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Shutterstock Track 1219389Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAIKia ora.Welcome to Thursday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from interest.co.nz.Today we lead with the bond market warnings don't seem to be being taken seriously by policy makers. They are ignoring them at their peril.US mortgage applications fell sharply again last week as their benchmark 30 year home loan rate rose to 7.30% and a three year high.However, after three months of slowdown, the precursor ADP employment report showed a +90,000 gain for private sector jobs. In a longer perspective this level is modest, but it is much better than recent outcomes. Saturday's non-farm payrolls are now expected to deliver a similar gain but that will be sharply less than the August one (one you may recall that was received with deep scepticism).The third and final estimate of Q2-2026 US GDP growth came in at a +2.2% rate, down from the +2.5% rate in Q1-2025. But it was an upward revision from their second Q2-2026 estimate so it has had a positive impact on market views. Higher consumer spending, and more from the data center buildout activity were the main reasons for the upgrade.Meanwhile, the August PCE inflation metric came in at 3.4% which was little-changed from July and lower than expected. Personal disposable incomes rose +4.8% in August from a year ago while personal consumption expenditures rose +6.1%. The bond market seems sceptical of this data as the softer-than-expected inflation number had no effect stopping the US Treasury yields rising.The Chicago PMI bounced back in September after the August disappointment, back to levels it has had for most of 2026.US crude oil stocks rose modestly last week when a small fall was anticipated. (There is no update on their Strategic Reserve holdings.)The US booked a very elevated merchandise trade deficit in August of -US$132.6 bln and far above the high -$115 bln expected. Clearly the Trump tariff strategies are failing to restrain trade. Exports were up almost +14% (mostly aircraft) but imports surged +28% from the same month in 2025 (mostly data center goods). China said both its official factory and services PMI's shifted into a small expansion in September from a modest contraction in both in August. This was a better result than was expected. In addition, the S&P Global factory PMI for China was released. It recorded a modest expansion in August, and that improved in September. The unofficial version for their services sector remained very modest however - but at least it improved as well.In something of a surprise, Korean industrial production came in sharply lower in August than anyone expected. It was expected to rise +4% as it did in July, but it actually fell -2.2%, so a notable miss.German inflation came in at 3.3% in September, its highest since the end of 2023.French sovereign bond risk is rising sharply and investors and analysts are warning of significant trouble if France does not get its fiscal house in order. The key metric being watched is the discount to the equivalent German bond yields which is suddenly at a 14 year extreme, a shift that has burst into the open in just the past few days.Australian inflation rose from 3.5% in July to 4.0% in August in a rise at was basically expected (4.1%) by economists, the financial markets - and presumably the RBA. Their core (trimmed mean) inflation rates was unchanged at 3.6%. Fuel costs were obviously the big mover (+5.6%), but housing costs were up 5.7%, education up 4.7% and education costs up 3.9%. So the rising cost pressures are broadening out. Food was up 3.0%.There was a notable fall-off in Australian building consents in August, down -6.1% and largely due to a retreat in multi-unit approvals.Global air passenger travel fell in August, largely due to pullbacks in both North America and the Middle East. But the gains in the Asia/Pacific region were modest too with international travel in that region barely changed. But domestic air travel in Chin was up an impressive +5.8%The UST 10yr yield is now just on 5.30%, up another +3 bps from yesterday and a new high since June 2007. The 30 year yield is at 5.65%, up +5 bps and its highest since January 2001.The price of gold is at US$4154/oz and up +US$6 from yesterday. Silver is at just over US$60/oz and down -US$1.50.Oil prices have risen +50 USc/bbl from yesterday to just over US$91/bbl in the US, while the international Brent price is down -US$5 to US$98.50/bbl. Iran said it had received a US response to its latest proposal to resurrect the ​collapsed ceasefire in the Gulf, days after President Donald Trump said he had rejected it.The Kiwi dollar is little-changed from yesterday, still at 56.3 USc and that is still a ten month low. Against the Aussie we are up +30 bps at 81.1 AUc. Against the euro we are holding at just on 49.7 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just on 60.1 and up +10 bps yesterday and still hovering at a 17 year low.The bitcoin price starts today at US$84,277 and up +1.6% from yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has stayed modest, also at just under +/-1.6%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston and we'll do this again tomorrow.Track 1219389Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAI Audio soundtrack opening is licensed from Shutterstock, Track 1219389 Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAI

For the first time in 150 years, kiwi once again live in the hills surrounding Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand. More than 250 manu ("birds" in the Māori language) were successfully translocated back to the region, thanks to the efforts of the iwi (nations of Aotearoa), community members, and landowners behind the Capital Kiwi Project. Paul Ward, the project lead and founder, joins the Mongabay Newscast this week to explain the yearslong effort to make this possible. "This is a relational project as much as it is what you might traditionally call a conservation project. And I think at a fundamental level that if we lose our relationship with these animals, with these manu … they risk becoming a museum species," he says. Rāwiri Walsh (Taranaki Whānui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika, Ngā Rauru Kītahi, Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga, Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi) is the project's Kaimanaaki Kiwi (kiwi guardian) and iwi liaison. He also joins the podcast to explain the process from the perspective of Te ao Māori (the Māori world). For the Capital Kiwi project to receive kiwi, they must be gifted the birds by iwi through a tono, a gifting process. The project then bestows the bird on a community through a pōwhiri, a traditional Māori welcoming ceremony. And then the tono, as Walsh explains, is a request to the iwi for the birds. "From a Māori perspective, we just had to agree with the iwi that we were receiving from, and they had to agree with us that they wanted to give us kiwi," Walsh says. "What we were able to do when moving kiwi is … welcome the people, both the sanctuary workers as well as the iwi, onto the lands that they were bringing the birds. And then … the responsibility and the onus to the birds would switch … we would do the pōwhiri or the ceremony, and then there would be a process where they would be handed over," Walsh says. The project is far from over, Ward says, as communities now share responsibility for caring for the birds. He adds that this model is a proof of concept for reintroducing other species. In total, including newly hatched chicks that made it to fighting weight (more than 90% of them), Ward estimates there are over 300 kiwi in the hills surrounding Wellington. "Ten years ago, [the] challenge probably would've [been] 'Are we being too ambitious?'" he says. "I think now that challenge is one of complacency. "We're leaning into those relationships with our partners, with our iwi, our landowners, and our communities to explore what other taonga [property] species might be returned to these environments." Please take a minute to let us know what you think of our podcast here. Mike DiGirolamo is the host & producer for the Mongabay Newscast based in Sydney. Find him on LinkedIn and Bluesky. Cover image: Walsh performing a health check on a kiwi chick. This photo was one of National Geographic's 2023 images of the year. Image courtesy of Robin Hammond/Capital Kiwi Project. —— Timecodes (00:00) Kiwi return to Wellington (04:28) The Cultural Significance of Kiwi (08:49) Threats & Conservation History (19:00) Building the Capital Kiwi Project (27:46) Relationship with iwi and the tono (31:54) Remarkable Results (50:05) What Comes Next

Though out this National led governments term, allegations of corruption have dogged the party. The gutting of tobacco controls by MP's who had previously been paid by tobacco companies, improper access by big corporates getting sued by local activists and the law changes put in place to protect the big guys, and just last week Nicky Hager's latest book, Dirty Work, was released, shocking the nation with the lurid stories of a-moral right wing political operatives and their networks of power. That same week the Green party announced their policies to “clean up politics”. Aotearoa New Zealand has some of the laxest lobbying rules in the world, with few checks or balances on the access and influence the private world can have on our leaders. The Greens seek to amend this by making a public register for all lobbyists, on whos behalf they are working as well as restricting donations to political parties to individuals, banning corporate entities from directly contributing to a political parties campaign. At the same time, Labour has ruled out a Green Party Finance minister if they are to form government after the election, but on the current polls the Green Party would be taking their largest ever portion of seats and making up a huge fraction of whatever Government Labour wishes to form. So for this week's catch up with Green Party MP Ricardo Menéndez March, we discuss on the Greens' call to clean up politics, Labour ruling things out before the election and the state of MMP.  

This episode is a supplementary full interview with Dr Mike Joy and Dr Milena Bojovic from Episode 5 of the Edible Empire podcast series. Here, we explore how New Zealand's dairy industry links local landscapes to global extraction, ecological harm, and the wider machinery of food imperialism.New Zealand's image of clean, green pastures hides one of the world's most intensive dairy industries. Behind each glass of milk there is a hidden web of global extraction: phosphate mined from occupied Western Sahara, palm kernel imported from deforested Southeast Asia, and polluted rivers flowing through Māori ancestral lands. This episode traces how New Zealand's dairy boom reshapes both local ecosystems and distant economies, from illegally occupied territories in West Africa to political power in New Zealand. Through the story of “white gold”, we uncover how even the purest landscapes are bound into the machinery of food imperialism.We discuss the environmentally destructive and geopolitically fraught supply chains connecting intensive dairy production in Aotearoa New Zealand with phosphate mining in the illegally occupied territory of Western Sahara as well as palm kernel from South-East Asia in cattle feed. Freshwater ecologist Dr Mike Joy and Geographer Dr Milena Bojovic detail how New Zealand's export-driven commodity model creates intense global market pressures for corporate profit and high-yield volume. Mike exposes the catastrophic local consequences of this system, explaining how excessive synthetic nitrogen and fertiliser inputs poison rivers, disrupt aquatic ecosystems, and contaminate drinking water. Milena, meanwhile, unpacks the structural traps that force farmers into continual intensification, which in turn fuels dependence on rare, internationally contested mineral resources. Resources from this interview:https://ojs.victoria.ac.nz/pq/article/view/9629/8507https://people.wgtn.ac.nz/mike.joy To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

Shutterstock Track 1219389Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAIKia ora.Welcome to Wednesday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from interest.co.nz.Today we lead with news the bond market is shouting louder warnings at US policymakers. And China is rolling out more stimulus and subsidies to counter a growing slowdown there.First today, the overnight Pulse dairy auction delivered mixed results although both the SMP and WMP prices rose from the prior event, up by about +1.6% in USD terms. But as the NZD took a bit of a thrashing overnight, these prices were up more than +3% in local currency terms.Also mixed were the August US JOLTS labour market data. While much of it was little-changed, the number of job openings fell by an outsized -256,000 to just over 7 mln, the lowest in five months. Analysts had expected them to rise to 7.23 mln so this is a notable miss. And the fall was broad-based in most sectors and most regions, although the South did manage to book a small rise.The US Conference Board reported a sharp fall in consumer sentiment in September, in fact taking it to its lowest since 2014. While it isn't as low as the University of Michigan survey yet, it is tracking in the same negative direction, both for its Present, and Expected monitoring of sentiment.Yesterday we reported a positive Dallas Fed factory survey, even if it is suffering high cost challenges. But today's update on the Texas services sector is not so bright with a 'stall' reported and their first decline in four months. They also reported increased strain in input and selling prices.Canada reported that their August economic activity rose, their tenth rise in the past twelve months and through a difficult period. That likely puts their GDP up +1.7% real from a year ago. Their 'resilient economy' may be enough for the Bank of Canada to start hiking rates again to contain the inflation pressures building again. The next rate review there is on October 28 (the same as the RBNZ).In China, businesses there are said to be facing weak demand ahead of their Golden Week holiday. And that has pushed the Chinese central bank to lower a technical interest rate. And Beijing is to start subsidising mortgage interest rates for low income borrowers, aiming to create demand in their housing markets.EU business and consumer sentiment sagged in September, but to be fair the overall level is still sitting close to its long-run average. The movement is basically due to lower confidence by consumers as they look forward to winter and an uncertain energy outlook.In Australia, the RBA delivered the expected +25 bps rate change. That raises this rate to its highest in the developed world. They emphasised their strong commitment to the inflation fight and noted that more hikes may be needed before that is won. They are in an "whatever it takes" mindset now, and their new rate levels are 15 year highs.Meanwhile, global air cargo demand rose +4.4% in August from a year ago, largely on work-arounds from the disrupted seas trade on major routes. International volumes were up +5.3% with Asia/Pacific volumes up +5.5%. But it was the +10.1% jump in North American volumes that is the standout feature, a notable rush to shore up supply lines ahead of more expected policy disruptions.The UST 10yr yield is now just under 5.27%, up another +3 bps from yesterday and a new high since June 2007. The 30 year yield is at 5.60%, up +6 bps and its highest since January 2001.The price of gold is at US$4148/oz and up +US$11 from yesterday. Silver is at just under US$61.50/oz and almost -US$1.Oil prices have fallen -US$2.50/bbl from yesterday to just over US$90.50/bbl in the US, while the international Brent price is just under US$103.50/bbl and also down -US$2.50. This is all due to the US releasing more from their strategic reserves, although Saudi Arabia also confirmed that its pipeline repairs are complete too.The Kiwi dollar is down a sharpish +40 bps from yesterday, now at 56.3 USc and that is now a ten month low. Against the Aussie we are unchanged at 80.8 AUc. Against the euro we are down -20 bps at just on 49.7 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just over 60 and down -40 bps yesterday and that takes us down to a level we last had in 2009, a 17 year low.The bitcoin price starts today at US$82,936 and down -0.8% from yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been modest at just under +/-1.0%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston and we'll do this again tomorrow.Track 1219389Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAI Audio soundtrack opening is licensed from Shutterstock, Track 1219389 Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAI

Send us a question/idea/opinion direct via text message!August residential sales plunged nearly 12% year-on-year, marking the eighth consecutive month of annual transaction drops across Aotearoa New Zealand. With sales drifting and listings climbing, the market remains locked in an extended holding pattern.This week on the New Zealand Property Market Podcast, Head of Research Nick Goodall and Chief Economist Kelvin Davidson unpack the findings from Cotality's latest Housing Chart Pack. They analyse why Hamilton sales dropped 14% across the winter quarter, how first-home buyers continue to dominate market share, and what is keeping the labour market from driving an immediate recovery.The team also breaks down Labour's major pre-election announcement ruling out changes to mortgage interest deductibility for residential landlords. Kelvin and Nick discuss why the justification - not wanting to give landlords an excuse to hike rents - misses the reality of tenant income constraints, and whether removing this tax threat will tempt investors back into the market. Finally, they review the August New Zealand Activity Index (+1.9%) and preview the upcoming Home Value Index release.This week we discuss: The 8-Month Sales Slide: Why August sales dropped 12% YoY and why the 3-month trend shows nationwide softness (Hamilton down 14%).Labour's Interest Deductibility Call: Unpacking the politics, coalition negotiations, and why landlords cannot simply pass tax costs onto rents.Investor Psychology: Will certainty around interest deductibility open the floodgates for property investors ahead of a Capital Gains Tax debate?NZ Activity Index (+1.9%): Why economic recovery remains patchy and why labour hoarding delays hiring rebounds until 2027.Home Value Index Preview: Why early weekly data points to another slight monthly national dip (-0.3%).Weekend Sports Drama: The Taniwha's heartbreaking Ranfurly Shield loss to Counties Manukau, Wallabies upsetting the Springboks, and epic NRL finals action. 

This episode explores the role and potential of nurse practitioners in specialist services in Aotearoa New Zealand. Chair of Nurse Practitioners NZ Chelsea Willmott and nurse practitioner Dr Helen Snell discuss the important role nurse practitioners play in the health system, the barriers holding them back, the difference they can make in specialist and hospital care, and what needs to change to strengthen the future workforce.

