Cooling measures doing little to slow New Zealand’s housing boom

Desperation among homebuyers is pushing New Zealand house prices to record highs, overpowering the government’s efforts to rein in the red-hot market and putting in jeopardy a key policy promise by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
Italy’s Ali Group hungry for bigger slice of U.S. fast-food market

Italian family business Ali Group expects its planned takeover of U.S. catering equipment rival Welbilt to boost sales as Americans’ appetite for takeaways and meal delivery drives a resurgent U.S. fast-food market, the company told Reuters.
Britain begins negotiations to join trans-Pacific trade deal

Britain will begin negotiations on Tuesday to join a trans-Pacific trade deal that it sees as crucial to its post-Brexit pivot away from Europe and towards geographically more distant but faster-growing economies.
The great exit: central banks line up to dial back emergency stimulus

The U.S. Federal Reserve is projecting a faster timetable for interest rate rises and Norway’s central bank is preparing markets for four rate hikes by mid-2022, the latest signs policymakers are preparing to exit pandemic-driven stimulus.
What you need to know about the coronavirus right now

Here’s what you need to know about the coronavirus right now.
NZ economy surges as housing, retail drive post-COVID recovery

New Zealand’s economic growth swept past forecasts in the first quarter on the back of a housing boom and strong retail spending, avoiding a second recession and bringing forward expectations for tighter monetary policy.
Dollar hits two-month highs on Fed’s hawkish surprise; kiwi climbs after GDP

The dollar rose to its highest level in almost two months versus major peers on Thursday after the Federal Reserve brought forward its projections for the first post-pandemic interest rate hikes into 2023, citing an improved health situation and dropping a long-standing reference that the crisis was weighing on the economy. read more
What you need to know about the coronavirus right now

Here’s what you need to know about the coronavirus right now.
New Zealand to resume Australia “travel bubble” as Sydney COVID threat eases

New Zealand will lift its partial suspension of a “travel bubble” with Australia from midnight on Sunday as fears of a COVID-19 outbreak in Sydney eased. New Zealand had blocked travel to and from New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state, on Thursday after a couple in Sydney with no links to high risk professions […]
New Zealand PM Ardern says travel bubble with Cook Islands to start on May 17

New Zealand will start quarantine free travel with Cook Islands on May 17, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said at a press conference on Monday. “Two way quarantine-free travel is a significant step in both countries’ COVID-19 recovery, and a direct result of both New Zealand and the Cook Islands’ successful response to the pandemic,” Ardern […]