Talk Money with Tony Field – November 2, 2015

The World Cup generated a profit of NZ$365 million, from TV revenue and ticket sales (AAP)
The World Cup generated a profit of NZ$365 million, from TV revenue and ticket sales (AAP)

The 2015 Rugby World Cup has been a massive success for the All Blacks and New Zealand, but it has also been a big win for the organisers.

The event has generated a profit of NZ$365 million, from TV revenue and ticket sales.

The profits are distributed among the various World Cup nations to grow the game. There are now just over seven million people playing rugby globally - that is twice the number playing six years ago.

The money is not distributed evenly. Nine of the top nations (excluding Argentina) receive around half of the proceeds. The remaining nations receive the rest.

The All Blacks each receive a $150,000 bonus for winning the Cup: $35,000 for making the World Cup and $115,000 more for winning the William Webb Ellis trophy. That is $50,000 more than the players received four years ago when they won the Cup.

The final was also a financial windfall for punters who backed the All Blacks, including one person who bet $400,000 on the team. That punter made $140,000 on their bet. It might seem like a sure thing now but that person must have had some anxious moments in the second half of the game.

But spare a thought for the person who bet $130,000 on anyone but the All Blacks to win the Cup.

New Zealanders bet almost $3.2 million at the TAB on the final. Eighty-four percent of the money was on the All Blacks and 52percent of all bets were placed were on the team.

The New Zealand Racing Board says 1,803 people bet on Nehe Milner-Skudder to be the first try scorer, at odds of nine to one.

There were 194 people who picked New Zealand to win by 17 points in the 'exact winning margin' option at odds of 21 to one.

 The World Cup will lift people's spirits, but could it lift consumer confidence and the economy?

 It might provide a small lift at the margins and it certainly won't hurt consumer confidence.

The winners of the 2003, 2007 and 2011 Rugby World Cups saw their share markets gain ground in the week after the victory.

 But those markets would have been influenced by a range of factors, such as the latest economic data - how Wall Street performs has an influence on how our market does each day.

On Wednesday, New Zealand's latest employment numbers will be released, with predictions that the unemployment rate could rise above six percent. Economists say the employment rate will also go up. But with more people entering the job market the rise in employment won't offset the rise in those looking for work.

That will have an impact on the share market this week and on the dollar too.

Here is my chat with Paul Henry about the Rugby World Cup.

The New Zealand S&P NZ50 rose 0.26 percent last week, while the Australian market slipped 2.08 percent for the week.

On Wall Street, the S&P500 gained 0.2 percent. London's FTSE fell 1.29 percent.

The major US indexes had their best October in four years. The S&P500 rose 8.3 percent, the Dow gained 8.5 percent and the Nasdaq rose 9.3 percent. 

The New Zealand dollar has gained a little ground this morning against the Australian currency.

 It was trading at 95.05 cents at 8am, a rise of 0.19 percent.  Earlier in the morning it had been trading around 0.39 percent higher.

The kiwi finished last week at 94.95 Australian cents, having gained 1.49 percent in value for the week.

 It was trading at 67.62 US cents at 8am.

The kiwi was trading at 43.75 pence, 81.48 Yen and 61.30 Euro cents. That was narrowly down on where the kiwi was around 7am.

China's factory output has fallen for a third month in a row.

The government's Purchasing Managers' Index gave a reading of 49.8. Anything below 50 indicates manufacturing is contracting. The markets had expected a rebound to 50.

This has increased the concern that the Chinese economy is still slowing, despite the Government's various stimulus attempts.

The services sector is still growing, but at its slowest rate in seven years. The non-manufacturing PMI slipped from 53.4 in September to 53.1 last month.

 The PMI is the government's official measure of the manufacturing sector. Later today the private Caixin China General Manufacturing PMI Index will be released.

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