Shutterstock Track 1219389Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAIKia ora.Welcome to Tuesday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from interest.co.nz.Today we lead with news the rejection of the Iranian peace proposal by the US has meant diplomatic efforts to resolve the issue have lost momentum and financial markets have downgraded prospects across the board, even though the release of some recent data has generally been positive.First, the very positive August Dallas Fed factory survey has been repeated in September even if not quite at the same level. The last time they had two successive positive reports at this level was in March 2022, and prior to the pandemic recovery, in 2018. If there is a downside in this report it is that cost pressures are rising fast and faster than prices are rising.Fed Governor Lisa Cook said overnight that future productivity gains from AI may not be enough to offset near-term price pressures, warning this trend could drive up US inflation.Meanwhile the US and China are working on a US$30 bln tariff reduction framework, have agreed to establish an AI dialogue, and agreed to Increase flights between the two countries. But all this just seem window-dressing talk at this stage. No actual deals have been agreed. Remember the Beijing meetings in May where large airplane and ag products were announced, neither of which resulted in contracts or trade.China's industrial profits were up +4.2% in August to just over ¥690 bln from the same month in 2025. For the eight months of 2026 they are up +15.7% so this latest period is recording a notable slowing in their growth. But it is still growth. Most observers had expected the growth rate to pick up to +18% so there is a disappointment in this data, and reflected in today's Shanghai equity markets.Singapore's industrial production rose a sharp +15.4% in August from a year ago and driven by a +28% surge in electronics products.India's industrial production rose +8.0% in August from a year earlier, up from an upwardly revised +7.4% in July and well above market expectations.Later today we will be watching the RBA's monetary policy review which is widely expected to deliver a +25 bps hike to 4.6%. Financial markets have priced that change in at a 92% chance. Note, that isn't 100%. But of course most interest will be in how these policymakers see the track from here. Some observers think it will hit 5.35% before the middle of next year before the RBA is done hiking.Before then we should note the release of the 2026 Global Cities Index from Oxford Economics. They say the top city is New York, followed by London, Paris and then Seattle ahead of San Francisco. Sydney came in at #13 (a fall from 7th), Melbourne at #16 (a fall from 6th) and Brisbane at #36 (a fall from 23rd). Auckland was ranked #60, Wellington ranked #75 and Christchurch at #96. No New Zealand rankings changed from last year. The index claims to assess the strengths, weaknesses and future potential of the world's 1,000 largest cities.The UST 10yr yield is now just on 5.24%, up +7 bps from yesterday and a new high since June 2007. The 30 year yield is at 5.55%, up +5 bps and its highest since January 2001.The price of gold is at US$4137/oz and down -US$148 from yesterday. Silver is at just over US$61.50/oz and down -US$3.Oil prices have risen +50 USc from yesterday to just over US$93/bbl in the US, while the international Brent price is just under US$106/bbl and up +US$1.50.The Kiwi dollar is unchanged from yesterday, still at 56.7 USc. Against the Aussie we are up +20 bps at 80.8 AUc. Against the euro we are also up +20 bps at just on 49.9 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just on 60.4 and up +10 bps yesterday.The bitcoin price starts today at US$83,618 and down -0.9% from yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been modest at just over +/-1.3%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston and we'll do this again tomorrow.Track 1219389Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAI Audio soundtrack opening is licensed from Shutterstock, Track 1219389 Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAI

Shutterstock Track 1219389Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAIKia ora.Welcome to Monday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from interest.co.nz.Today we lead with news nothing was resolved in the Xi-Trump talks, and nothing is resolved in the US-Iran standoff.But first, this week will be dominated by the RBA policy rate decision on Tuesday as the next major set piece review in the midst of the global bond sell-off and inflationary pressures. They are widely expected to raise the rate +25 bps to 4.60%, widening the differential to New Zealand. Australia will also release important household spending data, its August CPI update, and building permit data this week.In New Zealand it will be all about consumer and business sentiment updates, and the usual end of month RBNZ data dump.The week will end with the US September non-farm payrolls report - expect +100,000, although its cred is being undermined from within. And there will be US data on personal income and spending out this week, other labour market data, and a key PMI report.In China, the focus will be on the September PMIs, with data from both the NBS and private S&P Global ones expected to point to a modest improvement in manufacturing and services activity. August industrial profits will also be released. Meanwhile, Chinese markets will be closed from October 1 to October 7 for the National Day holidays.Of course, the global geopolitical mess rolls on chaotically, so we will be watching for either diplomatic agreements or escalatory strikes between the US and Iran.Over the weekend in the US, August durable goods orders were essentially unchanged from July, which was better than the expected -0.4% decline. From a year ago they are +8.4% higher although we should note that PPI inflation ran at 5.4% in the same period. Non-military capital goods orders are up +5.8% on a year-ago basis, but given the huge surge in data center buildouts this is surprisingly weak.Late last week, US petrol prices breached the +50% rise since Trump's war on Iran started in early March. Diesel prices are now up +67% in that market.The University of Michigan September survey of consumer sentiment tracks anxiety of the inflationary pressure these sort of cost increases are bringing and the weekend update is grim reading. Only once since this survey started in 1946 has this reading been as low as it is now - and that was in May. Year-ahead inflation expectations jumped from 4.0% in August to 4.6% this month, the highest reading since June. The current level substantially exceeds the 3.4% seen in February before the Iran conflict began, along with all 2024 levels.Financial markets are betting that rising inflation will be more important to the Fed than falling sentiment and the US Fed will raise rates at its next meeting on October 29, which is just days ahead of their mid-term elections. This market positioning is more than 2:1 now, and is bolstered by recent Fed speakers who are clearly worried that delays could cause them to lose control of the US inflation impetus.Over the weekend China was on holiday for Mid Autumn Festival and their central bank said it injected up to ¥1 tln of liquidity into their banking system for this holiday via reverse repos. (During the same holiday last year it injected ¥735 bln in reverse repo operations, but later it revealed another ¥500 bln in direct repo purchases.) And they have their Golden Week holiday starting this week (October 1 - 7) and much depends on their internal spending impulse during this period. Beijing economy watchers will be nervous.The UST 10yr yield is now just on 5.17%, unchanged from Saturday but up a net +16 bps from this time last week.The price of gold is at US$4285/oz and down a mere -US$4 from Saturday, down -US$96 from this time last week. Silver is at just over US$64.50/oz and unchanged but down -US$2 for the week.Oil prices have held from Saturday to just on US$92.50/bbl in the US, while the international Brent price is still at US$104.50/bbl. The US has rejected Iran's plan to re-open the Strait.The Kiwi dollar is unchanged from Saturday, still at 56.7 USc but down -50 bps for the week. Against the Aussie we are holding at 80.6 AUc. Against the euro we are also holding at just on 49.7 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just on 60.3 and little-changed from Saturday, down -40 bps for the week.The bitcoin price starts today at us$84,386 and down +0.5% from Saturday but up a net +4.1% from a week ago. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been low at just over +/-0.7%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston and we'll do this again tomorrow.Track 1219389Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAI Audio soundtrack opening is licensed from Shutterstock, Track 1219389 Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAI

The 76-year-old has photographed some of the most significant events in Aotearoa New Zealand in the past 60 years. 

Shutterstock Track 1219389Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAIKia ora.Welcome to Friday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from interest.co.nz.Today we lead with news US treasury yields are trading at multi-year highs, as stronger-than-expected economic data and elevated oil prices fuelled bets on another Fed rate hike. The 10-year yield topped 5.18%, its highest level since 2007, while 30-year reached a 2004 peak of 5.47%. The gold price is slipping. Many other asset prices face price risks too, especially commercial property and that also comes with leverage risks being exposed.So far the US-China meetings in Washington DC between Xi and Trump have been all show and no substance.In the US, there were 163,800 initial jobless claims last week, an increase from last week's unusual low but about the increase that can be accounted for by seasonal factors. That puts the continuing claims at 1.55 mln, a new 60 year low. The qualification restrictions are certainly biting hard now. Early estimates of the September US non-farm payrolls change doesn't support the idea that jobs growth is strong, and certainly not among workers who are being stripped from unemployment protections.However there was positive news of expanding recent sales of new-built homes. Even though housing starts are falling, sales of these homes rose in August, up +6.4% from July, but still -2.0% below year-ago levels.The Kansas City Fed factory survey stayed positive in September, holding the expansion level it has had since June. But price pressures intensified, the survey shows.There was a still well-supported US Treasury seven year bond auction overnight (down only -3.2%) that delivered a median yield of 5.02% (high 5.09%) and that was up sharply from the median of 4.46% at the prior equivalent event a month ago. That is near its highest in 20 years.Canada reported some positive economic data overnight. It's August retail sales were up +1.3% (real), and more than making up for the -0.7% monthly fall in July. They are up +1.9% (real) from a year ago. And its manufacturing sales were up +1.1% in August. This extends a string of good monthly gains in 2026, with only one month in the past seven showing a dip.In China, they raised their petrol prices today to ¥8.90/L, up from ¥8.60/L (NZ$2.34/L from NZ$2.26/L).In Australia, June 2026 data released yesterday by the ABS shows household wealth there has reached AU$19.4 tln, driven by superannuation, but now held back by recently falling housing values. That is average per capita wealth of AU$694,500. There are a vast number of Aussie 'super' millionaires now.Meanwhile, the August update of their labour force data shows +39,500 more jobs in the month with 14.827 mln people employed. But their jobless rate rose to 4.6% with 722,900 adults unemployed and a rise of +28,200 in a month. Hours worked and participation both rose and underemployment fell (slightly).Global container freight rates were little-changed overall over the past week. There were some falls in the China-EU trade, but a minor rise in the Chine-USWC trade. Overall prices are now +154% higher than year-ago levels and have topped out for the moment. Bulk cargo rates are +3% higher for the week but also seem topped out. From a year ago, these rates are +55% higher.The UST 10yr yield is now just on 5.18%, up another +5 bps from yesterday. The 30 year yield is at 5.47%, up +7 bps.The price of gold is at US$4264/oz, and down -US$30 from yesterday. Silver is at just over US$63.50/oz and down -US$1.Oil prices have risen +US$4 to just on US$95.50/bbl in the US, while the international Brent price is up +US$4.50 to US$107/bbl. Saudi Arabia says its pipeline repairs will be completed "within days".The Kiwi dollar is down -10 bps from yesterday, now at 56.6 USc. Against the Aussie we are up +10 bps at 80.7 AUc. Against the euro we are little-changed at just on 49.8 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just on 60.3 and down -10 bps.The bitcoin price starts today at US$84,103 and down a minor -0.3% from yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been modest at just over +/-1.1%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston and we'll do this again on Monday.Track 1219389Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAI Audio soundtrack opening is licensed from Shutterstock, Track 1219389 Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAI

Shutterstock Track 1219389Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAIKia ora.Welcome to Thursday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from interest.co.nz.Today we lead with news stronger American economic data and higher oil prices have built expectations of more rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve. The USD has jumped in response.However, US mortgage applications fell again last week but that is really no surprise because that market saw its benchmark 30 year mortgage rate jump to 7.12% and its highest since May 2024. It was refinance activity that saw the biggest pullback.Meanwhile, US business growth surged to its fastest for over five years and job gains accelerated according to the S&P Global PMI. Both their service sector and their factory sector are sharing in the gains. But at the same time price pressures are also intensifying with a sharp spike in costs. Input costs surged to their highest since October 2022; selling prices jumped too but at a lesser rate.US crude oil stocks were expected to fall again last week, but instead they rose and by much more than expected. However that didn't stop their strategic reserve holdings from falling again, staying at dangerously low levels. Nor has it curtailed retail pump prices. More generally, the world is running down its crude oil buffers - and the price signals seem to be ignoring that risk.There was a fall in support for the US Treasury 5 year bond auction overnight which delivered a 4.95% median yield (5.04% high) which was up sharply from 4.34% at the prior equivalent event a month ago. Bessent's yield management is failing to deliver and restraint.Fed governor Barr was speaking overnight and ho reiterated the view that higher rates will be needed to bring inflation back to target. Without much threat on the jobs front and their labour market mandate, markets see the Fed unconstrained in taking sharper action against inflation. He said "risks to achieving our inflation target have increased, while risks to the labor market have receded."In the US all eyes will now turn to Trump's hosting of Chinese president Xi - who incidentally is coming with no Chinese business leaders.Taiwan's August industrial production (+23.5%) and August retail sales (+6.5%) data both delivered the strong year-on-year gains we have come to expect from them.Singapore's inflation rate came in at 2.3% in August, up marginally from July but the increase expected.Indonesia's central bank reviewed its 5.75% policy rate overnight but left it unchanged.In India, their flash PMI data for September pointed to a better improvement in business conditions. Output growth was higher in both manufacturing and services companies, with goods producers leading the latest upturn. New orders also rose at a quicker pace, prompting a solid expansion in jobs. Meanwhile, inflationary pressures faded and business confidence strengthened.The flash S&P Global factory PMI in Australia saw a shift from a moderate expansion in August (52.0) to a minor contraction in September (49.3). Their services sector eased as well but is still expanding in September. On the prices front, the rate of input price inflation picked up to its highest in three months, but remained weaker than seen through the second quarter. Meanwhile, output charges rose at a strong rate that was more pronounced than in August. The UST 10yr yield is now just on 5.13%, up +16 bp from yesterday. The 30 year yield is at 5.40%, up +11 bps.The price of gold is at US$4294/oz, and down -US$58 from yesterday. Silver is at just over US$64.50/oz and down -US$2.Oil prices have firmed +50 USc to just on US$91.50/bbl in the US, while the international Brent price is up +US$3 to US$102.50/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is down -50 bps from yesterday, now at 56.7 USc. Against the Aussie we are up +10 bps at 80.6 AUc. Against the euro we are down -20 bps at just over 49.8 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just on 60.4 and down -30 bps.The bitcoin price starts today at US$84,343 and down -2.4% from yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been moderate at just over +/-2.4%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston and we'll do this again tomorrow.Track 1219389Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAI Audio soundtrack opening is licensed from Shutterstock, Track 1219389 Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAI

The Earth's orbit around the sound finds itself at the point where we, from our planet, measure the sun's relative location exactly above the Equator's, making its way South. This marks the autumnal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere and the vernal equinox and the beginning of spring in the Southern Hemisphere. The mix presented today, by our curator Melissa Pons, is an invitation to celebrate - or rather to contemplate, to attune the ears and let the body-mind wander freely. Thanks to our artists, we'll listen to Earth's soundscapes from Aotearoa New Zealand to Portugal - please see the full playlist below. They have all been recorded within 7 days of the September Equinox and in this piece, they have been sculpted and twined into a cinematic dreamy travel with ambient electronic music, in some impossible place between the Earth and the Moon. Full playlist: [00:00-03:07] Gannets of Muriwai - Aotearoa New Zealand (Janina Castro) [03:52-06:49] Cosmic Flows [06:22-12:04] A mirror of Grey Herons - France (Melissa Pons) [09:55-12:20] Acrobatics in the Clouds [10:37-15:06] Forest Rain Drops - Slovenia (Jan Brelih) [13:14-14:51] Plexus Radio Waves [14:07-19:12] A Tawny Frogmouth at Leeawuleena's Shore - Tasmania (Khristos Nizamis) [17:10-19:10] Dream of Pink Moss [17:50-23:31] Smooth Ocean Roar, Green Contours, Nocturnal Animals - Portugal (Melissa Pons) [21:34-26:28] Platypus Pool Quietude - Tasmania (Khristos Nizamis) [24:29-28:26] One Breath to the Outer Space [26:53-33:41] Intense Red Deer Rutting Through the Forest - France (Melissa Pons, Jocelyn Robert) [29:02-29:50] Through the Fog [32:01-34:19] Autumn Wind - Portugal (Melissa Pons] [33:34-38:59] Teddy - Canada (Darcy Spidle) [36:41-38:59] What Yesterday's Storm Offered Us

The economic crunch has hit the local events sector hard. Over this government's term, the festival scene saw many final appearances of world renowned events that put Aotearoa New Zealand on the map, not least being Splore. But while our local festivals and gigs largely bore the consequences of increasing costs and decreasing sales alone, international competitors who provided large concerts often received funding from the government under a new scheme, the Major Events and Tourism package.  This generated a host of criticism at the time, but this week we found out it had also gone against official advice from MBIE. To understand the ins and outs of the issue Host Manny spoke to DJ and Industry advocate, Rob Warner, to discuss issues with the government's approach, and the revelation that the government had gone against official advice, and what he thinks could come next instead. If you want to hear more about this topic, Rob's voice, or mine, bFM released an episode of our bLine podcast about the state of the local festival scene earlier this year, you can find it where ever reputable podcasts are found under bLine #10: Festivals.  

Shutterstock Track 1219389Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAIKia ora.Welcome to Wednesday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from interest.co.nz.Today we lead with news inflation's pressures are building everywhere, even if oil prices took a small dip today.But first, overnight there was a Pulse dairy auction where prices dipped marginally in USD except for SMP, but were all higher in NZD, although this too was only marginal.In the US, the ADP weekly jobs data rose to an average of a +20,000 jobs gain per week over the past four weeks. That recovers it back to late June levels.Meanwhile the Richmond Fed factory survey was expected to rise marginally in September, but it fell and its first retreat in six months. This was essentially driven by retreating new order levels and order backlogs shrank as well. Input and output costs both rose however and at a faster pace in both cases.There were a few Fed speakers out overnight. New York Fed boss Williams defended how they have been handling monetary policy, although he didn't give any guidance on what is coming next. Vice Chair Jefferson also avoided guidance comments although he has been on record recently of supporting their rate hikes. But Richmond Fed boss Barkin did address the recent rising trend and what comes next. More hikes are possible, he said.There was a giant US Treasury two year bond auction overnight and this one did not display the sagging demand of the other recent events. However, it came with much higher yields. This lates one delivered a median yield of 4.74% (high 4.79%), up notably from the 4.16% at the prior equivalent event a month ago. This is a meaningful rise given the 2 year Note has the largest supply of any maturity they offer - US$79 bln. Just for this bond, that has the US Treasury paying +14% more in interest pa than just a month ago. Debt servicing is becoming an ugly problem, and fast.Just when you might have thought Taiwanese export orders couldn't grow much faster, they did in August. They exceeded US$100 bln in the month for the first time, up a staggering +71% from a year ago (which itself was rising and close to a record at the time). In local currency, they were up +82%.After improving since April (that is, betting less negative) EU consumer sentiment hit a setback in September, one that was not expected. Winter is approaching there and with the energy supply issues unresolved there, perhaps it is understandable that concerns are rising again.In Australia, RBA governor Bullock suggested that their labour market is too tight and that is putting upward pressure on inflation. This suggests they will continue raising their benchmark rate until they see the jobless rate rise and labour-cost pressures ease. She is on a track that will create difficult politics. Not helping is the rise and rise of petrol prices, now approaching their pandemic highs again. An RBA rate rise is now almost a certainty next week, taking it to 4.6%. The UST 10yr yield is now just on 4.97%, up +1 bp from yesterday.The price of gold is at US$4352/oz, and up a minor +US$7 from yesterday. Silver is at just over US$66.50/oz and up +50 USc.Oil prices have fallen another -US$4.50 to at just on US$91/bbl in the US, while the international Brent price is down -50 USc to US$99.50/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is unchanged from yesterday, still at 57.2 USc. Against the Aussie we are up +20 bps at 80.5 AUc. Against the euro we are up +10 bps at just over 50 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just over 60.7 and little-changed.The bitcoin price starts today at US$86461 and up +0.8% from yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been low at just over +/-0.6%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston and we'll do this again tomorrow.Track 1219389Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAI Audio soundtrack opening is licensed from Shutterstock, Track 1219389 Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAI

