There’s been a raft of bad news from locally listed companies over the past several weeks, with more than a dozen either downgrading earnings guidance or providing negative trading updates. This hasn’t been limited to the smaller end of town either, with at least ten NZX 50 constituents in the headlines for the wrong reasons too. When it comes to inflation and interest rates, bad news can be good news, to an extent. Slumping activity and a worsening labour market might could see inflation slow more quickly than expected. This might open the door to OCR cuts within six months, rather than sometime in 2025, which would put the local market on a sounder footing.

Ask this episode

“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.