickey finds flat fees charged to customers for using credit cards are an egregious rip-off; he bridles at the lack of choice

Roost home loan affordability report for January

Home loan affordability improves slightly in January, but near worst in two years; multiple income households in best position

22nd Feb 13, 12:15pm

by Bernard Hickey

Home loan affordability improves slightly in January, but near worst in two years; multiple income households in best position

Friday's Top 10 with NZ Mint

Friday's Top 10 with NZ Mint: Chinese admiral says war with Japan would be quick; How NZ could encourage mass immigration of highly skilled Americans; Huawei and a disturbing death in Singapore; Clarke and Dawe; Dilbert

22nd Feb 13, 12:09pm

by Bernard Hickey

Thursday's Top 10 with NZ Mint

Thursday's Top 10 with NZ Mint: Fed starts debating how to withdraw stimulus; Stanley Fischer to be next Fed Chair?; The disturbing rise and rise of the robots; Food critic on food stamps; Dilbert

21st Feb 13, 12:35pm

by Bernard Hickey

Thursday's Top 10 with NZ Mint: Fed starts debating how to withdraw stimulus; Stanley Fischer to be next Fed Chair?; The disturbing rise and rise of the robots; Food critic on food stamps; Dilbert

RBNZ ready to intervene in NZ$

RBNZ's Wheeler says NZ$ "significantly overvalued", but no simple solutions; RBNZ ready to intervene in NZ$ "when circumstances right"

20th Feb 13, 3:42pm

by Bernard Hickey

RBNZ's Wheeler says NZ$ "significantly overvalued", but no simple solutions; RBNZ ready to intervene in NZ$ "when circumstances right"

Wednesday's Top 10 with NZ Mint

Wednesday's Top 10 with NZ Mint: The myth that the rich flee to low tax countries; WalMart's ugly start to Feb; Tom Waits; What Chinese people really think; The currency wars of the 30s actually worked; Dilbert

20th Feb 13, 12:44pm

by Bernard Hickey

NZ budget deficit tad below forecast

Treasury reports budget deficit for 6 months to December slightly below forecast on lower Treaty costs and slightly higher tax revenues

20th Feb 13, 10:26am

by Bernard Hickey

Treasury reports budget deficit for 6 months to December slightly below forecast on lower Treaty costs and slightly higher tax revenues

Tuesday's Top 10 with NZ Mint

Tuesday's Top 10 with NZ Mint: 'HSBC is a Too Big To Jail bank'; Why America's new oil boom is a sham; Paul Krugman wants a higher minimum wage; Wars cause hyperinflation, not money printing; Dilbert

19th Feb 13, 11:49am

by Bernard Hickey

Tuesday's Top 10 with NZ Mint: 'HSBC is a Too Big To Jail bank'; Why America's new oil boom is a sham; Paul Krugman wants a higher minimum wage; Wars cause hyperinflation, not money printing; Dilbert

Record high NZ$ not a bad thing-Key

PM John Key says record high NZ$ doesn't help exporters, but is making NZ more competitive and making New Zealanders wealthier

18th Feb 13, 5:01pm

by Bernard Hickey

PM John Key says record high NZ$ doesn't help exporters, but is making NZ more competitive and making New Zealanders wealthier

Demand deflation

Bernard Hickey says it's time for consumers (with jobs) to be cautious and ruthless by demanding price cuts for imported goods, especially Japanese cars. Your view?

17th Feb 13, 10:01am

by Bernard Hickey

Bernard Hickey says it's time for consumers (with jobs) to be cautious and ruthless by demanding price cuts for imported goods, especially Japanese cars. Your view?

Friday's Top 10 with NZ Mint

Friday's Top 10 with NZ Mint: The Capitalist's Dilemma; An Italian banker with wavy, shoulder length hair; Are Universities the newspapers of the future?; NZ ranked 31st in the love list; Dilbert

15th Feb 13, 11:43am

by Bernard Hickey

Friday's Top 10 with NZ Mint: The Capitalist's Dilemma; An Italian banker with wavy, shoulder length hair; Are Universities the newspapers of the future?; NZ ranked 31st in the love list; Dilbert

Thursday's Top 10 with NZ Mint

Thursday's Top 10 with NZ Mint: The FT's Martin Wolf makes the case for 'Helicopter money'; Independent Liquor's very sour deal; Water is the new oil; Currency Wars rage; Dilbert

14th Feb 13, 12:09pm

by Bernard Hickey

Thursday's Top 10 with NZ Mint: The FT's Martin Wolf makes the case for 'Helicopter money'; Independent Liquor's very sour deal; Water is the new oil; Currency Wars rage; Dilbert

Wednesday's Top 10 with NZ Mint

Wednesday's Top 10 with NZ Mint: Money-printing Japan now targeting higher Nikkei too; Italy gets a good Grillo; A managed default for Japan?; How meritocracies become plutocracies; Dilbert

13th Feb 13, 8:57am

by Bernard Hickey

Wednesday's Top 10 with NZ Mint: Money-printing Japan now targeting higher Nikkei too; Italy gets a good Grillo; A managed default for Japan?; How meritocracies become plutocracies; Dilbert

