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Forsyth Barr's Zoe Wallis has all the investment tips for your Monday morning.

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I was having a good old debate with a mate at the weekend about interest rates.

We're of the age where, mortgages are a thing.

In Auckland, quote a bog and annoying thing.

Paying them down is the aim of the game.

Now this mate of mine knows a bit more about this stuff than I do and watches the markets closely. He's worried about the middle of the year - potentially this recovery if that's what we can official call it yet - coming to a bit a standstill/abrupt halt.

We've spoken before about elections putting the kaibosh on growth. We've spoken about Bill English's comments about our recovery, unlike across the ditch, coming isn't spite of a rebound in house prices.

In Australia, everything's how. The weather. House prices. Inflation. Growth. Employment.

It's like they're on a different hemisphere to us.

There was a good podcast talking about some of this, Of Interest, with a Westpac economist.

The RBA'S rate is now 3.85%. Ours is 2.25%. It's been about 15 years since there's been such a big gap between the two.

We usually cycle together most of the time but we have drifted apart to the point where one's so far over the hill, we can't see each other anymore.

This is all by design, of course. We were way more aggressive. We engineered a recession to crash inflation.

They went a loft softer to take into account employment.

They have a duel mandate. The coalition got rid of ours.

The Aussies are now upping rates again because their inflation is taking off again. Ours has a mild case of fever but nothing like there's at early 4%.

The question anyone thinking about this stuff, with a mortgage is asking themselves, is this.

Would you swallow a bit of inflation to have an economy that's actually firing?

In other words, in future, would you rather this was handled the Aussie way? Or the Kiwi way?

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In this episode, Iyia breaks down why staying focused as a business owner feels so hard when you’re juggling nonstop decisions, interruptions, and mental load, and why it’s not a discipline issue, it’s a system issue. She explains “attention residue” and how constant task-switching keeps you stuck in reaction mode, then shares practical strategies to regain control: start the day with a business brain dump, sort tasks honestly, and commit to just three priorities. She covers time blocking, reducing distractions, batching similar tasks, working with your natural energy highs, and letting go of perfectionism with a “done is better than perfect” mindset.

👉 www.makeithappen.org.nz
📲 Socials: @makeithappen

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The Prime Minister remains hopeful for a fall in unemployment this year.

Unemployment's reached a 10 year high of 5.4% - with Auckland's unemployment rate rising again to 6.4%.

Job numbers have increased, but that's been offset by more people joining or re-joining the labour market.

Chris Luxon told Mike Hosking that the economy's rebounding, and that should flow through to the job market soon.

He says there's always a lag effect - with unemployment being the last economic indicator to turn around.

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The job market's remaining tougher, for longer, than many economists were expecting.

Unemployment's reached a ten-year high of 5.4% in the December quarter, and the broader under-utilisation rate is close to a ten-year high as well, at 13%.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis is trying to point out silver linings, saying the data also shows more jobs have been created, and hours worked are increasing.

Frog Recruitment Manging Director Shannon Barlow told Kerre Woodham that it’s a little early to get a clear read on the market, but there are positive signs already.

She says there was a lift in permanent roles and businesses who were keen to hire in December, and January has been solid as well – notable since it’s normally a dead month.

Barlow says it gives the idea that business confidence is beginning to translate into real hiring and growth decisions.

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As business owners, you know how hard it is keeping up with your business, let alone the news. Join Wilhelmina O'Keeffe each week as she gives you a rundown of the biggest stories that could impact your business, so you can make informed decisions with expert advice.

This week, Unemployment is up but is the picture as bad as it sounds? Insurance premiums are in the spotlight as the government tries to pinpoint what’s driving costs so high … plus how to juggle all the demands on your business without losing focus.

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Independent economist Tony Alexander explains why we’re moving away from housing as a primary retirement plan, as a thirty-year era of falling interest rates comes to an end. Get Tony’s take on the dominance of first-home buyers, and whether now’s the time to lock in a long-term mortgage rate.

Why does Tony believe the Reserve Bank will hike rates again before the year is out? What’s behind the widening gap between the Kiwi and Australian economies? Why are we getting mixed signals from central bank forecasting, and what’s behind Tony’s theory that current inflation models might be fundamentally broken?

Plus, why Tony calls your local council a “monopoly”—and why you can't escape it.

For more or to watch on YouTube—check out http://linktr.ee/sharedlunch

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