CTU official Bill Rosenberg has raised the spectre of Warner Brothers suing a future NZ Government if it tries to unwind “the Hobbit” law. At the TPP stakeholders day in Auckland this morning, Rosenberg said the CTU’s interest in the trade negotiations is not limited to labour rights. Rosenberg instanced the NZ Government’s decision to change labour laws to ensure …

The New Zealand dollar climbed to a 16-month high on a trade-weighted basis after investors piled into currency after Reserve Bank governor Graeme Wheeler yesterday all-but ruled out a rate cut as he zeroes in on potential inflation emerging in the country’s housing market. The trade-weighted index rose as high as 74.45, the highest level since August last year, and …

NO EARLY XMAS PRESENTS FROM THE ECB OR BOE. As widely expected, both the ECB and BOE left their major policy settings unchanged. Updated ECB forecasts were unveiled, with ECB having become gloomier about the growth outlook. The mid-points of its latest staff forecasts imply that GDP will fall by 0.5% this year and a further 0.3% in 2013, before rising …