Shutterstock Track 1219389Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAIKia ora.Welcome to Tuesday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from interest.co.nz.Today we lead with news more policymakers are bracing for dealing with stagflation.But first, in the leadup to the Xi-Trump talks in Washington, there is a focus on AI and its risks. And there is some pre-celebration from both sides of how good it is going to be. We recently noted that the May Beijing version of these talks has seen the announced 200 plane order for Boeing apparently die. It also seems that the May deal to buy US grains has never materialised either. So you should be sceptical of any current claims about the Washington DC meeting outcomes.The Chicago Fed's National Activity Index dipped in August from July, suggesting US economic growth is no longer rising. In four of the last six updates, this measure has decreased. New orders are no longer rising in this data, production is contracting.So that points to increasing stagflation.Meanwhile Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee warned that bringing inflation back down to the 2% target may not be painless and could require pushing employment below target. "This is exactly the painful trade-off between employment and inflation that stagflationary shocks always impose on a central bank. Unfortunately, in environments like that, the only way back is the hard way."And staying in the US, California has declared a state of emergency as a strengthening El Niño raises the threat of damaging storms, widespread flooding and mudslides across the state for their upcoming autumn and winter.In Canada, their central bank boss has also been speaking, and warning that their trade difficulties with the US could cut Canadian growth in half to below +1%. It is actually oddly impressive that a dispute this large with an economic adversary as big as it gets can be navigated with any expansion.In Australia, Reserve Bank Assistant Governor Sarah Hunter was on a Nine Network podcast this morning and emphasised that the RBA is worried about inflation and fighting that threat is where their energies currently are focused.The copper price is making another push up towards its record high (reached on September 9), this time driven by growing logistics issues.The UST 10yr yield is now just on 4.96%, down -4 bps from yesterday.The price of gold is at US$4345/oz, and down -US$38 from yesterday. Silver is at just over US$66/oz and little-changed.Oil prices have fallen -US$4.50 to at just on US$95.50/bbl in the US, while the international Brent price is down -US$4 to US$100/bbl. There is a bit of hopium involved here as traders watch diplomatic efforts to end the US-Iran war and watch for signs of oil cargo movements. But they are not significant, yet anyway.The Kiwi dollar is unchanged from yesterday, still at 57.2 USc. Against the Aussie we are holding at 80.3 AUc. Against the euro we are up +10 bps at just under 49.9 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just under 60.7 and little-changed.The bitcoin price starts today at US$88,791 and up a sharp +5.8% from yesterday. (And we should note that it has risen back to NZ$150,000 for the first time since late January.) Volatility over the past 24 hours has been high at just over +/-3.4%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston and we'll do this again tomorrow.Track 1219389Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAI Audio soundtrack opening is licensed from Shutterstock, Track 1219389 Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAI

Send us Fan MailIn this episode we are talking with Dr Albert Refiti, professor at AUT and co-director of the Vā Moana Research Centre, about Vā: the relational space that holds people, culture, hierarchy, and belonging together. Once you hear Vā described this way, Pacific architecture stops being a set of shapes and starts reading like a living map of relationships across time.We dig into why key forms and spatial rules have stayed so consistent for roughly 3,000 years across Polynesia, and how elements like platforms, posts, and the ridge beam carry social order and ancestral memory. Then we follow what happens when those systems move into the diaspora. Without villages, Pacific communities in New Zealand often rely on churches, halls, and civic buildings, and architecture can become an urgent marker of identity. That urgency also creates change, compromise, and sometimes misunderstanding, especially when contemporary building codes, materials, and procurement collide with cultural meaning.Albert shares sharp reflections on projects in Auckland and Wellington, including what it means when a symbolic element disappears and how a “gap” can become an honest architectural moment rather than something to hide. We also turn to housing affordability, co-housing, intergenerational living, kaitiakitanga, and what Pacific communities might learn from papakāinga and the urban marae model. If you care about Pacific architecture, cultural identity in design, or building community-centred places in Aotearoa New Zealand, this one will stretch how you think.Subscribe for more conversations like this, share the episode with a designer or student, and leave a review so others can find it.Please Like and Subscribe it really helps :)Follow us on @designpriciplespod on Instagram and if you wish to contact us hit our DMs or our personal pages. We love to hear from you it really encourages us to keep going and the ideas and feedback we get from the listeners is awesome!

On this day, 20 September 1979, Aotearoa's (New Zealand's) only nationwide general strike took place when the Federation of Labour called a one-day strike of all its members in support of the Drivers Union. 300,000 people took to the streets around the country after a pay agreement between transport workers and employers was blocked by the government. The government claimed that the strike had no impact, but they agreed to refer the dispute to the Arbitration Court, which upheld the original wage agreement as demanded by the strikers.More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9334/new-zealand-general-strikeOur work is only possible because of support from you, our listeners on patreon. If you appreciate our work, please join us and access exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory.See all of our anniversaries each day, alongside sources and maps on the On This Day section of our Stories app: stories.workingclasshistory.com/date/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

Sally King is a member of the New Zealand Medical Cannabis Council (and former Executive Director) and the 2026 Cannabiz Campaigner of the Year.Since 2019, Sally has helped build Aotearoa New Zealand's medicinal cannabis sector, working across government, industry, healthcare, research and patient advocacy to turn competing interests into collaborative solutions.We talk about how cannabis campaigning has evolved, building an industry alongside a new regulatory scheme, the art of getting different stakeholders around the same table, and what Australia and New Zealand can learn from each other.Plus, Sally's fellow Campaigner of the Year finalists Melanie Wentzel, and Kristin Viccars join the episode with questions of their own.A conversation about collaboration, credibility, knowing when to push back, and why we can go further together than we can apart.Visit www.giveandtoke.com.auFollow @giveandtoke on InstagramEmail giveandtoke@gmail.com

Shutterstock Track 1219389Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAIKia ora.Welcome to Monday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from interest.co.nz.Today we lead with news global financial markets are little-changed at near historic highs even though economic data releases seem to be still giving weaker signals.This week will be dominated by the Fonterra annual result and dairy payout finalisation, a big dump of RBNZ lending data, and some credit card activity data.In Australia, the week will be headlined by the August jobs data release which is expected to show +20,000 jobs growth.Elsewhere, China is heading into its Mid-Autumn Festival which starts on Friday and runs through to Sunday.In Japan it will be Silver Week with markets closed there today through Wednesday.China made no changes to their Loan Prime Rates over the weekend. Ahead this week there will be many such decisions in Switzerland (no change at 0%), Sweden (no change at 1.75%), Norway (no change at 4.25%), Mexico (no change at 6.5%), and Indonesia (no change at 5.75%).And there will be a major diplomatic set piece this week with Chinese President Xi visiting the US on Friday and Saturday (NZT). Don't expect much other than photo opportunities, although with Trump there is always the capacity for something to go badly wrong during or after the meeting. In May, China agreed to buy 200 Boeing jets during Trump's visit to Beijing but no actual deal has been done so far, so anything announced at these summits doesn't mean anything will actually happen.In the US they will release durable goods order data and most observers think they will fall in August from July.From everywhere will will be getting PMI updates. And from Taiwan we will get its export order data.All this, plus whatever happens in the Middle East wars.Over the weekend we learned that, China posted another weak foreign direct investment result for August, down -5.3% on a year-to-date basis. But the incremental flows were tiny in August. up just +US$7 bln from July and virtually unchanged from year ago levels. From two years ago there is a large drop. For all the official propaganda about how well the Chinese economy is doing, it isn't enticing investment in. A key reason these flows are so low is that sovereign wealth funds are now on the sidelines.Japan's CPI inflation rate held at +1.9% in August as it was in July, and their core inflation rate eased to 1.7%. Both results were at the bottom end of expectations, and should have taken pressure off the Bank of Japan who were meeting as this data was released. But they have other issues weighing on them including defending the yen, and facing bullying pressure from the Trump Administration. All the same, inflation this low when the global price pressure is high is an achievement, even if Japan is only one many Asian economies that are managing to replicate that result.As universally anticipated and earlier implied, the Bank of Japan delivered its +25 bps rate hike on Friday, taking its policy rate to 1.25% which is a 31 year high. They said they will "continue to raise the policy interest rate and adjust the degree of monetary accommodation, in response to developments in economic activity and prices as well as financial conditions."Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan made a 'rate check' in currency markets on Friday ahead of their holiday, after the yen fell on the rate hike, and that has strengthened sentiment for the yen, also likely underpinned by geopolitical considerations.Across the Pacific, US industrial production stalled in August from July, a disappointing result because it rose in July and was expected to rise again in August. It is now +1.4% higher than a year ago, not exactly an indicator of a booming economy although that is up from +1.1% in July. Almost all of this is due to data center buildout ("business equipment" was up +7.1%).. In fact, production of consumer goods is now falling at a -1.1% annual rate.Also disappointing was the US Conference Board leading indicator which edged lower in August when a small rise was anticipated and after a bigger rise was booked in July.In Europe, the August ECB inflation expectations survey shows them at 3.0% (median) and 5.0% (average). These levels are little-changed from the June and July survey results.Germany reported their August producer price levels overnight and that came in at +4.6%, higher than July's +3.0% and higher than the expected +4.1% rise. Of course, driving this were energy costs which were up +8.3% from a year ago, up +3.2% from July.In Australia, after testimony to a parliamentary committee yesterday in which Governor Bullock have a hawkish briefing on inflation risks, economists have suddenly realised that the a rate hike is the most likely outcome at the nest monetary policy review there on September 29. That will take their cash rate target up to 4.60%. And it may go higher if inflation isn't restrained at that level.The RBA isn't angling to save the Aussie housing market. It may well become collateral damage in the fight against rising inflation.The UST 10yr yield is now now just under 5.00%, down -1 bp from Saturday up a net +2 bps for the week.The price of gold is at US$4383/oz, and just +US$2 from Saturday, down -US$33 from a week ago. Silver is at just over US$66/oz and down -50 USc but up +US$2 from a week agoOil prices have held at just under US$100/bbl in the US, while the international Brent price is up +50 USc at US$104/bbl. A week ago these prices were US$100.50/bbl and US$104.50/bbl respectively, so little-changed.The Kiwi dollar is unchanged from Saturday, still at 57.2 USc but down -90 bps from a week ago, down -190 bps from the start of the month. Against the Aussie we are holding at 80.3 AUc. Against the euro we are still at just on 49.8 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just under 60.7, unchanged at a six-week low.The bitcoin price starts today at US$81,118 and little-changed from Saturday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been low at just over +/-0.8%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston and we'll do this again tomorrow.Track 1219389Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAI Audio soundtrack opening is licensed from Shutterstock, Track 1219389 Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAI

We love getting your ideas for stories and people we should talk to on the show. Our next guest sent us a pitch about a website he's created and we couldn't resist learning more. Rogan Boyle is with Jesse to share his public toilet project - poo.co.nz

Shutterstock Track 1219389Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAIKia ora.Welcome to Friday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from interest.co.nz.Today we lead with news it seems yesterday's unanimous Fed decision to prioritise the inflation fight has financial markets reassured. The US Treasury yields have pulled back from their highs, although still at Tuesday's high level.One thing millions are watching is whether US mortgage rates will hit 7% again. They haven't quite yet but it is close. Not only are new home and refinance borrowers affected, the house building industry and all that it supports are anxious as well.But first in the US today, their weekly initial jobless claims fell last week and by more than expected and by more than seasonal factors would have indicated. There are now 1.58 mln people on these benefits, also a notable fall as the much tighter qualification rules start to bit hard now.US housing starts fell and to their slowest pace since 2019, with the exceptions of the sharp and unusual May dip, and the pandemic. That was matched by low building consent levels, so the easing off in this homebuilding sector will continue.The regional Philly Fed factory survey for the important Pennsylvanian rust belt region was expected to fall in September from August and it did, but not by as much as expected. New orders and shipments remained elevated, while the employment index declined but stayed positive, signaling continued job growth. Both input and output price indicators moved higher and at a faster pace.US pending home sales were down -4.7% in August from a year ago, but at least they did manager to level-peg from July.There was a US 10 year TIPS bond auction overnight which delivered a median yield of 2.58% (high 2.65%), which is a notable rise from the 2.37% at the prior equivalent event a month ago. Although not as dramatic as the -17% fall off in demand for yesterday's 20 year bond, this auction attracted lower demand as well, -12% less.And we should probably note that Chinese president Xi will be visiting the US next week and there is a frenzy of advanced negotiations underway in preparation so that both he and Trump can announce something 'substantial' and worth the visit. What will be interesting will be the moves after the event glad-handling.In Canada, their producer prices rose sharply again, up +13.5% from a year ago in August, driven of course by high fuel costs. On the same basis their diesel is up +75% and petrol up +42%. Both rose notably from July as well.Singapore's electronics sector had a boom month in August helping power the country's non-exports to a +46% gain from the same month a year earlier. That was up very sharply from a downwardly revised +24.1% rise in July and far above forecasts of +35%. It was the twelfth straight month of expansion and the strongest growth since October 1988. The US was a small customer in August than July. But every other major country was a much larger customer (other than the EU).(Meanwhile their imports rose +39% but that includes oil.)Overnight the Bank of England reviewed their policy rate and left it unchanged at 3.75. Three of their nine voters wanted a rise. That kept their no-change streak of 2026 intact. Taiwan reviewed its 2.0% policy rate, also keeping it unchanged. And later today the more important Bank of Japan review is expected to announce a +25 bps hike to 1.25%.In Australia, they released updated population data yesterday. This is a hot topic politically. Their population grew by +1.4% in the 12 months to March 2026, now 27.9 million people. That's 392,700 more than the same time in 2025. The natural increase was +100,000 and the net migration increase was +292,100 (and down from +309,500 in the previous year). The state with the biggest increase was Victoria (+109,500); the state with the fastest increase was Western Australia (+2.1%).Global container freight rates have stayed very high but are in fact little-changed from last week at this time. From a year ago they are up +135% however. Within the recent no-change, rates from China to Europe were down about -5% while rates from China to the US rose about +5%. Bulk cargo rates fell -8% in the past week, but are also historically high still and up +55% from a year ago.The UST 10yr yield is now just on 4.94%, down -7 bps from yesterday.The price of gold was at US$4360/oz, and recovering +US$111 from yesterday. Silver is at just over US$65.50/oz and up +US$2.50/oz.Oil prices have eased -50 USc to US$102/bbl in the US, while the international Brent price is little-changed at US$104.50/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is down -30 bps from yesterday, now at 57.3 USc. Against the Aussie we are down -20 bps at 80.6 AUc. Against the euro we are unchanged at just on 49.9 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just under 60.8, down -20 bps and still at a six-week low.The bitcoin price starts today at US$76,622 and up +1.5% from yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been modest again at just over +/-1.0%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston and we'll do this again tomorrow.Track 1219389Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAI Audio soundtrack opening is licensed from Shutterstock, Track 1219389 Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAI

Shutterstock Track 1219389Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAIKia ora.Welcome to Thursday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from interest.co.nz.Today we lead with news the US is raising interest rates and the Middle East war is spreading.First, as expected and in a very brief Warsh-style statement, the US Fed raised its key policy rate by +25 bps to 4.0% in a unanimous vote. It was its first rise since 2023. It did note that "inflation remains elevated" and they "will deliver price stability". However their forward looking interest rate 'projections' were raised although only to the new 4% levels. A strong majority of members thing another rate rise is possible this year.Immediately after their decision was released, Wall Street held its small pre-decision gains. The UST 10 year yield dipped slightly but has since risen back over 5%. The US dollar rose. That USD rise has been maintained but Wall Street has changed direction sharply lower and the UST 10yr has jumped back over 5%.Trump's reaction to the rate rise, and the prospect of another, has so far been conspicuous silence. He had demanded that rates be cut.US mortgage applications fell last week, essentially driven by refinance applications. They say their 30 year benchmark home loan interest rate has risen to just under 7% and its highest since January 2025.US retail sales rose in August and by more than expected, up the most month-on-month in five months following a fall in July. But the monthly +1.2% rise was essentially driven by higher fuel purchases, up +3.1% in the same period. From a year ago, these retail sales are up +5.3% of which fuel was up +20.5% at petrol stations, US crude oil stocks took another fall last week and by more than the prior week although not as much as was expected. And their strategic reserves fall again, but only marginally this time.The New York Fed's survey of the service sector activity in the New York region shows the July and August improvements have not continued into September, with a notable backslide in the latest survey.Meanwhile the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index of house builder sentiment has retreated to its lowest level since December 2022 with higher costs and higher interest rates getting the blame.Canadian housing starts stayed low in August, almost the same as in July and well down on the unusually high year-ago Austr levelEU industrial production fell in July from June, but it is still up marginally from a year ago.The UST 10yr yield is now just on 5.01%, unchanged from yesterday and its highest since 2007.Wall Street was firmish ahead of the Fed decision today, up +0.3% in Wednesday trade on the S&P500, and up +0.8% on the Nasdaq. But then it retreated, now down -0.8% with the Nasdaq down -0.4%.The price of gold was at US$4328/oz, and up +US$34 from yesterday just after the Fed decision. But now it is at US$4249 and a -US$79 reaction. Silver ws at just over US$64/oz and up +50 USc bu has subsequently dropped to US$62.50/oz.Oil prices have eased -US$4 to US$102.50/bbl in the US, while the international Brent price is down -US$4.50 to just on US$104.50/bbl.Saudi Arabia is scrambling to fix or bypass their war-damaged key oil pipeline, one that delivers as much as 4% of global oil supplies. And for Saudi Arabia this is a major economic threat, choking their revenues in a significant way.The Kiwi dollar is little-changed from yesterday, now at 57.6 USc. Against the Aussie we are also holding at 80.8 AUc. Against the euro we are unchanged as well at just on 49.9 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just under 61, little-changed and still at a six-week low.The bitcoin price starts today at US$75,518 and down -1.6% from yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been modest at just over +/-1.2%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston and we'll do this again tomorrow.Track 1219389Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAI Audio soundtrack opening is licensed from Shutterstock, Track 1219389 Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAI

