I'm interviewed on careers in manufacturing after the earthquakes in Canterbury and more generally about opportunities and shortages in manufacturing:

http://plainsfm.org.nz/on-demand/careers25july2012/

tags: skill shortages, canterbury earthquake, apprentices

Cost Price Inflation figures released by Statistics New Zealand on Tuesday revealed that the same divide between the domestic and external economies that had haunted the tradable sector last decade are back. Headline inflation was at 1% year on year, but domestic inflation had reached 2.4% while traded inflation was at -1.1%.

We have dual problems emerging in the economy – an export...

tags: cpi, ocr, two economies, reserve bank act, exchange rate

The issues faced by ACC over the past year or so have largely focused on the inappropriate acts of a few members of staff and the board. Some longer term issues also need addressing. Two of the major issues are how ACC handles claims and how unfunded claims made before 1999 are funded.

A fairly hands off approach from ACC has been at the heart of the claims process problem. There...

tags: acc, residual claims, claims process

One of the conclusions drawn from the economic crisis that has played out over the past few years has been that a more pragmatic focus has been more successful for central banks. The International Monetary Fund for one has been on record saying that small export focused countries that paid only lip service to inflation control while managing their exchange rate achieved better economic...

tags: imf, rbnz, policy targets agreement, inflation targeting

The Voyage of a Lifetime Presentation was organised by the Fabian Society to increase awareness of economic problems in New Zealand.

It uses an analogy with the Titanic to show how irresponsible decisions can lead to failure.

My presentation starts at 40 minutes but the others are worth a look as well.

Voyage of a Lifetime...

Tweaking around the edges was again the theme of this years’ Budget. Again the right noises were made but again the actions to back them up were timid at best.

The positives were more money for research and development, youth training and a crackdown on tax avoidance but these initiatives, while helpful, are hardly game changing. Even within these areas assistance would be better...

tags: current account, crown debt, budget 2012, r&d, superannuation

The term Dutch Disease shows up in economic discussions - it relates to the impact of a particularly dominant sector crowding out other areas of the economy leading to problems if the dominant sector becomes less profitable or obsolete.

In the Dutch case it refers to the impact of North Sea natural gas on the...

tags: dutch disease, exchange rate, farming, innovation

I attended the Hi-Tech Awards recently which is always a good reminder of the sort of innovative firms that New Zealand consistently produces. Compaq Sorting Equipment who make fruit and vegetable sorting machines won the top award – the full list of winners is listed here.

The sort of companies running for these awards are high...

tags: hi-tech awards, venture capital, value add, macroeconomic policy

This is from an interview I did last week on Rob's Country. I'm up first.

tags: rob's country, ctv, budget, exchange rate

My section starts at 7.30.

tags: crown debt, rob cope-williams, ctv