NZ businesses raise outlook
(30 September 2015 – New Zealand) Following five months of consecutive drops in business confidence, New Zealand businesses have become less pessimistic about the economy's prospects the latest ANZ report has found.
Nineteen percent of businesses reported are negative general outlook for the economy over the year ahead, down from 29 percent of pessimists last month.
Led by construction and manufacturing firms, 17 percent of businesses said the expect an increase in their own business activity in the coming year, up from a net 12 percent.
'After five successive months of declines in the headline figure - and substantial declines at that - the turnaround is welcome,' ANZ Bank New Zealand economist Philip Borkin said in a note.
Of the 468 respondents, 7.2 percent expect to increase investment over the coming year, an improvement on the 0.4 percent saying they would scale back investment.
'Hiring and investment intentions are soft, but more consistent with maintaining the status quo than shedding staff or cutting back on spending aggressively,' Borkin said.
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