Shutterstock Track 1219389Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAIKia ora.Welcome to Tuesday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from interest.co.nz.Today we lead with news the Gulf Cooperation Council meetings with Iran have been 'postponed'. So no progress there.That means we need to prepare for more pain at the pump, and aggressive competition for global fuel supplies.In the US a full +25 bps is now priced in for Thursday's US Fed review which would take their policy rate to 4.0%. In Japan, a full +25 bps is also priced in, taking theirs to 1.25%. If one or both don't deliver these rises where will be strong financial market reactions. And the inflation-fighting cred of both central banks will be in tatters. With no monetary policy resistance to inflation, things would get very messy and rather quickly.And while we are reviewing these chances, we should note that markets are pricing two chances in three (67%) of an RBNZ rise on October 28, a 75% chance of an RBA rate rise on September 29, and a 70% chance of an ECB rise on October 29.Meanwhile, Canada's August CPI inflation rate came in at 3.0%, the expected level and unchanged from July. Markets are currently pricing in a 75% chance of a +25 bps hike at the Bank of Canada's October 28 review.India's CPI inflation rate was reported overnight too, coming in at 4.8% for August and as expected, but notably higher than the 4.4% July rate. Food inflation, which makes up a dominant part of this measure, came in at almost 6%. Their 5.25% policy rate is next reviewed on October 7.China reported its August new yuan loans data overnight and it was weak again, extending the unnerving trend that started with the unexpected April fall, which was followed up with an even larger July fall. This August data was expected to be a very modest +¥400 bln expansion, but it only came in with a +¥60 bln rise. For an economy as large as China's this is very low. For example, August 2025 recorded a +¥590 bln rise and that was considered low. In August 2024 it was +¥900 bln.The UST 10yr yield is now just on 4.96%, down -2 bps from yesterday but essentially holding its new highs. It did top 5% at one point however over the past 24 hours.The price of gold is now at US$4310/oz, and down -US$40 from yesterday at this time. Silver is at just under US$63.50/oz and down -US$1.Oil prices have risen +US$1.50 to US$101.50/bbl in the US, while the international Brent price is up the same to just on US$106/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is down -30 bps from yesterday, now at 57.8 USc. Against the Aussie we are down -10 bps at 81 AUc. Against the euro we are also down -10 bps to just on 50 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just over 61.2, down -20 bps.The bitcoin price starts today at US$78,886 and up +1.9% from yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been modest at just under +/-1.6%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston and we'll do this again tomorrow.Track 1219389Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAI Audio soundtrack opening is licensed from Shutterstock, Track 1219389 Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAI

Why do so many strategies sound compelling in the boardroom but struggle to shape what people actually do?In this episode of the Thriving Leaders Podcast, I speak with Alicia McKay, an Aotearoa New Zealand-based writer, speaker and strategist who has spent 15 years advising leaders on strategy, change and leadership. She is also the author of From Strategy to Action, You Don't Need an MBA and Local Legends.In this direct and thought-provoking conversation, Alicia and I challenge familiar assumptions about strategy, leadership and collaboration. We also examine what may be lost when judgement and decision-making are increasingly handed to automated systems.If you have ever watched a strong strategy lose momentum after the planning session, this conversation will give you a different way to understand why—and what you can do about it.In this episode, we cover:How strategy is different in local government and the public sector than in corporate organisationsWhy strategy often loses momentum after the planning processHow strategic thinking shows up in everyday leadershipWhat leaders may misunderstand about people and changeThe transition from subject-matter expert to strategic leaderWhat gets in the way of cross-functional collaborationHow organisational systems influence behaviourThe relationship between trust, agency and accountabilityWhat automation could mean for human judgementWatch the full episode to hear Alicia's refreshingly direct perspective on what it really takes to turn strategy into action.About Alicia McKayAlicia McKay is a writer, speaker and strategist based in Aotearoa New Zealand. She works with executive and elected leaders to improve strategic thinking, decision-making and leadership in complex environments.Alicia is the author of:From Strategy to Action: A Guide to Getting Shit Done in the Public SectorYou Don't Need an MBA: Leadership Lessons That Cut Through the CrapLocal Legends: How to Make a Difference in Local GovernmentResources and linksAlicia McKay's websiteAbout Alicia McKayAlicia McKay's booksYou Don't Need an MBAFrom Strategy to ActionSubscribe to the Thriving Leaders Podcast for practical conversations about leadership, team performance and creating thriving workplace cultures.

Send us Fan MailIf you've ever wondered why New Zealand can't seem to build medium density housing that feels calm, green, and genuinely liveable, this conversation puts a spotlight on the real blockers and the real opportunities. This episode we're joined by Wellington architects Tim Gittos and Caro Robertson from Spacecraft Architects, fresh off winning the F. Gordon Wilson Fellowship for their research project DIY Density. We get specific about what “DIY” actually means here: not people building their own houses with their hands, but everyday owners and small groups having the tools to lead development decisions, rather than settling for developer-led products. Tim and Caro explain why the three-storey walk-up is such a powerful missing-middle typology, how it can replace “sausage flat” backyard infill, and why facing the street while going up can preserve light, privacy, and neighbourhood character. We also talk about what matters beyond the dwelling: arrival, shared outdoor space, fewer driveways, stronger streetscapes, and keeping trees and permeable ground so our suburbs don't bake and flood. The big theme is certainty. We unpack why risk and unknowability around consenting, cost, and process stops good housing before it starts, and how replicable models, precedents, and even pre-consented pathways could make affordable housing more achievable. Tim and Caro share insights from their work on the New South Wales Housing Pattern Book, including what it takes to make pattern books useful in the real world, and who might administer something similar here as planning rules evolve. If you care about urban design, housing affordability, walkable neighbourhoods, and building better cities in Aotearoa New Zealand, hit play, share it with a mate, and subscribe so you don't miss what comes next. After listening, what would convince you that medium density could be a better way to live?Please Like and Subscribe it really helps :)Follow us on @designpriciplespod on Instagram and if you wish to contact us hit our DMs or our personal pages. We love to hear from you it really encourages us to keep going and the ideas and feedback we get from the listeners is awesome!

Shutterstock Track 1219389Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAIKia ora.Welcome to Monday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from interest.co.nz.Today we lead with news the price of money just keeps going up. Others have pointed out it is not only US policy management that is causing this trend, but also the generational shift of boomer savings starting to run down as they are used, generating a global imbalance. There are fewer savings for the investment demand in the global economy, so a fundamental supply/demand imbalance is growing. The US administrative incompetence is making this shift faster, however.This week will feature the US Fed's rate decision on Thursday as the key upcoming event. Financial markets are pricing a 75% chance of a +25 bps hike. Economists have the full +25 bps as their central expectation. The reason is clear - inflation isn't under control, not even close.Locally, Thursday will bring our Q2-2025 GDP result, expected to be +2.3% and up from Q1's +1.8%. But such is the disconnect between consumers lived experience, and sectors like farming, that it is likely to be dismissed as electioneering even if it is accurate. We will also get retail (electronic card) and inflation (selected price) updates this week too. And in the middle of this we will likely get the August REINZ data this week as well.In Australia, the key data releases will be minor, mainly for tourism and population, but they will both be grist for their culture war debates.China will report a broad range of data this week, and most of it is expected to deliver minor improvements. We will be especially watching their new lending data to see what has happened after the unexpected July decline.Japan will report inflation (2.1% expected) and its central bank rate review later in the week (+25 bps to 1.25%).On Friday, Japan said its producer prices rose +7.6% in August from a year ago, following an upwardly revised +7.7% increase in the prior month, which had been the fastest pace since February 2023. Although fuel is a big part of these rises it isn't the only part, and the outsized rises have been consistent now in each month since April. Despite that, Japanese business sentiment rose to its highest level since 2021, in a report out Friday.In the coming week, the US will release retail sales, trade terms, and industrial production data. But this is all being overshadowed by the fast-rising fuels costs, even if there is yet another 'hope' that talks can replace fighting in the Persian Gulf.Over the weekend the US released its official CPI for August (from the same agency that brought you the wildly optimistic non-farm payrolls data), and it shows no change at 3.4%. Apparently food prices were up +2.7%, fuel costs up +16.3%, electricity up +4.0%, drugs down -2.7% and rents up +3.0%. From July to August however, the overall rate rose +0.4% which is an accelerating recent rise.However, it is doubtful US consumers believe this sanguine official assessment. The widely-watched University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey for September reported a sharpish and unexpected fall, now to its lowest level since the record low in May. That is a -7.5% retreat since August and a -13.7% drop from a year ago. Year-ahead inflation expectations jumped to 4.6%, the highest since June. Year-ahead expectations for personal finances and business conditions deteriorated, as consumers anticipate greater pressure on household budgets amid rising fuel prices and trade tensions.US petrol prices have risen +4.0% in just the past week and are now up +45% since the start of Trump's war.In some earlier reviews we had noted that the copper price had hit a new record high of US$15,000/tonne. However since then it has pulled back on the prospects for a sharp increase in supply and an easing of demand as the world's two largest economies hesitate. The current price is now US$14,250/tonne so a -5% drop in the past three days.The UST 10yr yield is now just on 4.98%, unchanged from Saturday, up +20 bps for the week.All this sudden rise in benchmark interest rates is going to do extensive and expensive damage to government budgets which depend on high debt levels and more borrowed money. A reckoning is closer.The price of gold is now at US$4350/oz, and up a minor +US$4 from Saturday at this time, down -US$74 for the week. Silver is unchanged at just under US$64.50/oz, down -US$1.50 for the week.The Gulf Cooperation Council is expected to meet their Iranian counterparts later today to discuss a possible temporary arrangement for managing shipping through the strait. Adding to downward pressure, the US EIA raised its 2027 crude production forecast while the IEA sharply cut its global oil demand outlook.Oil prices have eased -50 USc to a still very high US$100/bbl in the US, while the international Brent price is little-changed just over US$104.50/bbl. A week ago these prices were US$91.50 and US$96.50/bbl so a net +9% rise in that time.The Kiwi dollar is unchanged from Saturday, still just over 58.1 USc but down -70 bps for the week. Against the Aussie we are also still just under 81.1 AUc. Against the euro we are holding at 50.1 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just over 61.4, unchanged from Saturday, down -70 bps from a week ago.The bitcoin price starts today at US$77,260 and up just +0.2% from Saturday at this time but down -3.0% from this time last week. Volatility over the past 24 hours has again been low at just under +/-0.6%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston and we'll do this again tomorrow.Track 1219389Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAI Audio soundtrack opening is licensed from Shutterstock, Track 1219389 Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAI

Welcome to this month's Answer Us Back, full of your feedback and questions provoked by previous episodes of Answer Me This. Today we have: Look, we recorded AMT421 the day before Tim Curry died, and it was pure chance that we appeared to pay tribute to him by slagging off two of his most beloved films. He's very good in them! He's even very good in Olly's pick for the worst film ever made! We all want Olly to write a memoir, right? Full of anecdotes about the many times when he almost met celebrities? Sally has a tip for silencing those musical washing machines before they launch into the full symphony. Should Olly satisfy his anthropological curiosity about what it's like to go to a Roy Chubby Brown gig, or does that just make him someone who willingly attends a Roy Chubby Brown gig? Helena in Aotearoa New Zealand informs us that some of the washing machines of Aotearoa New Zealand play a selection of national anthems. And/or Crazy Frog. The bidet chat continues to flow: Molly in London asks if it's ok to wash her bum with the water from her dehumidifier. Erm, best not. But what can you do with that water? Annie asks the question on behalf of all of you who have been desperate to know since last Answer Us Back: what is Olly's system for displaying souvenir magnets on his fridge? After AMT421's question about the dangers of orchestra conductors' podiums, Laura from Ottawa, who is a professional violinist, tells us tales of other perils of the orchestra. In episode we-forget-which-number-but-fairly-recent, Olly spoke of convincing himself not to be annoyed by his father's snoring. Lola in Seattle can even turn horrible misophonia into delectable ASMR. (And if you are looking for help in navigating misophonia in yourself or people close to you, check out friend-of-the-pod Jane Gregory's work and book at soundslikemisophonia.com.) If AMTs 1-421 left you with lingering questions and opinions, share them with us for future episodes of Answer Us Back. And as always, send in your questions, in voicenote or written form, to answermethispodcast@googlemail.com. All new AMT422 will be in your podfeed on 24 September 2026. Help keep AMT going by signing up at patreon.com/answermethis, where you can get an ad-free version of the show, monthly bonus bits, our video livestream Petty Problems, AND access to our ENTIRE back catalogue, including all our paywalled episodes, our special albums, and all the Retro AMT episodes.  Answer Me This is sponsored by:  • Cozy Earth, luxurious bedding, sleepwear, loungewear, and towels for bath and beach. Shop at cozyearth.com and get 30% off using our code ANSWER. Also, their Labor Day sale runs 25 August till September 8th! • Quooker, the the tap that does it all, from instant 100-degree boiling water to chilled, filtered, and sparkling water. Shop at quooker.co.uk and until the end of August, you can use our code ANSWER to get free installation and your free Quooker glassware set. • Taskrabbit, the online and mobile marketplace, available in the UK, that connects you with skilled, reliable local freelancers to help with everything from furniture assembly and home repairs to moving, gardening, and more. Get ahead of your to-do list with £10 off your first task at taskrabbit.co.uk or on the Taskrabbit app using our promo code ANSWER.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shutterstock Track 1219389Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAIKia ora.Welcome to Friday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from interest.co.nz.Today we lead with news bond prices and equity prices are falling as oil prices have jumped, and markets now see a much larger chance the US Fed will have to raise rates when it meets on Thursday next week (NZT). Bond yields have jumped today in an outsized shift. Inflation risks are mounting everywhere now.Copper, silver and gold prices are sliding today.Adding to anxiety, Iran-backed Houthis have seized another Red Sea port is a defeat for Saudi Arabia, putting more pressure on the Red Sea shipping lanes.And in the US, at a sparsely attended 'convention', Trump has added to his cash promises to American voters if they keep a Republican Congress after the November elections that now exceed US$1 tln.In the US, producer prices rose in August more than expected and more than in July. They were up +5.4% from a year ago, faster than the July +4.8% rise. Clearly inflation is embedding in the US economy and is likely to spill out to consumer prices very soon - though the risks of that for their service economy seem much less.US fuel prices have risen sharply too with diesel now almost averaging US$6/bal, petrol up at US$4.27/gal. These are both quite big rises just from yesterday.US initial jobless claims rose last week to 176,500, about what seasonal factors would have indicated. There are now 1.675 mln people on these benefits, much lower than last week as qualification standards bite very much harder now.US crude oil stocks fell again last week but by less than expected and by less than the prior week.US existing home sales fell -2% in August to under a 4 mln annual rate. Unsold inventories rose. These dynamics are unlikely to get better because benchmark mortgage rates are about to jump.After declining for all of 2026, the US inventory-to-sales ratio jumped unexpectedly in July with wholesale inventories up +1.3% from June to be +5.7% higher than year-ago levels.So it will be no surprise to know that the median yield for today's US 30yr bond auction rose to 5.25% (hi 5.31%), from 5.15% at the prior equivalent event a month ago.As expected, the European Central Bank raised its policy rate by +25 bps to 2.65% saying that they expect inflation to be elevated and this required pushback.Australian inflation expectations have remained unchanged at 4.9% in September as they were in August. That is far above the July 3.5% official CPI rate and the August CPI update won't come until the end of this month. And last month's spike in wage expectations appears to have been a temporary blip, with expectations about year-ahead pay growth falling to just +1.2%. The squeeze is on and quite hard now.OPEC's monthly report showed that overall output rose by almost +350,000/bbl/day in the month led by Iraq. But they lowered their demand expectations for 2026 on the trajectory of the global economy. It is not often you see rising out put, lower demand, and a sharp jump in prices. That Trump guy is something 'special'.Global container freight rates were little-changed last week, staying at unusually high levels and up +119% from a year ago. Rises in China-to-US rates were offset by falls in China-to-EU rates. Meanwhile bulk cargo rates rose +12% last week, and are now +175% higher than year-ago levels.The UST 10yr yield is now just on 4.96%, a jump of +12 bps from yesterday at this time.The price of gold is now at US$4337/oz, and down -US$81 from yesterday at this time. Silver is down -US$4 at just under US$64/oz.Oil prices are up +US$6 at a very high US$102/bbl in the US, while the international Brent price has risen +US$6.50 to just over US$107.50/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is down -40 bps from yesterday, now just under 58 USc and a six week low. Against the Aussie we are up +10 bps at just under 81 AUc. Against the euro we are down -30 bps as well at 49.9 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just over 61.3, down -30 bps from yesterday.The bitcoin price starts today at US$77,113 and down -2.1% from yesterday at this time. Volatility over the past 24 hours has again been modest at just under +/-1.2%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston and we'll do this again on Monday.Track 1219389Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAI Audio soundtrack opening is licensed from Shutterstock, Track 1219389 Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAI

