Tony Field looks at the cost of living, rising petrol prices - and a question every job seeker should prepare for.
THE MARKETS
The New Zealand dollar has gained ground against the Australian currency this morning, trading at 99.08. That's an increase of half a per cent.
But it is down against other major currencies including:
- US 76.48 ( down 0.65)
- Pound 51.51 ( down 0.27percent)
- Euro 71.24 ( down 0.03percent)
World markets rallied with Wall Street up with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up over 1percent and the NASDAQ gaining 1.2percent.
European markets enjoyed similar gains, after China moved to try to stimulate its economy. The central bank has cut the amount of money that banks must hold in reserve.
Where markets go for the rest of the week will depend heavily on the earnings reports that are going to be issued by dozens of companies in the United States this week. Morgan Stanley, Hasbro and Halliburton all beat expectations today.
FUEL PRICES
Oil is making a comeback on world markets and is now trading at US 56.33 per barrel.
Today's increase came after prices rose at New Zealand petrol stations. Z Energy and BP both increased petrol and diesel prices by 4 cents per litre yesterday. It was the second increase in four days. Oil prices are the highest they have been since October.
The Automobile Association says the latest price increase is a little too soon for its liking. "and normally we'd expect to see a lag of a day or two before they're reflected at the pump. The same works when prices are falling, and often commodity prices fluctuate daily, only to reverse a day later, so it makes sense for fuel companies to hold off instead of making unnecessary changes at the pump.
THE COST OF LIVING
Inflation has increased by just zero point one per cent in the year to March - helped by what was a very big fall in petrol prices.
Petrol prices fell 15percent in the past year. Electronic goods ( audio visual equipment and computers) fell by 13percent in price.
But many people will still feel that the cost of living is rising. Rents were up over 2percent for the year, electricity prices increased by 3.5percent and the cost of building a new home rose by 5percent. That figure does not include the the cost of the land itself.
The Council of Trade Unions says wages have not increased at the same rate as productivity in the New Zealand in the past five years. It believes there is now room for employers to lift wages without any danger of inflation running out of control.
Something that does not look like increasing any time soon is interest rates .Inflation is below the Reserve Bank's target range of between 1percent -3percent, so it has no reason to hike rates for now. But keeping rates on hold could add more fuel to the already overheated Auckland housing market.
This leaves the Reserve Bank in a tricky spot and also means there will be growing pressure on the Government to do more to tackle the issue of rising house prices.
- Talk Money: Petrol prices continue to rise
SERVICES SECTOR GROWS
New Zealand's services sector is going from strength to strength.
The latest BNZ - BusinessNZ Performance of Services Index (PSI) for March was 57.6. This was 1.6 points higher than February.
A PSI reading above 50.0 indicates that the service sector is generally expanding.
BusinessNZ chief executive Phil O'Reilly said that "With new orders/business and activity/sales typically displaying values around the 60 point mark, along with around two-thirds of respondents providing positive comments, the sector is in good heart."
BNZ senior economist Doug Steel said, "A strong service sector bodes well for economic growth and employment. Labour demand is one thing, finding the people might be another with firms reporting difficulty finding staff."
THE ONE QUESTION JOB SEEKERS SHOULD PREPARE FOR
Intel's chairman Andy Bryant has revealed his favourite question that he likes to ask job applicants: "Which classes were your best classes?"
He told The New York Times that "I knew enough about all the different subjects to find out if they learned something or if they just showed up and got a good grade.
He also offered this career advice: "The thing I learned is that if you're not doing the job you want to do, it will reflect on your performance. You're better off to take a job you're excited about than to do the one you think somebody wants you to do." People are successful when they're intellectually and emotionally engaged as opposed to when they're checking the box.
source: newshub archive
