Home » Posts tagged 'new zealand' (Page 2)

Tag Archives: new zealand

The greed of governments in their pursuit of money is the single greatest threat to creating a Dark Age. With New Zealand imposing a $5,000 fine for just landing there and you refuse to hand over your pen and passwords to your phone for them to search, now we have Australia going really nuts to the point that they risk tech companies simply banning the sale of their products in the country. The Assistance and Access Bill 2018 in Australia will force Google, Apple, Facebook, and other technology groups to help Australian authorities decode certain forms of encrypted communications on their systems, or face fines of up to AU$10 million. The government says the legislation will help protect against terrorism, fraud and child abuse crimes, claiming it aims to ensure criminals “have no place to hide.”

The problem that arises that failure to pay taxes they also call criminal. Hence, the hunt for money is greatly aided by this type of legislation far more than any other pretend criminal activity. While the government has stopped short of demanding backdoor access to tech companies’ systems that would allow the government to tap into end-to-end encryption services such as WhatsApp, it doesdemand access to data at “points where it is not encrypted.”

Apple, FOR INSTANCE, would not be made to create a backdoor for their iMessage where every user’s encryption key is different. But the government could request access to the single encryption key for its iCloud services. When you send a message to a friend, it’s encrypted as it travels between the two devices, and when it arrives, it’s decrypted for your friend to read, which is when the government should get to read it. The Australian government is cleverly demanding not a backdoor, but a “side door” to gain access to whatever people are sending.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

NATO Coordinates Information War on Russia

October 15, 2018

NATO Coordinates Information War on Russia

The US, Britain and other NATO allies upped the ante this week with a coordinated campaign of information war to criminalize Russia. Moscow dismissed the wide-ranging claims as “spy mania”. But the implications amount to a grave assault recklessly escalating international tensions with Russia.

The accusations that the Kremlin is running a global cyberattack operation are tantamount to accusing Russia of “acts of war”. That, in turn, is creating a pretext for NATO powers to carry out “defensive” actions on Moscow, including increased economic and diplomatic sanctions against Russia, as well as “counter” cyberattacks on Russian territory.

This is a highly dangerous dynamic that could ultimately lead to military confrontation between nuclear-armed states.

There are notably suspicious signs that the latest accusations against Russia are a coordinated effort to contrive false charges.

First, there is the concerted nature of the claims. British state intelligence initiated the latest phase of information war by claiming that Russian military intelligence, GRU, was conducting cyberattacks on infrastructure and industries in various countries, costing national economies “millions of pounds” in damages.

Then, within hours of the British claims, the United States and Canada, as well as NATO partners Australia and New Zealand followed up with similar highly publicized accusations against Russia. It is significant that those Anglophone countries, known as the “Five Eyes”, have a long history of intelligence collaboration going back to the Cold War years against the Soviet Union.

The Netherlands, another NATO member, added to the “spy mania” by claiming it had expelled four members of Russian state intelligence earlier this year for allegedly trying to hack into the headquarters of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), based in The Hague.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Forget New Zealand – You Must Give Your Password & Pin to your Phone So Customs Can Search it When you Land

October 5, 2018

Forget New Zealand – You Must Give Your Password & Pin to your Phone So Customs Can Search it When you Land

Ever since the Socialists took over New Zealand, it demonstrates how they presume everyone is guilty and they might be hiding money that they can confiscate all because rich bastards are not entitled to what they earn – it belongs to them always. If you refuse, the fine is $5,000. New Zealand has become the first country to fine passengers who refuse to hand over their phone passwords at the border. Obviously, forget New Zealand. The New Zealand Customs and Excise Act 2018, which went into effect this week, allows customs officials to demand passwords, PINs and encryption keys to unlock devices for “digital strip searches” of anyone traveling to New Zealand.

Unfortunately, some other countries are watching closely. They will let you in if you pay the $5,000 find and you cannot refuse and get on the next plane without paying the $5,000 fine. This is what lies in store when socialists grab control. Freedom of the individual NO LONGER exists!!!! The state comes before God, family, or human rights.

When you travel, you should get a burner phone. You cannot have anything private on your person. Welcome to 1984 – it was just a little late!