Tuesday's Top 10 with NZ Mint

Tuesday's Top 10 with NZ Mint: A debate about 'Helicopter money'; Why money printing is not the work of the devil; Milton Friedman was a money printer; OMF is better than QE; Dilbert

12th Feb 13, 12:11pm

by Bernard Hickey

Tuesday's Top 10 with NZ Mint: A debate about 'Helicopter money'; Why money printing is not the work of the devil; Milton Friedman was a money printer; OMF is better than QE; Dilbert

SFO eyeing rewards for whistleblowers

SFO eyeing rewards for whistleblowers similar to those now used in United States to catch Ponzi schemers, fraudsters

11th Feb 13, 12:36pm

by Bernard Hickey

SFO eyeing rewards for whistleblowers similar to those now used in United States to catch Ponzi schemers, fraudsters

'How I found the world's biggest Ponzi scheme'

Double Shot Interview-Harry Markopolos: "How I found the world's biggest Ponzi scheme 8 years before it collapsed, yet no one would listen'

8th Feb 13, 4:42pm

by Bernard Hickey

Double Shot Interview-Harry Markopolos: "How I found the world's biggest Ponzi scheme 8 years before it collapsed, yet no one would listen'

Friday's Top 10 with NZ Mint

Friday's Top 10 with NZ Mint: US financial transactions tax?; Fears of a 1914-style march to war between China and Japan; Greek coup talk; Libor love emails; Clarke and Dawe; Dilbert

8th Feb 13, 9:50am

by Bernard Hickey

Friday's Top 10 with NZ Mint: US financial transactions tax?; Fears of a 1914-style march to war between China and Japan; Greek coup talk; Libor love emails; Clarke and Dawe; Dilbert

90 seconds at 9 am: ECB's euro warning

90 seconds at 9 am: ECB's Draghi warns about strong euro; Dow falls; NZ$ weaker vs US$, but not euro; BoE's Carney sticks with inflation targeting

8th Feb 13, 8:47am

by Bernard Hickey

90 seconds at 9 am: ECB's Draghi warns about strong euro; Dow falls; NZ$ weaker vs US$, but not euro; BoE's Carney sticks with inflation targeting

Thursday's Top 10 with NZ Mint

Thursday's Top 10 with NZ Mint: The US banking 'untouchables' that were 'too big to jail'; French PM wants 'strong' euro 'managed lower; Central banking bed wetters; Peak olive oil; Dilbert

7th Feb 13, 12:20pm

by Bernard Hickey

Thursday's Top 10 with NZ Mint: The US banking 'untouchables' that were 'too big to jail'; French PM wants 'strong' euro 'managed lower; Central banking bed wetters; Peak olive oil; Dilbert

Jobs fall 23,000 in Dec qtr

Stats NZ reports 23,000 jobs lost in Q4, but unemployment rate falls to 6.9% from 7.3% due to lower participation rate

7th Feb 13, 10:55am

by Bernard Hickey

Stats NZ reports 23,000 jobs lost in Q4, but unemployment rate falls to 6.9% from 7.3% due to lower participation rate

Live blog - Mainzeal's collapse

Live blog - Mainzeal put into receivership after leaky building, Chinese supply issues; Big projects, 400 workers and many subcontractors in limbo

7th Feb 13, 7:30am

by Bernard Hickey

Live blog - Mainzeal put into receivership after leaky building, Chinese supply issues; Big projects, 400 workers and many subcontractors in limbo

Wednesday's Top 10 with NZ Mint

Wednesday's Top 10 with NZ Mint: Why currency wars aren't so bad; Russian oligarchs and the fight for Cypriot gas; How to combat the 'Rise of the Robots'; A 'too big to fail' corporate tax rate; Dilbert

6th Feb 13, 9:31am

by Bernard Hickey

Tuesday's Top 10 with NZ Mint

Tuesday's Top 10 with NZ Mint: 'Civil servant is anxious, anxious, anxious!'; Beijing really big airline smoking lounge; Mario and the Bank of Monte Paschi; 'Don't blame the robots; Dilbert

5th Feb 13, 10:09am

by Bernard Hickey

Tuesday's Top 10 with NZ Mint: 'Civil servant is anxious, anxious, anxious!'; Beijing really big airline smoking lounge; Mario and the Bank of Monte Paschi; 'Don't blame the robots; Dilbert

Baby formula exports to China 'in crisis'

NZ milk formula exporter says industry in crisis mode after DCD scare prompts Chinese claims that NZ milk is 'toxic' and 'poisonous'

4th Feb 13, 3:56pm

by Bernard Hickey

NZ milk formula exporter says industry in crisis mode after DCD scare prompts Chinese claims that NZ milk is 'toxic' and 'poisonous'

Haven't we seen this trainwreck somewhere before?

Bernard Hickey says he can remember the same rhetoric from the RBNZ a decade ago about the same housing and borrowing pressures, and he fears the same 'do nothing' response. Your view?

3rd Feb 13, 10:00am

by Bernard Hickey

Bernard Hickey says he can remember the same rhetoric from the RBNZ a decade ago about the same housing and borrowing pressures, and he fears the same 'do nothing' response. Your view?