Pacific Island
ILO’s latest brief positions strong, inclusive wage systems as core to Pacific resilience, urging countries like PNG and Timor-Leste to adopt rule-based minimum wages and income floors. New tenders signal a shift from analysis to institutional implementation.
New Zealand
New Zealand’s 4.50% 2030 bond tender showed solid demand despite global yield volatility, reflecting confidence in disinflation progress and fiscal consolidation. Pricing held firm, signalling no stress in sovereign funding conditions.
New Zealand
New Zealand scrapped its plan to tax charities’ business income after strong sector backlash. The reversal preserves cross-subsidised service models but leaves the government searching for alternative fiscal measures amid consolidation pressures.
Australia
ASC and Austal formed a strategic partnership to scale additive manufacturing for naval sustainment, aiming to boost sovereign capability, reduce supply-chain reliance and accelerate innovation across Australia’s defence-industrial base.
New Zealand
ANZ New Zealand posted a NZ$2.5bn profit, sparking backlash amid high living costs and mortgage strain. Strong margins and low impairments underscore sector resilience but raise political pressure over competition, fairness and regulatory direction.
Australia
Australian shares fell as US yields climbed, Chinese data hit commodities and Australia’s unemployment dropped to 4.3%, pushing out RBA rate-cut expectations. Banks, tech and consumer names retreated as the ASX repriced for higher rates for longer.
New Zealand
NZ’s morning market wrap highlights cautious sentiment as global yield pressure meets solid domestic earnings. Export sectors stay resilient while rate-sensitive industries lag, keeping investors focused on inflation, fiscal updates and RBNZ signals.
Australia
Australia’s unemployment unexpectedly fell to 4.3%, tightening labour conditions and reducing the likelihood of early RBA rate cuts. Services hiring remains strong, wages stay firm and bond markets reprice for a longer high-rate environment.
Ghana
Over 1m tonnes of Ghanaian paddy rice remain unsold while maize prices crash in Sissala, revealing storage, market-access and policy failures. Farmers face income shocks even as the country still imports grain, underscoring urgent need for grain-system reform.
Nigeria
Nigeria will open its 2025 oilfield licensing round on 1 December, aiming to unlock new upstream investment, lift production by an extra one million barrels per day and validate reforms under the Petroleum Industry Act amid tight global capital.
Ethiopia
At the “We Mean Business” Ethiopia–Sweden forum, Addis Ababa pitches industrial parks, green energy and logistics projects to Swedish investors, signalling a shift from debt-led expansion to private-capital partnerships for its next growth phase.
Russia
Oil benchmarks are being pulled higher by tight refined-product markets as Russian refinery disruptions and sanctions squeeze diesel and gasoline supply. Even with a bearish demand outlook, strong cracks and opaque flows keep crude prices and volatility elevated.