The 11th Hour: 8 Examples Of Mainstream Media Sources Warning Us Of Imminent Economic Disaster

September 8, 2018

The 11th Hour: 8 Examples Of Mainstream Media Sources Warning Us Of Imminent Economic Disaster

Are we on the verge of another great financial crisis, a devastating recession and a horrific implosion of the global debt bubble? On my website I have been relentlessly warning my readers about the inevitable consequences of our very foolish actions, but now the mainstream media is beginning to sound just like The Economic Collapse Blog. The coming crisis is so close now that a lot of them are starting to see it, and of course economic disaster is already a reality for much of the rest of the planet. For years, the mainstream media told us that things would get better, and in a lot of ways we did see some improvement. But now the tone of the mainstream media has become quite ominous, and that is definitely not a positive sign. The following are 8 examples of mainstream media sources warning us of imminent economic disaster…

#1 Forbes: “Disaster Is Inevitable When America’s Stock Market Bubble Bursts”…

As shown in this report, the U.S. stock market is currently trading at extremely precarious levels and it won’t take much to topple the whole house of cards. Once again, the Federal Reserve, which was responsible for creating the disastrous Dot-com bubble and housing bubble, has inflated yet another extremely dangerous bubble in its attempt to force the economy to grow after the Great Recession. History has proven time and time again that market meddling by central banks leads to massive market distortions and eventual crises. As a society, we have not learned the lessons that we were supposed to learn from 1999 and 2008, therefore we are doomed to repeat them.

The purpose of this report is to warn society of the path that we are on and the risks that we are facing.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

The 11th Hour: 8 Examples Of Mainstream Media Sources Warning Us Of Imminent Economic Disaster

September 7, 2018

The 11th Hour: 8 Examples Of Mainstream Media Sources Warning Us Of Imminent Economic Disaster

#1 Forbes: “Disaster Is Inevitable When America’s Stock Market Bubble Bursts”…

As shown in this report, the U.S. stock market is currently trading at extremely precarious levels and it won’t take much to topple the whole house of cards. Once again, the Federal Reserve, which was responsible for creating the disastrous Dot-com bubble and housing bubble, has inflated yet another extremely dangerous bubble in its attempt to force the economy to grow after the Great Recession. History has proven time and time again that market meddling by central banks leads to massive market distortions and eventual crises. As a society, we have not learned the lessons that we were supposed to learn from 1999 and 2008, therefore we are doomed to repeat them.

The purpose of this report is to warn society of the path that we are on and the risks that we are facing.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Bankers And Tech Executives Know The Collapse Of Society Is Coming And Are Feverishly Prepping For It

September 6, 2018

Bankers And Tech Executives Know The Collapse Of Society Is Coming And Are Feverishly Prepping For It

While most of the general population has been lulled into a false sense of security, bankers and tech executives are spending millions upon millions of dollars to prepare for the collapse of society. Do they know something that the rest of us do not? Apparently talk of doomsday scenarios has become very popular at Silicon Valley dinner parties, and as you will see below, having a plan to escape to New Zealand appears to be a very popular “Plan B” among the tech elite. Of course this is not just a west coast phenomenon. Many bankers on the east coast have similar concerns and have also been developing contingency plans. Ladies and gentlemen, they know what is coming and they are feverishly getting prepared for it. In fact, J.P. Morgan Chase’s head quant just publicly declared that the next financial crisis is going to result in “social unrest not seen in the U.S. in half a century”. The following comes from CNBC…

Sudden, severe stock sell-offs sparked by lightning-fast machines. Unprecedented actions by central banks to shore up asset prices. Social unrest not seen in the U.S. in half a century.

That’s how J.P. Morgan Chase‘s head quant, Marko Kolanovic, envisions the next financial crisis. The forces that have transformed markets in the last decade, namely the rise of computerized trading and passive investing, are setting up conditions for potentially violent moves once the current bull market ends, according to a report from Kolanovic sent to the bank’s clients on Tuesday. His note is part of a 168-page mega-report, written for the 10th anniversary of the 2008 financial crisis, with perspectives from 48 of the bank’s analysts and economists.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

City Officials Struggle To Fend Off “Unstoppable Juggernaut” Of Chinese Homebuyers

June 9, 2018

City Officials Struggle To Fend Off “Unstoppable Juggernaut” Of Chinese Homebuyers

As we’ve pointed out time and time again, foreign – mainly Chinese – buyers seeking to park their ill-gotten gains beyond the reach of the Communist Party have – in addition to global capitals like New York City and London – favored a handful of cities in the Pacific Northwest, as well as Australia and New Zealand. Many of these cities – for example, Vancouver – have seen property values rise to levels that are unaffordable for local buyers.

While the influx of capital helped fuel an economic recovery in the aftermath of the crisis, home values soon reached crisis levels that demanded action by local officials. Some places have tried to use taxes to deter foreign buyers. In some instances, the taxes worked – at least temporarily.

But with the flow of buyers refusing to slow despite efforts by the Chinese government to stop money moving offshore, many of these cities are getting desperate. And after years of occasional headlines, it appears the crisis has finally become dire enough for the mainstream press to start paying attention.

