Willis ignores new Global Financial & Trade Crisis

Donald Trump, who has called the Chair of the Federal Reserve “a major loser”. Photo: Getty Images

Long stories shortest from our political economy on Tuesday, April 22:

1. US markets slump after Donald Trump threatens the Fed’s independence.

2. China warns its trading partners not to side with the US.

3. Trump says some trading partners may have to choose the US or China.

4. Nicola Willis says her fiscal policy will ignore the global tariff shock.

5. DHL stops sending parcels worth over US$800 to the United States. Globally.

6. NZ abstains on a key climate vote, while Defence lowers climate change as a risk.

(There is more detail, analysis and links to documents below the paywall fold and in the podcast above for paying subscribers. If we get over 100 likes from paying subscribers, we’ll open it up for public reading, listening and sharing, although we’d love it if you subscribed to join The Kākā’s community and support making this journalism public. Students and teachers who sign up for the free version with their .ac.nz or .school.nz emails are automatically upgraded to the paid version for free. Our special offers right now are: $3/month or $30/year for under 30s & $6.50/month or $65/year for over 65s who rent.)

Long stories short on Tuesday, April 22

1. US stocks, bonds and the US dollar fell sharply again this morning after Donald Trump threatened the independence of the US Federal Reserve¹. (See quote and chart of the day below)

2. China warned its trading partners it would retaliate against those that sided with the United States in any trade deal that comes at China’s expense², while Trump said he may want countries to choose between America and China.

3. Nicola Willis has confirmed the Government will not react to Trump’s global tariff shock to the economy, other than cutting spending even harder to reach surplus³.

4. DHL has stopped shipping parcels with goods worth more than US$800 to the United States because of Trump’s tariffs, while shipping volumes between US and Chinese ports has slumped in recent days⁴.

5. Community Housing Providers (CHPs) say the Government’s limits on Income Related Rent Subsidies (IRRS) was stalling new developments that were ready to go.⁵

6. New Zealand has abstained from voting for a levy on shipping emissions, while Defence has also downgraded climate change as a strategic risk.⁶

---

My Pick ‘n’ Mix elsewhere

1. Health scoop by Jessica Roden for 1News: Nelson patients wait as heart disease becomes inoperable — cardiologist. Nelson Hospital cardiologist Dr Tammy Pegg is the ninth doctor to speak to 1News about concerns staffing levels are having on patients in the region.

2. Justice scoop by Brittany Keogh for The Post-$:More than half of strangulation cases never reach court: justice system under scrutiny. Those at the coalface of family harm prevention say data indicates the problem is not being taken seriously enough.

3. RBNZ Scoop by Susan Edmunds for RNZ: Reserve Bank analyst loses bid for reinstatement

4. Transport deep-dive by Waikato University’s Cécile L'Hermitte via The Conversation: NZ’s over-reliance on roads for freight means natural disasters hit even harder. But there is a fix

5. Climate Deep-dive by Katy Jones for Stuff: Government ‘wilfully blind’ on climate change. Climate specialists question if ministers are aware of the increasingly dire forecasts for climate change, or how much inaction will cost.

6. Housing Deep-dive by Thomas Manch for Stuff: Does New Zealand still have a housing crisis? The short answer is yes. The politics have shifted, but the circumstances of housing in New Zealand haven’t yet budged. There are glimmers of hope, though.

---

Quote of the day: Trump vs Powell

““Preemptive Cuts” in Interest Rates are being called for by many. With Energy Costs way down, food prices (including Biden’s egg disaster!) substantially lower, and most other “things” trending down, there is virtually No Inflation. With these costs trending so nicely downward, just what I predicted they would do, there can almost be no inflation, but there can be a SLOWING of the economy unless Mr. Too Late, a major loser, lowers interest rates, NOW. Europe has already “lowered” seven times. Powell has always been “To Late,” except when it came to the Election period when he lowered in order to help Sleepy Joe Biden, later Kamala, get elected. How did that work out?” Donald Trump commenting on Fed Chair Jerome Powell last night on Truth Social last night.

---

Chart of the day: Selling US dollars to buy Swiss Francs

Created with TradingView

---

Cartoon of the day: Glug, glug, slug…

Emma Cook via The Post-$ & Substack

---

Timeline-cleansing nature pic

Curious Denniston local. Photo: Lynn Grieveson

Ka kite ano

Bernard

1. Reuters: Trump warns of economic slowdown unless Fed cuts rates, triggering selloff

2. Reuters: China warns countries against striking trade deals with US at its expense. WSJ (gift link) Exclusive: U.S. Plans to Use Tariff Talks to Isolate China

3. The Post-$’s Luke Malpass interviews Willis: The future of NZ’s debt is here. A month out from the Budget, Finance Minister Nicola Willis tells The Post Trump’s tariffs mean no fiscal stimulus, more budget discipline and a sharper focus on growth.

4. Reuters: DHL to suspend global shipments of over $800 to US consumers

5. RNZ: Community housing builds stalled as providers left without financial security

6. RNZ’s Eloise Gibson: Climate change no longer top threat for defence force. RNZ’s Eloise Gibson: Landmark global shipping emissions plan passed, NZ abstains