Shutterstock Track 1219389Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAIKia ora.Welcome to Thursday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from interest.co.nz.Today we lead with news both Iran and the US are targeting oil tankers in the Persian Gulf in the sharpest escalation in their conflict since Trump's war began. The oil price jumped +4% overnight, and other financial risk metrics rose too.Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary is making moves that make him look desperate. His latest Treasury buy-back plan has been panned by markets after his pre-selling bluster, and US yields have risen. His meddling with the yen is in trouble too, raising expectations the Japanese are unable to meet, and causing its own market reactions.In the real economy US mortgage applications sank sharply last week, mainly on diving refinance applications. Not helping is a sharpish rise in the benchmark 30 year mortgage rate, now at 6.85% and its highest in more than a year.And that is likely to get worse. Today's UST 10yr bond auction brought a median yield of 4.77% (high 4.83%), up sharply from the prior equivalent event a month ago (4.63%).Trump has taken exception to Canada reacting and retaliating to his tariffs on them. He says he will hit Canada with more and higher tariffs. Central to the new American actions will be dairy products.In Japan, machine tool orders jumped sharply in August, up +65% from a year ago and continuing the surge that started in Match.The Japanese business sentiment index for manufacturers known as the Reuters Tankan index rose to its highest reading since December 2021, and before that, 2018, in a show of rising confidence. This survey predates the official Tankan survey which isn't due until October 1, 2026.Taiwanese exports continued their stellar growth in August, but this expansion seem to have become normalised now, which understates how impressive it is. They reported a +41% gain on top of last year's +42% gain in the same month. Of course, it was a new record high for them in one month, US$82.4 bln for the month.China's August CPI inflation rate came in very low again at +0.8% from a year ago, although a bit higher than for July, and marginally higher than expected. Food prices actually fell -0.6% on the same year-on-year basis, but within that beef prices were up +5.3% and lamb prices up +6.3%. Dairy products were -1.4% lower however, along with prices for pork, alcohol, and vegetables. Medical services, communications services, and fuel were all up.Meanwhile, China's August producer prices rose faster, up +3.8% from a year ago - so the July easing was essentially reversed. Industrial prices were up +5.8% with some metals and fuel components up more than +20% from a year ago. So key components of their export-oriented industries are under the cost pump.Meanwhile, Shanghai is rolling out a new policy to eliminate out-of-pocket medical expenses related to childbirth, covering routine medical services from prenatal checkups through hospital delivery. It is a bid to encourage births and make the city more family-friendly as China's birth rate sinks to a new low.Overnight the copper price pushed up to a new all-time record, just shy of US$15,000/tonne (NZ$25.50/kg). It has dipped marginally in the hours that have followed, but that is nothing more than its regular volatility. The trend is still strongly up. (But chartists might sense that it will top out at US$15,500/tonne before establishing a new trend.) The UST 10yr yield is now just on 4.84%, a rise of +3 bps from yesterday at this time.The price of gold is now at US$4418/oz, and up +US$32 from yesterday at this time. Silver is up +US$1.50 at just under US$68/oz.Oil prices are up +US$3.50 at a very high US$96/bbl in the US, while the international Brent price has risen +US$4 to just over US$101/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is down -20 bps from yesterday, now just over 58.4 USc. Against the Aussie we are also down -20 bps at 80.9 AUc at the lowest since April 2013. Against the euro we are down -20 bps as well at 50.2 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just over 61.6, down -20 bps from yesterday.The bitcoin price starts today at US$78,780 and up an insignificant +0.3% from yesterday at this time. Volatility over the past 24 hours has again been modest at just under +/-1.0%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston and we'll do this again tomorrow.Track 1219389Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAI Audio soundtrack opening is licensed from Shutterstock, Track 1219389 Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAI

Shutterstock Track 1219389Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAIKia ora.Welcome to Wednesday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from interest.co.nz.Today we lead with news inflation is high and rising around the world and central banks are confronting a change in priorities to get it under control. Their slow action is undermining their cred in the communities they serve. And that slow action has them facing some tough choices.But first, the overnight Pulse dairy auction brought slightly softer prices except for WMP which was little-changed. The dips in the other commodities was cushioned by the lower NZD.With the US back from holiday, more data has been released today. Of note is the ADP weekly employment data. The week-over-week change to their four-week moving average is less than +12,000 and that is nowhere near enough to confirm the last strong US non-farm payrolls report.Meanwhile, the New York Fed's August consumer inflation expectations survey held the one year ahead data at 3.6%, basically where it has been since rising to this level in April. Expected price growth for petrol rose to 4.6%, and for food to 5.3%. Worries about the labour market intensified, with those surveyed seeing unemployment will be higher in a year now 44% of the survey, the highest level since April 2020.And that is mirrored in the September update NFIB Business Optimism Index It fell away and by slightly more than expected. Inflation is now tied with taxes as the second top small business issue.Consumer debt rose again in July in the US, up an outsized +4.2% from a year ago. Driving this surge were non-revolving debt borrowings, like car loans, student loans, and personal loans.China has posted a strong trade result for August, with exports and imports up strongly, resulting in a fatter trade surplus. That surplus widened to +US$119 bln from +US$101 bln in July. It's surplus with the US accounted for +US$29 bln of that. Their August exports were up +25% and their imports were up +28.2% from the same month in 2025.Germany also reported a larger July trade surplus, but it did so in a defensive way. Exports fell from June (-0.8%) but imports fell more on that basis (-5.7%) so its surplus widened to €21.3 bln in the month. Year-on-year however, their exports were up +6.1% and their imports were up +3.0%. The key reasons for the July import fall were a -7.5% fall in imports from China, and an -8.3% fall in imports from the US.In Australia, consumer sentiment is retreating. The Westpac-Melbourne Institute August survey shows a raft of negative pressures. Household finances are coming back under pressure from higher fuel and rate rise fears. The housing downturn is starting to weigh on sentiment among homeowners. Nearly two thirds of consumers now expect mortgage rates to rise. And consumer unease about jobs, especially for construction and hospitality workers, is on the rise.And things are little better in the business sector. The August NAB survey of businesses shows business conditions fell 5 points and turned negative for the first time in six years. Business confidence fell 2 points and now 12 points below its January level, and worse, profitability fell 10 points as input costs continued to outpace price recovery increases.Meanwhile, RBA deputy governor Andrew Hauser said overnight that inflation is the major problem for Australia's central bank. He acknowledged Australians are struggling with the continued high cost of living and rising interest rates. But he also indicated those rates could rise higher in the coming months, because of their focus on fixing the key inflation problem. The Australian Government 10 year bond yield rose on the news, now its highest since 2011.Separately, it is also probably worth noting that the price of EU carbon permits is rising again, now at €85.40/tonne (NZ$160/tonne). That is far from the NZ$50/tonne available locally.The UST 10yr yield is now just on 4.81%, a rise of +1 bp from yesterday at this time.The price of gold is now at US$4386/oz, and down -US$21 from yesterday at this time. Silver is little-changed at just under US$66.50/oz.Oil prices are little-changed but still very high at just over US$92.50/bbl in the US, while the international Brent price has dipped -50 USc to just over US$97/bblThe Kiwi dollar is down -20 bps from yesterday, now just on 58.6 USc . Against the Aussie we are down -30 bps at 81.1 AUc. Against the euro we are down -20 bps at 50.4 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just over 61.8, down -20 bps from yesterday.The bitcoin price starts today at US$78,564 and down -0.8% from yesterday at this time. Volatility over the past 24 hours has again been modest at just under +/-1.1%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston and we'll do this again tomorrow.Track 1219389Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAI Audio soundtrack opening is licensed from Shutterstock, Track 1219389 Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAI

Send us a question/idea/opinion direct via text message!The August Cotality Home Value Index is out, showing a -0.4% monthly decline across Aotearoa New Zealand—marking the fifth consecutive month of value contraction. However, looking at property purely through the lens of the "fall from the peak" might be completely skewing our view of the market.This week on the New Zealand Property Market Podcast, Head of Research Nick Goodall and Chief Economist Kelvin Davidson unpack the August data. They explore why looking at the 10-year compound annual growth rate (+3.4% per year) offers a much more realistic picture of the "new normal" for capital gains, while stripping out the artificial post-COVID boom and bust.The guys also break down why Auckland apartments plunged -7.8% over the past year compared to just -2.2% for standalone houses, why dwelling consents keep defying gravity (hitting a 3-year high of 41,000 annually), and review the major trading banks' reactions to last week's 2.75% OCR decision. Plus, Father's Day debriefs, scorched almonds, and the All Blacks' test in Johannesburg.This week we discuss:August HVI Breakdown: Why values fell -0.4% in August (down -1.0% YoY), led by weakness in Te Whanganui-a-Tara / Wellington (-0.6%) and Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland (-0.5%).The 10-Year Growth Benchmark: Why the 10-year average annual growth rate of 3.4% represents the true baseline for long-term property performance.Property Type Divide: The stark split in Tāmaki Makaurau, where apartments dropped -7.8% over the past year while standalone houses fell only -2.2%.Construction Defies Gravity: Why July dwelling consents rose 10% YoY (41,000 annual running total) despite rising supply and cost pressures.The Bank Consensus on OCR: How ANZ, ASB, Westpac, BNZ, and Kiwibank interpreted the RBNZ's measured 25bps hike to 2.75%.Weekend Sports Wrap: All Blacks fall short in the Ellis Park cauldron, Father's Day rowing sessions, and Northland's upcoming Shield defence against Waikato.Sign up for news and insights or contact on LinkedIn, X @NickGoodall_CL or @KDavidson_CL and email ngoodall@cotality.com or kdavidson@cotality.comThis podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or tax advice. The hosts are not licensed Financial Advice Providers in New Zealand. All information is of a general nature and does not take into account your personal situation or goals. Please consult a qualified professional before making any financial decisions.

Shutterstock Track 1219389Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAIKia ora.Welcome to Tuesday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from interest.co.nz.Today we lead with news global interest rates are still moving higher. And that is particularly true for Australian benchmark bonds. Money and commodities are transitioning somewhere, but it is not clear to where, just yet.But first, it is a public holiday in the US (Labor Day) with all their financial markets closed. Given their size, this has meant all other international markets are running at lower levels and in a hesitant mode. But some key shifts are not waiting for the Americans to return.In China, their August foreign exchange reserves were reported overnight and they rose to US$3.44 tln, the second highest level ever but not quite hitting their record May result. That puts them +3.6% higher than year-ago levels. Of note is that they added another +20 tonnes of gold to their reserves in the month, which makes the calendar year increase now almost +80 tonnes. Gold now makes up 10.2% of their overall reserves, although that is down from 11% at the start of 2026.And China announced major funding into eight large SOE institutions to enable them to lend more. It is injecting ¥300 bln (NZ$75 bln) in 'recapitalisation' the most it has done like this in 20 years. The funds will come from Ministry of Finance 'special bonds'. It is the latest and unlikely to be the last of economic support measures to 'reinvigorate' their economy.Japan's July leading index rose to its highest since January 2014 although the June level was revised down. The July level was also slightly below analyst's expectations despite the gain. Rising job offers and consumer sentiment were among the factors behind the rise.Singapore reported that its July retail sales were softer than expected. They were up by +1.5% from a year ago, the softest rise since May 2025 and slowing from a +4% increase in June.The EU reported a better rise in economic activity. The EU economy expanded +1.4% in Q2-2026 in its updated result, up from +1.0% in the previous estimate and much better than the +0.9% growth recorded in Q1-2026. The gain was driven by stronger growth in household spending and gross fixed capital formation, with exports also rebounded sharply. Euro area expansion came in slightly less than the overall EU levels.However German industrial production recorded a sharp and unexpected -1.1% fall in July, to now be -1.6% lower than year ago levels. (The Germans, as usual, report their data on an inflation-adjusted basis unlike many other countries.) The weakness there was from energy-intensive industries, and that includes car manufacturing.In a reaction toe the Saxony state election results, the German stock exchange dipped, and the 10yr German Bund yields rose to their highest since 2010.But they weren't the only bond yields to rise. The Australian 10 year bond yields rose to 5.22% and their highest since 2011. (Of course this has little to do with a German state election.)And the Japanese yen surged against the US dollar overnight, up to the 154 range as growing speculation over faster-than-expected Bank of Japan rate increases combined with renewed possibility of another round of currency intervention by the Japanese authorities drove the moves.We should also probably note that the copper price jumped to US$14,513/tonne on the LME, a record high.The UST 10yr yield is now just on 4.80%, up +2 bps from yesterday at this time.The price of gold is now at US$4407/oz, and down -US$26 from yesterday at this time. Silver is little-changed at just on US$66/oz.Oil prices are up +US$1 at just over US$92.50/bbl in the US, while the international Brent price is just under US$97.50/bbl.The Kiwi dollar is little-changed from yesterday, still just on 58.8 USc . Against the Aussie we are down -20 bps at 81.4 AUc. Against the euro we are holding at 50.6 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just over 62, down -10 bps from yesterday.The bitcoin price starts today at US$79,194and down -0.7 from yesterday at this time. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been modest at just under +/-1.1%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston and we'll do this again tomorrow.Track 1219389Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAI Audio soundtrack opening is licensed from Shutterstock, Track 1219389 Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAI

Shutterstock Track 1219389Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAIKia ora.Welcome to Monday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from interest.co.nz.Today we lead with news we are heading into a week that will deliver a wide set of consumer and producer inflation reports.But locally, the data releases will be light. It is a light data week in Australia too, with only migration updates this week. But we will also get an update on the total value of all houses as at June and that may start to show a leveling off from the March record high AU$12.8 tln. We will also get August consumer and business confidence updates from Australia, and September consumer inflation expectations results.Globally we will be looking for signs of widening cracks in fuel markets as Trump's forever war drags on. In the US they are now on their long Labor Day weekend holiday, ending their summer holiday season. They face petrol prices +40% higher than when Trump started his Persian Gulf war with Iran. Diesel there are almost +80% higher now and that is having broad inflationary impacts in secondary goods costs. That these are rising faster recently is not a sign that Kevin Warsh will be able to ignore, even if he is under renewed pressure from the White House to do so.So of special interest will be the US August CPI update, brought to you by the good folks at the same agency that delivered the strong headline labour market data on Friday (the agency Trump fired the head of a while ago because he didn't like the results they released). A 3.4% headline rate is anticipated, but markets are taking that sceptically. After all, the PCE inflation measure for July was 3.7%. Even if you take both at face value, and the payrolls data at face value, there seems little justification for them not to weigh against inflation at this time. But Warsh & the Fed probably won't, so American inflation is set to be outsized and rising for some time yet.They will also release August PPI data this week, expected to remain elevated at 4.7%. The first September University of Michigan sentiment survey will drop this week too, and this has been very low reflecting unease over unconstrained inflation. And American consumer inflation expectations survey commissioned by the NY Fed will also drop this weekMeanwhile, the ECB will decide on interest rates (expect a +25 bps rise to 2.5%), and Germany will unveil August industrial production data.There will be more trade and inflation data out elsewhere and that includes from China. We expect a larger trade surplus and their low inflation to rise again marginally.From Japan, a raft of economic reports is due, including revised Q2 GDP, July wages and current account data, as well as August PPI, which is expected to show producer inflation accelerating to 7.4%. Their machine tool order update is due too.Over the weekend, the Japanese household spending data that was weak in June got weaker for July, a result that wasn't expected. It was a contraction at the sharpest pace since January 2024. Only the furniture and recreation categories were positive.The US non-farm payrolls was out over the weekend and rose much more than expected in both the headline version and the actual version, up +154,000 in August from July when just a +15,000 rise was expected, up +456,000 from a year ago to 158.9 mln people on payrolls. This result is sharply different to the ADP Employment report which tracks most of this weekly.The broader employed civilian labour force data however isn't so upbeat, showing a -133,000 fall from July, down -621,000 from August a year ago and to 162.7 mln employed people. Take your pick from these two official results, but it does suggest a widening gap where it is substantially harder to sustain employment unless you are on a company payroll.Markets seem sceptical of the strong headline jobs report, suspecting it is something that will be corrected in future. Wall Street is lower, benchmark bond yields are higher, both shifts you may not expect if they did believe the headline data was genuine.Across the border, Canada reported a tougher labour market. Employment there declined by -41,700 in August, missing expectations for a +15,000 increase and following a +75,100 gain in July.In the overall EU, retail sales volume growth slowed to just +1.0% in July from a year ago, from an upwardly revised +1.7% in June. This was slightly lower than market expectations of a +1.1% gain and was the smallest increase in retail trade since April. But at least they have positive volume growth.In Germany they reported a sharp rise in factory orders in July, up +2.5% from June to be more than +13% higher than year-ago levels. This was much better than observers were expecting.In Norway, their gigantic US$2 tln sovereign wealth fund is moving to sharply cut back on its exposure to US Treasury bonds. Yesterday we noted the Dutch move to insulate risks by moving their gold holdings out of the US.Global food prices rose notably in August to their highest since November 2022. All food groups rose including for meat and dairy, although the biggest rises were for cereals, sugar, and vegetable oils.Also globally, perhaps we should note that the value of the top 50 mining companies surged on stock exchanges by a monster +US$350 bln in August alone, taking them back to February levels when the value of gold was US$1000 higher than it is now.The UST 10yr yield is now just on 4.78%, unchanged from Saturday at this time, up +5 bps for the week.The price of gold is now at US$4433/oz, and up +US$9 from Saturday at this time, down -US$29 from a week ago. Silver is little-changed at just on US$66/oz, down -50 USc for the week.Oil prices are holding at just on US$91.50/bbl in the US, while the international Brent price is just under US$96.50/bbl and also little-changed. A week ago these prices were US$83.50 and US$88/bbl respectively.The Kiwi dollar is little-changed from Saturday at just on 58.8 USc but down -30 bps from a week ago. Against the Aussie we are still at 81.6 AUc. Against the euro we are down -10 bps at 50.6 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just over 62.1, unchanged from Saturday, down -50 bps for the week.The bitcoin price starts today at US$79,745 up +0.2% from Saturday at this time, but up +2.7% from last week at this time. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been very low at just under +/-0.4%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston and we'll do this again tomorrow.Track 1219389Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAI Audio soundtrack opening is licensed from Shutterstock, Track 1219389 Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAI

Meet Gaëlle, a curious and adventurous woman from France whose love of travel has taken her across Europe and, more recently, all the way to Aotearoa New Zealand. She arrived in New Plymouth just 6 weeks ago. To celebrate her 30th birthday, Gaëlle brought one of her dreams to life by taking a solo journey through Italy. The following year, she took her biggest leap yet—leaving Europe and travelling to Aotearoa. Guided by curiosity, authenticity and a deep belief in human connection, Gaëlle explores the world through shared experiences, meaningful conversations, quiet reflections and simple moments filled with joy. She sees different cultures and ways of understanding life as a true source of richness. Passionate about foreign languages and art—especially painting, writing, dance, music and photography—Gaëlle is inspired by self-awareness, the power of the mind and spirit, the strength of femininity, and the courage to embrace every emotion. She is at the beginning of a new chapter: creating a life guided by her dreams and becoming more aligned with who she truly is and what she hopes to leave behind in the hearts of those whose paths she crosses.