To wit, government officials in Canada and Australia who spoke with the Wall Street Journal for a story about how Chinese homebuyers expressed concern that widespread foreign ownership has created bubbles in local real-estate markets. Even as Australia and New Zealand and some Canadian cities have raised taxes on foreign buyers, many are worried that home values will continue to climb, foiling policy makers best efforts to control them. Since it passed an 8% foreign buyers tax last summer, Sydney says foreign buying hasn’t let up.

Jon Ellis, chief executive of Investorist, an online portal for cross-border property transactions, said Chinese property buyers are an “unstoppable juggernaut”. In some markets with large Mandarin-speaking populations, locals can spot real-estate ads in Mandarin at bus stations and benches in the surrounding area.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Collapse of NZ “Guarantor” Puts $300M Deposits for 10K Homes at Risk

March 8, 2018

Collapse of NZ “Guarantor” Puts $300M Deposits for 10K Homes at Risk

Guaranteeing things is an excellent business until it fails suddenly and completely.

In the Great Financial Crisis guarantors were wiped out. It’s happening now down under where 10,000 Property Buyers are Caught in the Collapse of Deposit Power.

A leading national property finance company has collapsed potentially leaving an estimated 10,000 residential, commercial and property investors in the lurch about the fate of nearly $300 million worth of deposits.

Deposit Power, which provided interim finance to property buyers, has closed its doors after the collapse of New Zealand’s CBL’s insurance, which was an issuer and guarantor of deposit bonds.

Sale Complications

Worried mortgage brokers, who recommended the products to clients, are seeking advice on whether clients need to buy other cover, or secure additional or replacement financial risk bonds. It could mean unspecified risks, uncertainty and deal delays for tens of thousands of counter parties, financiers and their representatives, including lawyers and other brokers.

Mortgage brokers, who act as an intermediary between borrowers and lenders, are being warned the status of existing loan guarantees is unknown, pending applications will not be processed and no payments have been taken.

Investors calling the Sydney-based office are being answered by a recorded message the company is facing “external issues” and that it is unable to process any deals.

Deposit Power’s bonds were sold to individuals, first time buyers, retirees, self-employed borrowers, trusts, corporate entities, or self managed super funds purchasing commercial or residential property. It was established in 2012 and regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

They were also heavily marketed to first time and off the plan property investors. A deposit guarantee is an alternative method of placing a deposit on a property.

CBL in Interim Liquidation

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Is New Zealand A Doomsday Preppers’ Paradise?

February 16, 2018

Is New Zealand A Doomsday Preppers’ Paradise?

Earlier today, we reported that Peter Thiel, the Bay Area’s most prominent conservative and one of President Trump’s most outspoken supporters from the LGBT community, announced that he was relocating to Los Angeles – and taking his investment firm with him – because of the famously intolerant culture in Silicon Valley.

The announcement of the move conjured up images of street harassment for Thiel, who is loathed in Silicon Valley and by the mainstream media because of his role in bringing down Gawker as part of a nearly decade-long revenge plot…

Interestingly, the Guardian also happened to publish today a profile about Thiel’s decision to build another potential domicile much, much further south: In New Zealand, where it was reported last year that he had become a citizen in 2011, and later that he purchased a large tract of land nearly the size of Manhattan that used to be a sheep station on New Zealand’s southern island.

Of course, the wealthy have many options for doomsday preparedness, as we’ve noted time and time again – from personal bunkers to memberships to luxury post-apocalyptic communities.

But New Zealand represents something different: A sparsely populated island with plenty of resources – essentially clay for wealthy capitalists to mold a new society from the ashes of the old after the collapse sets in…

But while Thiel’s New Zealand investment was more of a novelty news story in the US, in New Zealand, it has become a major scandal, sparking a national debate over how much leeway wealthy individuals should be given to become citizens and provide property.

And Thiel isn’t the only one: The Guardian points out that several other wealthy Silicon Valley figures have also taken an interest in the country…

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Fault Line Wakes Up: New Zealand Could Be DESTROYED By Massive 9.0 Earthquake

November 29, 2017

Fault Line Wakes Up: New Zealand Could Be DESTROYED By Massive 9.0 Earthquake

hikurangi-subduction-zone

A 2016 earthquake has awoken a fault line that was thought to be dormant. Now that it’s becoming active, fears have arisen that New Zealand could be destroyed by a massive 9.0 magnitude earthquake.

The devastating Kaikura earthquake in 2016 has resurrected the Hikurangi subductionzone where two tectonic plates clash and one is pushed down. Geologists are now warning that this trench could cause a massive earthquake on the ocean floor, and could trigger other 9.0 magnitude earthquakes and tsunamis that will reach the western coast of the islands in just seven minutes.

