Economic Weekly: Will trade tensions add to the mid-winter blues?
- The RBNZ OCR review is unlikely to generate any ripples on Thursday morning, with just a one-page statement delivered and the Bank likely to repeat its neutral policy assessment from May.
- Ongoing trade tensions will continue to make market participants nervous, setting a cautious tone in financial markets which is likely to weigh on both the NZD and NZ interest rates.
- We also take a closer look at NZ’s productivity performance on Page 2, and from a broader policy perspective, our findings highlight the importance to put in place policies to deepen New Zealand’s capital base and employ capital more effectively.
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Mark Smith
Senior Economist
Mark joined ASB in 2017, with over 20 years of public and private sector experience working as an economist in New Zealand and the UK.
His resume includes lengthy stints at ANZ and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, and he has also worked at the Bank of England, HM Treasury and the New Zealand Transport Agency. Mark's areas of specialisation include interest rate strategy, macro-economic analysis and urban economics.
Born and bred in the Waikato, Mark studied at Waikato University where he graduated with a Master of Social Sciences, majoring in Economics.
Mark's key strengths are the ability to use his extensive experience, inquisitive nature, analytical ability, creativity and pragmatism to dig a little deeper and to deliver common sense solutions to tackle complex problems.
When not at work Mark likes to travel, keep fit and spend time with his friends and family.
- Email: Mark