Shutterstock Track 1219389Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAIKia ora.Welcome to Friday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from interest.co.nz.Today we lead with news financial markets are in a holding pattern today.First we should note that this coming weekend will be a major long weekend holiday in the US, for Monday's Labor Day. The means US markets will likely be quieter than normal until Tuesday their time, Wednesday ours. But they will still release their August non-farm payrolls report tomorrow and that is expected to show a +56,000 jobs gain and continuing the low expansion that has been usual in 2026.Today, the US initial jobless claims data for last week was released coming in at just over +170,000 and slightly more than seasonal factors would have indicated. There are now 1.74 mln people claiming these benefits, lower than a year ago and two years ago on much tighter eligibility requirements.The widely watched ISM services PMI came in marginally better than expected and better than for July with gains in activity and new business, but falling employment metrics. Twelve industry sectors indicated growth in August, one fewer than the previous month, while five reported contraction, up one compared to July. Price pressures remain very elevated at its highest level since August 2022. The S&P Global services PMI was also out overnight showing a similar expansion even if the details were different; jobs growth hits highest since January 2025, and input costs and selling prices increases were at a slower rate. Take your pick.There was an interesting speech from Fed heavyweight Christopher Waller, someone once floated as a possible Trump pick to replace Powell. Perhaps predictably he lined up with Kevin Warsh on pulling back on forward guidance communication, although he has staked out a full need to communicate of most other aspects of Fed thinking. This speech shows he isn't in the camp worried about current inflation risks because he thinks the peak pressure has passed. That tone took some sting out of the US Treasury bond yields today.The US also released its broader trade result for July, covering both goods and services. This confirmed the trade deficit spike we saw in the earlier merchandise-only data. In this case their services surplus was weak, so had a minimal impact on the large and growing goods deficit. Both exports and imports of services fell, notably for travel and financial services. Overall this deficit is now its largest in sixteen months when the pre-tariff stockpiling was at its peak.Canada also reported trade data for July, and while they still have a surplus, it was much narrower that expected. Exports fell while imports rose. It was their first export decline in six months.The Japanese yen has climbed to the ¥155:USD level, its highest since early August as traders priced in the chance of faster Bank of Japan interest rate hikes. The Bank of Japan next meets in two weeks from today.In China, their private services PMI by S&P Global (RatingDog) came in positive and certainly better than the contracting official version. The rise was soft but better than market forecasts. The increase was from better domestic demand, while foreign sales rose for the fourth straight month, but at a more modest pace than in July.The EU said producer prices there rose more sharply in July than June, but only by what they had in May - although that was a fast pace, and well above what they were expecting. For the whole EU, they were up +5.6% from a year ago and largely driven by the +12.5% rise in fuel costs. They were expecting only a +4.6% rise in overall PPI increases. Of special worry however will be that these costs rose at a very fast +1.4% in July from June.In Australia, they advised that their exports fell in July from June by -3.3% and their imports fell by -2.5%, giving them a reduced merchandise trade surplus of AU$1.9 bln. A year ago, that surplus was +AU$6.2 bln.Global container freight rates were unchanged from last week, and are now +110% higher than year ago levels. Global bulk cargo rates are +8.5% higher than week ago levels, in fact now their highest since May 2022. That puts them up +68% from a year ago.The UST 10yr yield is now just on 4.77%, down -3 bps from yesterday at this time.The price of gold is now at US$4486/oz, and up +US$114 from yesterday at this time. Silver has risen +US$2 to just on US$67/oz. Meanwhile the Dutch central bank has confirmed it has moved it gold holdings out of the US "to improve tradability", but likely also to prevent the Trump Administration from using them as a bargaining chip.Oil prices are -50 USc lower at just on US$91/bbl in the US, while the international Brent price is just over US$95/bbl and down -US$1.The Kiwi dollar is up +40 bps from yesterday at just on 58.9 USc. Against the Aussie we are up +20 bps at 81.7 AUc. Against the euro we are up +10 bps at 50.6 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just on 62.2, up +30 bps from yesterday.The bitcoin price starts today at US$81,011 and up +4.7% from yesterday at this time. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been moderate at just on +/-2.8%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston and we'll do this again on Monday.Track 1219389Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAI Audio soundtrack opening is licensed from Shutterstock, Track 1219389 Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAI

Today's first hour features new music by artists based in Torquay and Daylesford (Victoria), north Queensland, Sydney, Aotearoa/New Zealand, Dorset, Sussex and London. The songs cover wealth inequality, sexual harassment, keeping vigil with a dying loved one, wanting to run away when life gets hard, space travel, trust-falling and more. Here is the playlist: Two Weeks – Leah Senior In This Heart – The Veils Man From California – Daisy Kilbourne Middle of the Night – Lontano Suburbia – Katy Denney Rising Moon – Valley Road Voyager – PJ Harvey Momma Gets By – Paul McCartney Smooth Ride – Ber Above: PJ Harvey's ‘Voyager' single cover photo of a cryolava lake on Triton, taken by NASA's Voyager 2 space probe The post Voyager – Show #398 (part 1), 5 July 2026 appeared first on Miss Chatelaine.

Shutterstock Track 1219389 Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAI Kia ora. Welcome to Thursday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand. I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from interest.co.nz. Today we lead with news hostilities in the Persian Gulf are still ongoing and still clouding the global economy First in the US, the latest Fed Beige Book survey reveals an American economy where activity increased modestly since early July. Ten of the twelve Federal Reserve Districts reported modest growth; two reported no change. Consumer spending grew slightly on balance; reports reflecting both heightened price sensitivity on the one hand and solid high-end purchases on the other. Car sales were mostly subdued, dampened by downbeat consumer confidence, high fuel prices, and rising financing costs. And that was reinforced by mortgage applications levels that were little-changed and mortgage interest rates that have stayed high and back at early 2025 levels, now 6.79%. Further, the ADP monthly employment report for private payrolls delivered a +38,000 jobs gain in August, lower than for July and lower than the +47,000 expected. It was a seven month low. Saturday will bring the US non-farm payrolls report update for August which is expected to show a gain of +58,000 - which now may be on the high side. US payroll growth has essentially evaporated since early 2025 and the start of the Trump 2 presidency. New factory orders however were reported to have risen +10.4% in July from a year ago. This is an impressive result, but you would have thought that activity and employment data would show that surge. However some of the largest gains are in defense aircraft and computer equipment (data centers) which don't have a lot of jobs attached to them. US crude oil stocks fell again last week and by about double what was expected. And their Strategic Reserves fell too, and by a similar amount. These are dangerously low now. In Canada their central bank reviewed their policy interest rate by kept it at 2.25% as expected. They seemed somewhat surprised at the resilience of the Canadian economy given the economic attacks from the US, but they also now see that resilience continuing despite the substantial adjustments they have to make. Canadian benchmark bond yields are rising, today at a two year high. But this isn't especially high given the threats. The somewhat hawkish tone wasn't expected and the chances of rate hike there have probably increased. In Australia, it is coming to light that their central bank has downgraded the US dollar for its foreign currency holdings. (The RBA is somewhat unusual in that they have revealed that pullback. It is likely happening in many other central banks too, as IMF consolidated data suggests.) And staying in Australia, they released their Q2-2026 economic activity data today, showing a +0.4% expansion for the quarter, to be up +2.1% (real) from a year ago. That was much better than the expected +1.8% expansion. Their per capita growth was only up +0.7% however. The widely expected slowing in 2026 has been much less than observers had expected. And that has significantly boosted the AUD and Australian Government bond yields. The UST 10yr yield is now just on 4.79%, down -1 bp from yesterday at this time. The price of gold is now at US$4372/oz, and upUS$37 from yesterday at this time. Silver has risen +50 USc to just under US$65/oz. Oil prices are up +US$1.50 at just over US$91.50/bbl in the US, while the international Brent price is just under US$96/bbl The Kiwi dollar is down -40 bps from yesterday at just on 58.5 USc. Against the Aussie we are down -90 bps at 881.5 AUc. Against the euro we are also down -30 bps at 50.5 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just on 61.9, down -50 bps from yesterday. The bitcoin price starts today at US$77,353 and essentially unchanged from yesterday at this time. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been low at just on +/-0.9%. You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz. Kia ora. I'm David Chaston and we'll do this again tomorrow. Track 1219389 Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAI Audio soundtrack opening is licensed from Shutterstock, Track 1219389 Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAI

Shutterstock Track 1219389 Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAI Kia ora. Welcome to Wednesday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand. I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from interest.co.nz. Today we lead with news bond yields worldwide climbing as rising oil prices are raising inflation concerns. Financial markets have raised the chance of widespread interest-rate hikes. US Treasury 10 year yields hit 2025 highs at 4.8%, while Japan's equivalent rate hit 3% for the first time since 1996. German bund yields climbed to 15-year highs and UK gilt yields to 18-year highs. Not helping are a new round of attacks by a trigger-happy US on Iran. But first, there was a full dairy auction overnight and the overall results were modestly positive. Prices in USD were up +0.9% and up +0.6% in NZD. The big mover down was cheddar cheese suffering a -6.6% fall. The big mover up was SMP with a +5.3% gain. WMP was very little-changed. In fact, SMP prices are now higher that WMP prices, the first time like this since July 2022. In between, the WMP premium actually got as high as +US$1550/tonne. In the US, there were two factory PMIs out for August, both essentially holding a moderate expansion there. The widely-watched ISM one came in fractionally lower than for August, with new orders growing at a slightly slower rate and price pressure little-changed. The internationally benchmarked S&P Global one was little changed, noting output and orders both rising at slower rates, with stock building efforts continuing amid supply issues and higher prices. The US Logistics Managers' Index fell for a second consecutive month due to a slowdown in inventory expansion, while logistics costs continued to rise at a high pace. July JOLTS data shows job openings rising while quits fell, but these changes were actually quite minor. The US RCM/TIPP optimism index is still in an easing trend that started in early 2025, but it has held at a modest level in August, similar to the June and July levels. There were offsetting shifts with greater confidence among investors and higher-income households, but a deterioration in sentiment for non-investors and lower-income households. Meanwhile the Dallas Fed services sector activity moderated in August, but is still expanding. The Canadian factory PMI was little changed where their expansion was maintained at solid rate with output, new orders and employment all rising in August. Japanese consumer sentiment rose again in August, something it has been doing consistently since April. As we suspected, the private China factory PMI by S&PGlobal (Rating Dog) came in much more positively that the official version, and expanded at a rate that beat estimates, even if it is modest. How sustainable that improvement is will be interesting to see because input price inflation rose but output prices fell for first time in 2026 so far. And we should probably note that China's government debt is now at ¥100 tln for the first time (NZ$25.3 tln),107% of their GDP. And that is just their central government. (But to be fair, a notable part of that rise involves a shift from old opaque local government debt to a more transparent national treatment.) While that may seem high (and it is), the equivalent US federal debt level is 124% of their GDP. For New Zealand it is 49%, for Australia 34%. EU CPI inflation came in at 3.3% in August, the expected level, but up from 2.9% in July. All this rise was fuel cost related. Their core CPI rate actually dipped slightly to 2.4%. Meanwhile, German retail sales actually fell, and quite hard, down -2.5% in real terms in July from a year ago with the current month drop an outsized -3.4%, so the recent bite has been aggressive. In nominal terms there year-on-year levels are just level-pegging. Australian building consents were expected to fall in July and they did, and by about the expected amount, down -3.6% from June to remain up +9.0% from a year ago. House consents fell -4.2% but multiunit consents held little-changed (-0.4%). Still, that leaves the multiunit sector up almost +20% from a year ago. (Some of those are likely to have been Bathla developments in Western Sydney, so are unlikely to proceed now.) The UST 10yr yield is now just on 4.80%, up another +4 bps from yesterday at this time. The price of gold is now at US$4335/oz, and down -US$97 from yesterday at this time. Silver has fallen -US$1.50 to just under US$64.50/oz. Oil prices are up +US$4.50 at just over US$90/bbl in the US, while the international Brent price is just under US$94.50/bbl. The Kiwi dollar is down -30 bps from yesterday at just on 58.9 USc. Against the Aussie we are down -20 bps at 82.4 AUc. Against the euro we are also down -20 bps at 50.8 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just over 62.4, down -30 bps from yesterday. The bitcoin price starts today at US$77,297 and down -2.0% from yesterday at this time. Volatility over the past 24 hours has remained modest at just on +/-1.2%. You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz. Kia ora. I'm David Chaston and we'll do this again tomorrow. Track 1219389 Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAI Audio soundtrack opening is licensed from Shutterstock, Track 1219389 Monetization ID TFGEPGEI0LHEIJAI

Chris is back in the new Karangahape Road 95bFM studio playing a vinyl-only special of local gems from across the decades, sourced from his personal vaults. The best and freshest of Kiwi music — 100% tunes from Aotearoa New Zealand, thanks to NZ On Air Music!

The magic of poetry is being celebrated today, on National Poetry Day. So we are delighted to spend some time with our guest tonight. Robert Sullivan is an acclaimed poet, author and educator, and he is also Aotearoa New Zealand's Poet Laureate. He joins Susana on the show for a chat.

Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have StephanieSteph is a first-time mama from Aotearoa (New Zealand) and she is a proud Sacred Birth Worker graduate.Her pregnancy, birth, and mothering journey have been guided by the rhythm of nature, the innate wisdom of other mammals, and her own intuition. She attended her first birth when she was 3 months pregnant which deeply informed her about the birth and especially the postpartum care she wanted for herself.She had a great home birth midwife who held her through pregnancy, but in her birth she felt that having her partner and best friend was all she needed and ended up free birthing her baby undisturbed. Curious about Stephanie? Find her on instagram as @goddessinclayWant to work with Anna or join The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship?Find Anna's Website, about her Mentorship & How to Work with Her, as well as all Links & Resources she mentions in the episode here:⁠www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast⁠

