Macro-economic changes matter

摘要

Hardly anyone in New Zealand would have missed the news that Greece got into serious trouble, the price of dairy exports took a major tumble, the value of our currency has fallen and that there is a housing crisis in Auckland. Does any of this matter to the average Kiwi? The answer is an unhesitating yes. Starting with money - it's denominated as NZ Dollars, but in reality about 40 percent of every dollar in your wallets and even your mortgage is actually foreign. Therefore, when there is a devaluation of 15 percent to 18 percent, as there has been over the past three months, the banks have to borrow more offshore to compensate for the revised exchange rate. Kiwis travelling beyond Australia will have already noticed that they get fewer Pounds or US Dollars for their Kiwi. Soon this change will filter through to the cost of imported goods on the shelf, petrol/ diesel for the car and air tickets.