The SME Stream

Inflation was higher than it should be, even before factoring in the full impact of the war on Iran. 

Stats NZ data shows the inflation rate remained unchanged at 3.1% in the March quarter. 

Internationally driven tradeable inflation dipped to 2.5% and the domestically driven non-tradeable rate was unchanged at 3.5%. 

The Herald's Liam Dann told Kerre Woodham these figures come before fuel rises really kicked off. 

He says it's disappointing we aren't heading into that crisis in a better position. 

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'About 50% of the rally we've seen over the last few weeks has been driven by equity fundamentals.' Alice Mew - Craigs Investment Partners

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The Finance Minister is concerned about an expected spike in inflation. 

The inflation rate has remained unchanged at 3.1% in the March quarter, despite forecasts of a drop. 

ASB economists now expect it to approach 4.5% this quarter, remain above 4% until the end of the year, and remain above 3% until at least the middle of next year. 

Nicola Willis told Mike Hosking there's no doubt inflation will rise this quarter. 

She’s also refusing to name the five disgruntled National MPs that Christopher Luxon says are behind party leaks to the media. 

Luxon's passed a vote of confidence at yesterday's lengthy caucus meeting, but MPs aren't revealing details of the vote, including how many of them supported Luxon. 

Newstalk ZB understands the disgruntled MPs are Joseph Mooney, Andrew Bayley, Sam Uffindell, Barbara Kuriger, and Tim van de Molen. 

Willis told Hosking she won’t throw colleagues under the bus without evidence. 

She says each of the five have said they haven't leaked to the media and support a unified caucus. 

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Will Labour’s trade spokesperson have breaking news on the Indian FTA after today’s caucus?

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The NZFOA Chief Executive comments on the Indian FTA and challenging times for the forestry industry, off the back of the fuel crisis.

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Inland Revenue is reminding crypto-investors of their tax obligations.  

The agency says it has identified 355 thousand unique crypto-asset users in New Zealand conducting some 57 million transactions. 

It says any profit from selling, trading, or exchanging the assets is taxable as income. 

Tax Partner at Dentons, Bruce Bernacchi told Mike Hosking there’s quite a lot of misunderstandings about crypto out there. 

He says people who aren’t regular share traders don’t pay capital gains when they buy and sell things like shares, but that’s very different than crypto, which is generally seen as being taxable.  

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Apples & kiwifruit export quotas tied to NZ help with productivity gains for Indian orchards; council says fast-track approval for Sunfield development ignored flood risks.

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Today's inflation numbers could represent calm before the storm. 

Annual inflation's likely to have fallen in the first quarter of this year after ending last year at 3.1%.  

BNZ is picking 3.1%, KiwiBank's is picking 3%, ASB and ANZ are picking 2.9%, and Westpac is picking 2.8%. 

ASB Senior Economist Mark Smith told Ryan Bridge that the future trajectory is more important.  

He says the oil price outlook is highly uncertain, and how long energy prices hold up will really determine how long that inflation rate holds up as well. 

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The latest NZIER Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion has revealed business confidence has taken a hit for the March quarter.

Only a net 1 percent of firms expect better general economic conditions over the coming months on a seasonally adjusted basis.

EMA Head of Advocacy Alan McDonald says people were expecting the economy to get better - and this conflict put an economic 'handbrake' on recovery. 

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The Finance Minister has raised some concerns over NZ First's bid to break up the supermarket duopoly. 

NZ First has announced that if re-elected, it will split Foodstuffs into two nationwide co-operates: one for New World and Four Square, and the other for Pak'nSave. 

Nicola Willis says it's good idea, but it needs to be carefully implemented. 

"That's why I've been taking my time working through proposals, looking very carefully at costs, very carefully at benefits, reviewing that, thinking about implementation - because I agree with Winston that the margins in our supermarket sector are very high."

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