  Episode: 140 Taking Charge After Stroke: Self-Determination and Recovery with Vivian Fu   In this episode you will discover: ● The Conversation Is the Intervention — A structured, facilitated conversation that centers a person's identity, hopes, and vision for their best day produces measurable improvements in quality of life and independence a year after stroke. Connection isn't soft — it's evidence-based. ● Reframe the Expert in the Room — Take Charge asks clinicians to resist offering advice, validation, or direction — and to trust that the person with stroke already holds the wisdom they need. The hardest part of the facilitator role is staying out of the way. ● Self-Determination Is Not a Luxury — When people with stroke are supported to set their own direction, outcomes improve, costs decrease, and the effects last for years. Building systems that protect that autonomy isn't idealistic — it's what the data demands.   Welcome to the Aphasia Access Aphasia Conversations Podcast. I'm Katie Strong from Central Michigan University and a member of the Aphasia Access Podcast Working Group, a community dedicated to supporting better aphasia care.   Today I'm speaking with Dr. Vivian Fu, a stroke neurologist living and working in Kelowna, British Columbia, the unceded territories of the Syilx / Okanagan people. Vivian trained in Aotearoa New Zealand, where she completed her PhD running the Taking Charge After Stroke trial. Take Charge showed that people with stroke who were supported to follow their own self-determination had much better quality of life and independence a year after their stroke. The second Take Charge RCT showed that two sessions about six weeks apart produce better outcomes than one session. Vivian strives to embed the Take Charge philosophy in her daily practice, and is focused on improving access to high quality stroke care for rural, regional, and underrepresented populations.   I have been looking forward to this conversation. What drew me to Take Charge was how it reframes the question entirely — from what does the clinician do for this person to what does this person want for their own life. That shift is deceptively simple, and as you'll hear, the evidence behind it is anything but.   Let's get into it.   Katie Strong:  Welcome, Vivian. Vivian Fu: Thank you so much for having me, Katie. I'd like to start off with my Pepeha. This is an introduction in Te Reo Māori, which is the indigenous language of the people of Aotearoa New Zealand, and I'll just translate each line. Nō Hong Kong ōku tīpuna. My ancestors come from Hong Kong. I tipu ake au ki Aotearoa. I grew up in Aotearoa, New Zealand. E noho ana au ki Ki-Low-Na. I live in Kelowna, British Columbia. Ko tēnei taku mihi ki ngā tāngata whenua o te rohe nei. I like to pay my deepest respects to the first peoples of this land. I live on the unceded territories of the Syilx and Okanagan peoples. Ko tēnei taku mihi ki ngā maunga, ki ngā awa, ki ngā roto, ki ngā Papatuānuku, o te rohe nei. I'd like to pay my deepest respects to the mountains, rivers, and the lakes, and to Mother Earth. All these important landmarks that have been here for millennia. Nō reira, tēna koutou, tēna koutou, tēna koutou katoa. Therefore, hello, hello, hello, Ko Vivian Fu tōku ingoa. Lovely to be here. Katie Strong:  Well, I'm so glad you're here. And I wanted to start off today asking about the Take Charge program that you've been working with, and talk to me about how that began. What was the origin of that? Vivian Fu:  Sure, so really this work began in probably the late 90s early 2000s when clinicians in Aotearoa New Zealand realized that there were different outcomes for people who were Māori compared with non-Māori, and I guess an important point to illustrate is that in Aotearoa society we view things in a very bicultural lens, and by that I mean Tangata Whenua, who are the people of the land, so indigenous people of the Māori and Tangata Tiriti, so everyone else are people of the treaty. It doesn't really matter where you come from, but you are a person of the treaty if you live in Aotearoa, and so it's a bicultural lens, and so we always look at things in that way, and that's how our kind of entire society is grounded upon that. And so when we look at health outcomes, what we could see back then, and unfortunately what we, in a way, still see now is that Māori were experiencing a stroke at about 20 years younger than non-Māori, and they were more likely to die from their stroke, and also more likely to be severely disabled. And so there was a difference in life expectancy, a difference in overall rehabilitation access, difference in overall outcomes, and so it started off with Professor Matire Harwood's work. She is Tangata Whenua, and in her PhD, she was looking at why there were these differences in outcomes and wanting to address them. And so that started off with the Māori and Pacific Stroke Study, which was essentially conducted in just Māori and Pacific people in Aotearoa, New Zealand, out of many different centers around the country. It was a four arm study.. It was a randomized control trial, and it looked at a conversation, which was labeled as the "Take Charge" session, but it was, it was really a connection and a conversation versus a professionally made DVD from the New Zealand Stroke Foundation about people's experiences and stories after stroke. And then the fourth arm of the trial was getting both of those interventions, and there was a control group. So there were three active groups in one control group. And what the researchers basically found was that anybody who had received this session of discussion and connection did much better a year after stroke in terms of quality of life, independence, and caregiver strain. And so that was the first sort of indication that there was something in that conversation that was really important. Unfortunately, it didn't really take off in terms of being able to be implemented, and so then Dr. Harry McNaughton, who was Dr. Harwood's supervisor wrote multiple grants and tried to get this session into much more of a bigger trial with some some type of implementation, and that's where I came along and we essentially did two things. We operationalized the intervention into something that had a bit of a framework, so with a bit of a booklet and a bit of a structure to follow. Really looking into what was it about that conversation that was so powerful and made such a difference to people, and tried to put those things into practice. Then, secondly, to conduct a second trial in New Zealand out of seven centers for people with stroke who were non-Māori and non-Pacific, because the struggle that we came across was that it was only shown to be effective in a small group of people, but not in everybody, and so we had to do things backwards. And so that was really where it all began, from these principles of self-determination, so Tino Rangatiratanga, which is a really important principle in Te Ao Māori, and in the world of Māori, but also knowing that Māori and a lot of indigenous peoples, we think of health as this concept called Te Whare Tapa Whā, for example, which is the house with four walls. So a person is never just their body and their physical health, there are other walls that keep the house upright. So mental health, spiritual health, and family health, whānau is so important, and feeling as though you have strong foundations in where you belong is also really important. So it's that really holistic look at health of an individual and how we can address all of those things in an intervention is really where it all came from. Katie Strong:  Thank you for sharing. I appreciate the backstory, and also just the idea of what you're thinking about from a holistic health standpoint. I know our listeners are probably curious, some of them might not have heard about Take Charge before, so this is the first time of them hearing about this, and so I was hoping, Vivian, you could give us an overview of what the intervention is, and then maybe walk us through what a session actually looks like in practice. Vivian Fu: Yeah, absolutely. So I'll talk you through the session in the way that it was done in the larger Take Charge trial. So this was done in 400 non-Māori, non-Pacific people with stroke, and our trial there had three arms. So there was a control group, there was a group that received just one session, and then there was a group that received two sessions six weeks apart roughly. The sessions were provided by a trained facilitator, and they were timed roughly somewhere between three to 18 weeks after stroke. So quite a large window, really, depending on when the person with stroke was ready to receive it. So the short version of what it looks like is it's based off the booklet and it's done face to face. It's a conversation and the facilitator is trained at the beginning to really try and establish a relationship…to build a relationship. There's a concept in Te Ao Māori called Whakawhanaungatanga, which is really sort of seeking another person's identity, recognizing who they are as a person, and trying to build connections. And so I guess in English, we think of that as building rapport, building trust. And so it in our trial was done face to face. We have also looked at ways of doing this via telehealth as well, which is, you can imagine, is a little bit different. But that step is really important, and we knew that it was important also in the initial Māori and Pacific trial, because the facilitators who were trained were actually ethnicity matched. So that's something where I think it came quite naturally in that trial, but in the second trial we really wanted to ensure that a relationship was built, and then there are three pages, initial pages in the booklet that look at different things. So the first page is looking at how the person has been affected by the stroke, and then asking them to think about actually who they really are as a person. It's a very simple concept, and a very sort of simple question, but for many people that's the first time they've really been asked that and have had to think about that. So anything that comes to mind that they can relate to, you know, who they are. An individual, and what it is that they love, so for example, for me, I would say, "I'm a mum, and I'm, I'm a stroke neurologist, I am a painter, I'm a poet, I'm someone who loves going for walks in hikes," and, you know, so those kinds of things, and it, and it kind of really builds on on that person's identity and who they are in the world. And so that's that sort of page one. It's really about establishing identity and sense of self. And then the second page is talking then about my hopes and fears. And that might be a tricky one, really, for a lot of people to start talking about and thinking about. They may not want to express that, they may not have been asked that. Sometimes it brings out a lot of emotion, and that's why that initial beginning part of establishing trust and in a kind of a psychological safety space is really important. And then the third page is imagining or envisioning what my best day looks like. And you can be as wild and fantastical about that as you like. When we train our facilitators, we asked them to do these exercises as well themselves, so they can get a really good sense of what that's like, and I had a lovely training session with community health workers from Tanaha First Nation in Cranbrook, BC, and one of one of the attendees in the group said she'd love to have breakfast with a Sasquatch, and so that was absolutely, you know, it was so culturally relevant, so important. Katie Strong:  That makes my Pacific Northwest roots just smile there! Vivian Fu: Exactly! Just so unique to that individual and to where they are in the world. And it's not something you can, you can pluck out of a textbook or pluck out of anything, right. It's where they are. I love that activity. It's quite magical what comes out. And then after those three pages are done, then there are some pages that are specifically related to goal setting, which may or may not be relevant to the person in front of you, things like a physical page, emotional, social, financial, health management type pages. And that really is a way to think about or encourage the person to think about, or we know what are the things that do matter to you, and and what are the things you would like to achieve in the long run, and what are some ways you might be able to break that down into achievable steps that you would personally want to do. But the session in practice can look like anything out of that. It can look from a person at session one being completely clammed up about not wanting to dig deep or not not being ready to engage in that. Or just kind of being, you know, keeping it all to themselves, and thinking about it, and ruminating about it, and then session two, looking very different after they've had that six weeks to think about it themselves. It can look like blank pages, or it could look like a person coming up with all sorts of brilliant ideas. Hopefully, you know, we always encourage if they can write the person with stroke as the one who is writing in the notebook. They keep it. They stick it on their fridge. They do whatever they like with it. They write in it in their own time, but it's completely fine to have blank pages. It's completely fine to have nothing come out of that conversation, nothing verbal, but it's just a space to an invitation to dig deep, and if there's something to say to feel heard. And I guess there was another question. I think that's quite important with regards to what the facilitator is doing, what are they not doing, and the facilitator is trained specifically to listen and ask questions and reflect the ideas that are being expressed by the person with stroke, but what they're not doing is they're not offering any advice or suggestions or pathways forward or how abouts or what abouts. They are not, and this is probably the hardest part. They're not passing any judgment, and that includes good judgment. So, by saying something like, "oh, that sounds like a really good idea", which seems like a really normal response from most people, it kind of implies that there are other ideas that are less good. Or the person with stroke might feel as though they are needing to have that kind of external validation, that external approval, and, and what we don't want is to for them to feel like they're doing this or saying this or thinking these things for the facilitator. We want them to think about it for themselves. And so all we encourage people to respond, is "oh, so you'd like to ride your bike, that's really interesting. How, how do you think you'll, you'll go about doing that?" You know, it's, it's much more neutral, but reflective way of speaking and listening, I guess. Katie Strong:  I am curious, how long is the training, or you know, what kinds of.. what we didn't talk about this, but I know people are going to want to know. So, what does it take to be trained? Vivian Fu: This is quite funny. This is a thing that sort of been on my mind ever since we've started implementation around the world, and I have this ultimate goal of operate like actually making the training have some type of qualification and fidelity, and some structure. There is structure, but it's essentially myself or Harry doing a Zoom with people, and it takes maybe say four hours. But ideally, what we'd love to do is to have sort of recorded videos, and then we'd have live sessions, and then we'd have assessments, and then you get a certificate at the end. I have neither the budget or the… Katie Strong: There's always the next step, for sure. Vivian Fu: I'd love to be for people to be able to say, "Oh, I'm Take Charge trained" and for them to be able to like "Look, I've got this qualification, I'm Take Charge trained, I know how to do this," and especially for if we were thinking about doing it in more clinical trial settings, I think that's really important, but also, you know, for people, you know, to have on their CV, if they're moving between jobs and things, I think it's so useful. But yeah, basically people get in touch with myself or Harry and say, "Hi, we'd like to be trained, can you fit us in?" And we just do it for free. Katie Strong:  Lovely, I love it. And the other question I had as you were talking was how long is a typical session or or is there is there length? Vivian Fu: So in the trial what our facilitators did was they because it was face to face and they had to drive between people's houses, they booked in the session, usually at 10:30 in the morning, and then another session, I think, if I remember correctly, either maybe it was 1:30 in the afternoon. And so you can probably surmise that for people with stroke, usually the 10:30 slot is the most popular. And you know, some people would would prefer to wake up earlier and be ready earlier, so they might ask for something like 9 o'clock and then they might usually go for about an hour and a half to two hours if it's a good going session, and they're really digging deep, and there's a lot to say. And often you know that first half an hour is, "Here's a cup of tea and a biscuit. Let's get to know each other. Tell me all about what happened with your stroke." That kind of stuff, so that listening and connecting stuff actually takes takes a while to establish, and I think people just allowed for that time. Then they'd do a second session in the afternoon again. There are lots of things, you know, cognitive problems, fatigue is a big one. So, if people felt like they couldn't keep going, the facilitator would say , "That's totally fine, we'll book in for, you know, do the rest of this another time, is that okay?" It was fine to really just, you can truncate it and break it up as much as the person really wants. Katie Strong:  Thank you. I appreciate the extra information. You had a recent publication in 2025 with some colleagues that looked at this work from a qualitative lens.  You came up with some themes about doing things my way, coming to my own wisdom, and they're just so deeply related to identity, and what struck me was the contrast participants drew between Take Charge care and standard care, where they described being put in a box receiving scripted advice that had really nothing to do with who they were as a person. And when someone gets to tell the story of who they are to a genuinely good listener, something shifts. I was just curious, if you could think about what you think is happening there, or what you found in your study. Vivian Fu: Well, I think for the most part, as a, you know, as a clinician, if we think about from the moment the person has a stroke, they disempowered from that very moment.  Something happens where they just aren't themselves, and they are brought into a merge. A bunch of things happen to them that they can't really even speak up about. You know, they're popped in a scanner. They might get thrombolised, you know, all these things are happening. And the person doesn't really know what's going on. There are a lot of important qualitative studies that have been done, looking at that element of feeling disempowered, and what somebody in New Zealand study described as feeling gut-wrenchingly emotional. You know, experiences that that aren't heard and aren't ever expressed to to anyone in the healthcare side and aren't dealt with, and so, if you think about that, just that trauma of having a stroke and then going through all of that stuff, and you know, ending up in a bed somewhere on a ward with strangers on the other side of a curtain, and it's really pretty traumatic. And so I think what was powerful with Take Charge was it's an it's an opportunity for someone to finally tell their story and feel heard and for all that stuff to just come out. And a lot of the time you know people might say, "Oh, well, you could talk to your family, you can talk to your kids, or, you know, whatever. Once you get home" but actually, a lot of people don't feel like talking to those who are closest to them about how much it affected them, and there is still an element of stigma. There's still an element of, "Oh, you know, you look great physically, you to someone we know having had a big health scare, and then kind of coming back into that. But there's there's a real dissonance between what is going on inside a person and and how other people are reacting to them coming back into "normal spaces". And so I think the ability to tell your story from the very get go. You know, all of the messiness of it. All the things that went wrong, and then to have somebody listen to that really gives meaning to it and makes it real, but it also helps that person really reestablish their sense of power to regain some power from that that they had lost. And there's a lot of power in story, and I think the kind of, you know, lovely thing about it is that sort of all indigenous cultures sort of be like, you know, First Nations, Māori, Gaelic, a lot of cultures really put a lot of value in the power of storytelling. And that is how historically things were really passed down, and so I think it's through that ability to be able to feel heard and to tell your story that then the person who is speaking can actually hear themselves say things out loud for the first time. And then understand the power and the value and the worth in their words and their experience, and that is that process of coming to my own wisdom, is "Oh, actually, you know, I do know about my body. I am, I am the expert, not these people in their white coats, or you know, with their expertise, I am the expert. I know what I need. I can plan my rehabilitation. I can go back to the things that I want to do, and this is how I'm going to do it." And it's that, that kind of reestablishment of confidence and strength and hope that is so powerful. I think. Katie Strong: I agree. I agree, Vivian. As you know, our listeners are primarily speech language pathologists working with people with aphasia. We also have people with aphasia that are listening, and researchers as well. But you know, the capacity for language being disrupted by aphasia. I was just curious, with Take Charge, as you've studied it, is you know, really a talking therapy with writing, and, and those sorts of things, and so I was just curious, you know, what would it take to extend this kind of intervention to people with aphasia, and what principles would you want to most preserve in the adaptation. Vivian Fu: Yeah, thank you. That's such an important question. We certainly, in the Take Charge trial, included people with aphasia in the trial, and the way that we sort of just included them was if they could understand or the consent form and could mark an "x" on the form, we'd be happy to to have them included, and so we had people with mild to moderate and moderate to severe aphasia in the trial. And we hadn't made any specific changes or tweaks to the intervention, the facilitator just did what they could with what we had. But I think what has come out of reviews of the implementation of Take Charge now in New Zealand is that it is really important for us to look at how we can adapt the intervention for people with aphasia. I think for the facilitators in the trial, what they did was they allowed a lot more time, so the usual two and a half hours became three and a half hours, and that was fine if the person could continue. But also I think from the report we need to look at alternative ways of how we can complete some of these activities, whether it's providing images where people can point, whether it's a lot more inclusion of their family, their whānau important people to them who can help with, you know, subtle guidance, and, and, and having sort of lived with the person now, can read their non-verbal expressions a lot better than a stranger, a facilitator can and can help with the guidance of participating. And really, while Take Charge has been translated, I think, now into seven or eight different languages, we really need to adapt Take Charge to other communication needs and other languages, but what I.. so my role.. sorry, I didn't.. I'd actually say this, but my role in the in the large trial was as the blinded outcomes assessor, so I went around at one year after stroke. I traveled around to the 400 or so different other people, participants' homes around the country, and I sat in their living rooms, and I listened to their stories again. And then I did all of their outcome instruments and got all of their outcomes done, but I did not know which group they were allocated to. And then I locked all the data, and then I'd say, "Hey, so which group did you get Take Charge or not?" And it was really, it was good. I think out of the 400 there were only two people who, when I turned up, actually had the booklet on the table, and so you know, I just ignored it, and then, but yeah, it was, it was really good in terms of sort of blinding and masking, and then sort of having a guess as I was going through and checking where things were at. It was such a privilege for me to, as a stroke doctor, I think you know people don't usually get to do this as a physician, but to, to meet so many different people with so many different stories, and a number of people who still had moderate to severe aphasia, and and were telling me about the impacts of that on their life. But we were still able to communicate a year after stroke, and so I think it is so important that we don't exclude people with cognitive and communication difficulties. We have to adapt the things that we have to make it work for them. What I'd love is to be able to have some kind of focus group with people with aphasia, and, and show them Take Charge, and realize, oh, what can we do? How would this work better for you? Katie Strong:  I love that, and well. Well, and we haven't talked about the materials yet, but I do have to say they're so accessible, or they're very accessible from a visual standpoint as well. Vivian Fu: Thank you. Yes, we are actually modifying them and making the font bigger and having better graphics. We started off with stick figures that Harry drew, and then I think we're actually making them a lot nicer in terms of the graphics, but what we do have at the moment is actually available online for free, and you can just download them as a package. It's if you Google it, it's the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand, or www.mrinz.ac.nz  and then under programs, and we spell that as p r o g r a m m e s, and then under programs slash forward slash stroke, I think is where it lives, and at the bottom of the page you should be able to download, a training package and the booklet itself. Katie Strong: Yes, lovely, and we'll have the links on our show notes as well, so you can check those out, listeners, if you're interested. So, thank you. You have two randomized controlled trials that you've talked a little bit about, and a cost effectiveness analysis and qualitative work, all pointing in the same direction that the cost data suggests that Take Charge actually might save money, and that is remarkable, and lots of evidence showing that, but still, it's a challenge in implementing into standard practice, and I was curious if you could talk with us about what you think stands between what the evidence shows and what actually gets implemented. Vivian Fu: Sure, gosh, I love this question. It's it applies for so many interventions, I think, specifically for Take Charge, it's a number of things. So definitely the stuff that affects other interventions being implemented, but for Take Charge itself, it started off with a huge amount of disbelief bias, so people, you know, even after I presented the main results of the second trial at the European Stroke Conference in gosh, when was that? 2019 pre-COVID in Milan. So this is a huge international stroke conference, and this was a plenary session. People stood up and took photos of the results and went, you know, there was this collective gasp throughout the audience of 6000 odd people, but there's just this disbelief that something as simple as a conversation can make a difference to people's objective quality quantitative outcomes, like the, you know, Bartel or the FIM, what they, you know, what their physical outcomes are like at a year. And what their quality of life is like. I think for people who are stroke researchers, a lot of the focus is on that initial 24 to 48 hours after stroke. And you know, that that's kind of where that's kind of where all the funding goes, isn't it? So it's the pre-hospital stuff, and then the interventional things you can stick catheters into and thrombolysis, and you know that's, and that's all great. You know, I, as a stroke physician, I love that part of stroke as well, but to think that you could possibly do something at three to 18 weeks after stroke that could change a person's outcome by a year, and actually we've got a long-term follow-up study now that says that those those same magnitude of changes are still present at five years between the groups is, you know, kind of gobsmacking. And people just go, surely you've fudged this, or surely this can't be true. And so there's this huge disbelief bias that stopped us from being able to publish initially, and it was only after I presented the results in Milan that that we got accepted into a journal. And we'd been trying for about a year beforehand, and, and so there's, there's that disbelief. But also in the way that it has to be provided, you know, it's probably considered quite labor intensive. You know, one on one home visits, and that's why people of other researchers who do believe in Take Charge are now looking at providing take charge in different ways. Like I did a telehealth trial in Canada, in southern Alberta, when I was there as a fellow in Calgary, and there's potential other work that's being. Done in Australia with Take Charge, looking at providing it by computer avatars, by even maybe even AI, and maybe in a larger sort of telehealth format. And so you know other ways of doing it, but I think ultimately it's kind of cultural inertia, because you know, "We've never done this, this is not part of who we are. Why would we need to start something new?" There's probably kind of an established way of thinking about clinician and, and patient, rather than person with stroke, in still in how we practice, and this idea that the therapist and doctor are experts. And so I think it really challenges that dogma and challenges clinician's role, and therefore there's a resistance to accept that this is something that is useful and helpful, and actually doesn't, you know, you don't need to take it personally. You're still doing great work. Take Charge is just a tool that helps supplement everything else that's going on, and so there's a lack of time, and I think we also get quite, as practicing clinicians, we get quite tunnel visioned into this, you know, hamster wheel of go to work, treat all these people, go home. We just keep doing it. Hoping that things will get better for them, but, you know, we, it's only when we start looking at alternative interventions and alternative things that work and start trialing them and being open to that, that I think things will really start to change. We've certainly had interest from random little parts around the world. I think it's been translated into Latvian. I've got people from Sweden who are interested. A little hospital in Germany, and then parts of it's been trialed in pilot studies in the UK. And Harry and I last year trained a whole bunch of occupational therapists in Hong Kong, so you know it is, it is kind of picking up, slowly but surely. Katie Strong: Well to me, you know, most stroke survivors, or people with stroke, as you're referring to them, have chronic challenges, and so all of the early intervention, while important, doesn't necessarily help somebody navigate that longer term change. And so I love that this is just such an empowering way of putting that power back into the person's life, which it seems like it is showing up n in the results that you're sharing. Vivian Fu: Oh, absolutely. I mean, if we think about it, if we just think about thrombectomy and thrombolysis, somewhere between five to 15% of all people with stroke are eligible, and then receive the treatment. That leaves what?, 85 to 95% of people who don't get to receive that. And even after they receive the treatment, there are consequences of stroke that are beyond the physical that don't you know don't have any other thing to address them apart from our routine care, so I completely agree with you. Katie Strong: Well, thinking about what clinicians might be able to do tomorrow or you know, in the near future, for our speech-language pathologists or other practitioners who are listening today and are feeling the pull of this work, and you know, really encouraged by it, but are you know working in an embedded productivity driven impairment focused system, what's one thing that they could do differently in the very next clinical encounter that they have? Vivian Fu:  We have a paper, I think it's written. Oh gosh, where did it.. where did it get published? I think it was published in Practical Neurology. It's titled something, something intrinsic motivation. I should know better. Katie Strong: I'm going find out, and I don't think I read that one, so I'm gonna find it, and I'll put the link in the show notes for everybody. Vivian Fu: Sorry,Harry about the promo, but yeah, I'll send it to you, but essentially it's written to give some guidance on how you can embed Take Charge into your daily clinical practice. And it's written for neurologists, but honestly it applies to everybody.  One of the key things is when you have that next encounter, obviously you know therapists do this a lot better than doctors do, but they ask a lot about, you know, what's outside of the person's life and what's important to them, but maybe move away just, you know, from the very practical questions like "How many steps do you have going in and out of your house?, and How do you hang up your washing?", or whatever, but it's, you know, really much less functional, but more, "Who are you? Tell me a bit more about yourself. What do you love doing? What gets you out of bed?" You know, if I might, the one that I like to use a lot on my ward rounds is, "If you weren't in this hospital bed right now, where would you rather be? What would you rather be doing?", and I do that on my rounds, and it's incredible, because you know, I'll hear all sorts of things, "I'll, you know, be on my boat fishing out on the lake", or I think this lady was like 84 or something. "I'll be with my girlfriends, we'll be having coffee at Tim Hortons", you know, and it's just, I don't know, it's something so unique to that person that I could never, you know, they're in their hospital pajamas with a whole bunch of stuff stuck to them, and I can't envisage them doing that, and yet I'm like, I want you to imagine yourself there. Where would you rather be? Okay, so everybody, that's our goal. It's not to get her home or to get her walking again. Our goal is to get her back in Tim Hortons with her eight friends, having coffee, like that is what this person loves to do. And I think that you know that inquiry, that it shows you care, it shows you see them as an individual, and I think it completely shifts your rehab focus, and then you can ask more questions about that, and they, you know, then you have this whole conversation about about what their life is like. And I think that part of being seen, even if it's only within 60 seconds, makes such a difference to that person. So that's one thing. The second thing I'd be, you know, doing is I'm trying to involve family as much as possible, as much as the person wants, and basically, just seeing them as an individual makes a huge difference already to the way you practice, that would be what I'd focus on. Katie Strong: Agreed, agreed. Well, Vivian, is there something you wish people asked you about this work that they rarely do, something about Take Charge or stroke recovery more broadly that you think the field hasn't quite caught up to yet. Vivian Fu:  Oh gosh, this is a tricky one. I think one thing we ought to recognize is that everybody is doing the best that they can with what they have. And you know, we're not as clinicians on the ground on the front line, we're not involved with funding decisions, and what projects get funded and which ones don't. And there will be the ambitious amongst your listeners, who I really hope will be like, "Oh my gosh, I can apply for this little grant, and I'm going to pilot this, and I think we should give this a go with our people." and I think that is absolutely a great idea to have. And, and I would, myself and Harry will do everything that we possibly can to help support such projects from where we are. I think the important thing to think about is that every little bit that you do makes a difference, and to not feel as though, because you know your funding runs out, or you don't get it, or the world is such a bleak place that you know it's not worth continuing to try. Because people with stroke who see you do this work, they will be grateful for it. And also the patient partners I've met that I've spoken with, and all of the people whom I've interviewed with the qualitative work, they're also happy to be part of something like this. And so even if it's a pilot project. Even if it's, you know, something that may not last, you'd be so surprised at how much momentum you can build with a movement of people who see the value in this and then take it further and further, And that's what I've been really impressed by, and kind of stunned by in all these different locations around the world who have contacted me. I've just been like, "Wow, can't believe [this]." There's this wonderful group in Hunter Medical Research Institute down in Australia, who basically took Take Charge back to their own unique Aboriginal community, the Gamilaroi peoples of that particular area of Australia. They have, like Canada and like the States, they have 1000s of tribes and lots of different groups that all speak completely different languages, but they took it to their local group, and they broke down, take charge into little bits, and then rebuilt it into an intervention that just works for them, and it's called "Yarning Up after Stroke", because what they do is they have a yarn. They yarn, and that's the way they tell their stories. It's yarning, and so you know, I just think it's incredible. Like, they got funding for it, they did it, and now it's an ongoing project that just keeps on in the community being provided to their people, and it's fantastic. So, I think it'll evolve. I love to see how it evolves, and I certainly don't think of, you know, this isn't the kind of intervention that we go around patenting and making a ton of money out of. It's the kind of intervention that everybody makes their own, and hopefully with a lot of input by people with stroke, Katie Strong: I love it. Thank you. Thank you so much for being our guest today, and sharing about Take Charge, and your generosity in sharing about the intervention, and if people are interested in reaching out to contact you, so thank you so much, Vivian. Vivian Fu:  Thank you so much for having me. I hope I haven't spoken too long. Katie Strong: Oh no, it's perfect. Vivian Fu: I'm always happy to be contacted, and yeah, very happy to support anyone who'd like to explore this further. Katie Strong: Thanks so much. On behalf of Aphasia Access, thank you for listening. For references and resources mentioned in today's show, please see our show notes, available on our website at www.aphasiaaccess.org. There you can also become a member of our organization, browse our growing library of materials, and find out about the Aphasia Access Academy. If you have an idea for a future podcast episode, email us at info@aphasiaaccess.org. For Aphasia Access Conversations, here at Central Michigan University in the Strong Story Lab, I'm Katie Strong. Dr. Fu's Email  dr.vivianfu@gmail.com  Resources and Readings Fu, V. (2019). Taking Charge After Stroke: A novel, community-based intervention to improve the lives of people with stroke. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Taking-Charge-After-Stroke:-A-novel,-intervention-Fu/3bc1dbb271f425c72e146510088856e3aad8683e  Fu, V., Fernando, K. M., Bright, F., Riley, J., McPherson, K., & McNaughton, H. (2025). Coming to my own wisdom: A qualitative study exploring the role of the Take Charge intervention in stroke recovery. Clinical Rehabilitation, 39(3), 377–387. https://doi.org/10.1177/02692155241310770 Fu, V., Weatherall, M., McPherson, K., Taylor, W., McRae, A., Thomson, T., Gommans, J., Green, G., Harwood, M., Ranta, A., Hanger, C., Riley, J., & McNaughton, H. (2020). Taking Charge after stroke: A randomized controlled trial of a person-centered, self-directed rehabilitation intervention. International Journal of Stroke, 15(9), 954–964. https://doi.org/10.1177/1747493020915144 Fu, V., Thompson, S., Kayes, N., & Bright, F. (2025). Supporting long-term meaningful outcomes in stroke rehabilitation. Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports, 25, 17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11910-025-01403-z Harwood, M., Weatherall, M., Talemaitoga, A., Barber, P. A., Gommans, J., Taylor, W., McPherson, K., & McNaughton, H. (2011). Taking charge after stroke: Promoting self-directed rehabilitation to improve quality of life - a randomized controlled trial. Clinical Rehabilitation, 26(6), 493-501. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269215511426017  Te Ao, B., Harwood, M., Fu, V., Weatherall, M., McPherson, K., Taylor, W. J., McRae, A., Thomson, T., Gommans, J., Green, G., Ranta, A., Hanger, C., Riley, J., & McNaughton, H. (2022). Economic analysis of the 'Take Charge' intervention for people following stroke: Results from a randomised trial. Clinical Rehabilitation, 36(2), 240–250. https://doi.org/10.1177/02692155211040727 McNaughton, H., & Fu, V. (2023). Intrinsic motivation. Practical Neurology, 23(6), 489-492.  https://pn.bmj.com/content/23/6/489  McNaughton, H., Gommans, J., McPherson, K., Harwood, M., & Fu, V. (2023). A cohesive, person-centric evidence-based model for successful rehabilitation after stroke and other disabling conditions. Clinical Rehabilitation, 37(7), 975-985. https://doi.org/10.1177/02692155221145433   Medical Research Institute of New Zealand. (n.d.). Take Charge rehabilitation resources. https://www.mrinz.ac.nz/take-charge-rehabilitation-resources World Stroke Organization. (n.d.). Taking Charge after stroke: A person-centred approach to life after stroke [Webinar]. https://www.world-stroke.org/what-we-do/education-and-research/education/webinars/taking-charge-after-stroke-a-person-centred-approach-to-life-after-stroke  

