June 30th, 2010
1. Take your time. You can’t proofread a document at the same speed you read a novel - slow down and concentrate.
2. Increase the text size. Catch more errors by printing out the document and reading it through a magnifying ruler one line at a time. If you’re proofing on the screen, enlarge the document, [...]
June 25th, 2010
Consumer law, some of it more than 80 years old, is in for a shakeup. Consumer Affairs Minister Heather Roy has launched a discussion document which has taken a year to prepare. She wants to develop “strong and relevant” legislation which promotes competition, consumer confidence and a simple “one door” policy for advice and help [...]
June 23rd, 2010
Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard says more household belt-tightening and a stronger switch by banks away from unproductive personal credit growth are necessary if NZ’s ongoing risk of economic shocks caused by the country’s high foreign indebtedness is to improve. He says the Govt’s books are in good order, but when only the external accounts [...]
June 18th, 2010
With sovereign debt fears stalking global markets, news NZ’s debt position is not improving will be of concern. Latest figures show the Government’s cash flow and financial statements have remained similar to forecasts, and though the tax take is in line with projections, the country’s net debt position has climbed 0.3% to $27.8bn, or 15% [...]
June 18th, 2010
The latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey Employer has found hiring activity in NZ is expected to continue its uphill climb back to a pre-recession pace in the third quarter. Job seekers should find the most opportunities in the Manufacturing and Services industry sectors in the quarter ahead.
The seasonally adjusted Net Employment Outlook is at +18%, [...]
June 16th, 2010
Hospitality Association CEO Bruce Robertson has questioned the strength of the economic recovery, saying trading conditions for its more than 2500 members were still getting worse, with winter expected to claim more victims.
He says the Hospitality Association’s members, mainly bars and restaurants, “have not seen any significant improvement” and are expecting a tough winter, with [...]
June 11th, 2010
Treasury Secretary John Whitehead says the Government could be receptive to lowering investment screening thresholds for foreigners looking to buy assets in NZ. The Treasury’s top man has been talking about policies which might benefit the economy. On TV One’s Q&A programme he said there’s plenty to be gained from “open flows of people, open [...]
June 11th, 2010
The IMF says NZ is likely to grow faster than most of the developed world in the medium term. It points to rising commodity prices and a growing share of exports going to Asia as positive for the NZ economy, but warns external debt levels are still too high, and if interest rates rise it [...]
June 9th, 2010
Although the Russians may have the cynical motive of getting WTO recognition as a result, NZ has nevertheless scored a big coup in becoming the first country to start negotiating a free trade deal with Russia. NZ currently exports $200m of goods to Russia a year, but the Russians are desperate for food. As always [...]
June 4th, 2010
The verdict on this year’s budget from business leaders is the Govt must do more to keep NZ competitive internationally. While the decision to drop corporate tax to 28% has been hailed, business leaders say a lower company tax rate is only part of the picture for companies deciding to invest. Business NZ CEO Phil [...]
June 4th, 2010
A new international study which looked at NZ management skills, focusing on manufacturing, has found management practices in NZ are ‘middling to average.’ This is a real concern as effective management practices are closely related to higher productivity and output in NZ manufacturing firms. The study benchmarked NZ management practices against 16 other countries, including [...]
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