Biking and trails can have a huge impact on a destination's economy and community life. Why, then, is it so difficult to fund trail maintenance, and what can your destination do about it? Aotearoa New Zealand economist Benje Patterson joins two Canadian DMO leaders to talk about common challenges in finding sustainable funding for trail networks. They discuss what's working in Queenstown and how to show residents, travellers, businesses, and government the true value of trails, with practical examples. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is episode 5 of a six-part series on food imperialism. Welcome to Edible Empire, a podcast by Planet Pulse Pacific about the hidden cost of our food.Beyond recipes lies a story of power. From colonial plantations to modern agribusiness, this podcast reveals how the pursuit of food has redrawn maps, exploited people, and still shapes who holds control today.This episode explores how New Zealand's dairy industry links local landscapes to global extraction, ecological harm, and the wider machinery of food imperialism.New Zealand's image of clean, green pastures hides one of the world's most intensive dairy industries. Behind each glass of milk there is a hidden web of global extraction: phosphate mined from occupied Western Sahara, palm kernel imported from deforested Southeast Asia, and polluted rivers flowing through Māori ancestral lands. This episode traces how New Zealand's dairy boom reshapes both local ecosystems and distant economies, from illegally occupied territories in West Africa to political power in New Zealand. Through the story of “white gold”, we uncover how even the purest landscapes are bound into the machinery of food imperialism.Here, we discuss the environmentally destructive and geopolitically fraught supply chains connecting intensive dairy production in Aotearoa New Zealand with phosphate mining in the illegally occupied territory of Western Sahara. Our three expert guests detail how New Zealand's export-driven commodity model creates intense global market pressures for corporate profit and high-yield volume. Freshwater ecologist Dr Mike Joy exposes the catastrophic local consequences of this system, explaining how excessive synthetic nitrogen and fertiliser inputs poison rivers, disrupt aquatic ecosystems, and contaminate drinking water. Geographer Dr Milena Bojovic unpacks the structural traps forcing farmers into continual intensification, which in turn fuels a dependency on rare, internationally contested mineral resources.Finally, researcher and artist Dr Crystall Bennes traces the physical journey of this phosphate rock, revealing how Western agricultural high yields rely heavily on wealth extracted under colonial conditions from the Boo Cra mine, highlighting the profound human and environmental costs borne by displaced Sahrawi populations.Make sure you subscribe so you don't miss out on the next episode!Resources from this episode:https://ojs.victoria.ac.nz/pq/article/view/9629/8507https://people.wgtn.ac.nz/mike.joy https://www.gofundme.com/f/almasar-library-education-centre-for-children-and-women https://wsrw.org/en https://www.crystalbennes.com/ To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

Dave and Brendan discuss NZ PE in the July Aussie Book Club. The document is a foresight provocation—not a prediction—intended to challenge assumptions and stimulate strategic thinking for those working at the intersection of sport, recreation, and secondary education in Aotearoa New Zealand. It aims to help organizations prepare for a range of plausible futures between 2026 and 2040, especially as profound changes in curriculum, technology, demographics, and equity reshape education.The documents central question is: How can the sport and recreation sector secure and strengthen its place in secondary education across unpredictable futures?

A recently released study from researchers at the Otago, Canterbury, and Massey universities has found an association between nitrate concentrations in drinking water, and pre-term births. The study is the first of its scale to investigate the health impacts of nitrate on health, involving the birth records of over 735,000 babies born between 2008 and 2021.  It comes after the Ministry of Health launched a review into the health effects of nitrate in drinking water earlier this year, with groups such as Greenpeace long-arguing for a reduction in the maximum acceptable value of nitrate in drinking water for Aotearoa New Zealand. So, to learn more about what the study found, Producer Theo spoke to its lead author, the University of Canterbury's Associate Professor Tim Chambers.

Kesha said on a podcast that she's out here collecting human teeth from her fans, turns out there are similarly weird collections happening right here in Aotearoa New Zealand. Bree Tomasel & Clint Roberts on ZM - follow us @breeandclint on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's been well reported that Aotearoa New Zealand is facing a severe shortage of aged care workers. Some groups estimate we'll need an extra 16,000 workers over the next three years alone. So, what does working in that field look like? Well, our next guest is the perfect person to help answer that question. Darren McKean runs the Ranfurly Manor residential care centre, but before this job he did many, many others.

What does it mean to paddle a river your family fought six generations to free? This week marks the one-year anniversary of the historic first descent of the undammed Klamath River by Indigenous youth in the Paddle Tribal Waters program. To honor it, Anna is replaying her conversation on The Discomfort Zone Podcast with Keeya Wiki, a Yurok kayaker who completed that first descent at 17. Keeya also belongs to the Te Aupouri and Ngati Porou tribes of Aotearoa (New Zealand), and her family has fought for generations for the health of the salmon, the river, and their right to fish. This conversation is about joy as resilience, and what happens when the healing of a river becomes the healing of the generations connected to it. If you love rivers and want to understand what dam removal and Indigenous-led restoration mean for the people who fought for it, this one is for you. In this episode, Keeya and Anna explore: What it felt like to paddle the Klamath after generations of advocacy for dam removal How Keeya listens to her body and grounds herself when fear and self-doubt show up The intense underwater moment on the river that tested her self-trust The power of community, mentorship, and representation in outdoor spaces Why the joy Keeya experienced on the river has the power to heal generations Since this conversation, Anna has read The Water Remembers by Amy Bowers Cordalis, Keeya's aunt and the lawyer who played a key role in getting the Klamath dams removed. Amy joins The Discomfort Zone Podcast later this summer, and you may have seen Amy and Keeya together on the Kelly Clarkson Show sharing their family's legacy. Consider this replay the first chapter of that story. Whether you paddle whitewater, care about river restoration, or simply want to hear what courage and joy sound like, listen now and let the Klamath's story move you.