The Australian plate is heading north while the Pacific plate is heading west, and the combination of these motions means that the Pacific plate, which includes much of the South Island, is moving relative to the Australian plate at a rate of about 40millimeterss each year in a southwesterly direction.

Ursula Cochran, from the science firm GNS, told The Marlborough Express: “We need to think Japan 2011 basically, because if our whole plate boundary ruptured it would be a magnitude-9 earthquake.” The Great East Japan Earthquake and resulting tsunami smashed through the country’s north-eastern coast killing almost 16,000 people and destroying the lives of thousands more. It also triggered a major ongoing crisis at the Fukushima nuclear plant.

“One of the biggest hazards of that kind of earthquake is the tsunami that is triggered by a fault rupture offshore.,” Cochran added. “We know from tsunami modeling from a hypothetical earthquake from the Hikurangi subduction zone that the travel times could be very short to the coast, so seven minutes for some of the south Wairarapa coast.”

One year after it struck, scientists are also warning that the Kaikoura quake was not the “big one” for the Hikurangi subduction zone. The quake on the Hikurangi subduction zone was

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Satyajit Das: This Is Why You Can Expect Another Global Stock Market Meltdown

February 26, 2016

Satyajit Das: This Is Why You Can Expect Another Global Stock Market Meltdown

Authored by Satyajit Das’, author of the new book “The Age Of Stagnation” (via MarketWatch),

The mispricing of assets across world markets has reached epidemic proportions.

Stock prices have made strong advances over the past several years, yet market analysts see further gains, arguing that the selloffs of August 2015 and early 2016 represent a healthy correction.

But this rise in stock values has been underpinned by financial engineering and liquidity — setting the stage for a global financial crisis rivaling 2008 and early 2009.

The conditions for a crisis are now firmly established:overvaluation of financial assets; significant leverage; persistent low-growth and deflation; excessive risk taking reliant on central banks for liquidity, and the suppression of volatility.

Steve Blumenthal, CEO of CMG Capital Management Group, tells Barron’s funds writer Chris Dieterich that his firm has been clinging to ultra-safe bonds and utility stocks during the market storm.

For example, U.S. stock buybacks have reached 2007 levels and are running at around $500 billion annually. When dividends are included, companies are returning around $1 trillion annually to shareholders, close to 90% of earnings. Additional factors affecting share prices are mergers and acquisitions activity and also activist hedge funds, which have forced returns of capital or corporate restructures.

The major driver of stock prices is liquidity, in the form of zero interest rates and quantitative easing.

To be sure, stronger earnings have supported stocks. But on average, 70% to 80% of the improvement has come from cost-cutting, not revenue growth. Since mid-2014, corporate profit margins have stagnated and may even be declining.

A key factor is currency volatility. The strong U.S. dollar is pressuring American corporate earnings. A 10% rise in the value of the dollar equates to a 4%-5% percent decline in earnings. Rallies in European and Japanese stocks have been driven, in part, by the fall in the value of the euro and yen respectively.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Brave New World of Bank Bail-Ins As Of January 1st

January 5, 2016

Brave New World of Bank Bail-Ins As Of January 1st

On January 1st, 2016, the new bail-in regime became law putting at risk the deposits of savers and companies in the EU.

EU countries join the UK, the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand in having plans for bail-ins in the event of banks and other large financial institutions getting into difficulty. It is now the case that in the event of bank failure, personal and corporate deposits could be confiscated.

The bail-in architecture was seen in the Cyprus bank bail-ins that were seen in 2003. Then, deposits of over €100,000 were confiscated in “haircuts” in order to bail out banks in Cyprus. Now the exact same principles that were used in Cyprus – which we were told was unique and a one off – are going to apply to all of Europe.

Bail-ins and the risks they pose have largely been ignored in most of the media. In one of the very few articles on bail-ins in recent days, Hugh Dixon of Reuters Breaking Views has looked at bail-ins but has focused on the “political risks” rather than that posed to savers and indeed company depositors:

The European Union entered a brave new world of bank “bail-ins” at the start of 2016. Europe has wasted so much taxpayers’ money on bailing out bust banks in recent years that it is right to try to get investors to help foot the bills in future. However, the tough new regime carries big political risks.

The article, ‘EU enters brave new world of bank bail-ins’, is interesting despite ignoring the financial and economic risk of bail-ins – they would likely be very deflationary in a world already beset by deflation – and can be accessed here
Download Our Must Read Bail-In Guides Here:

Protecting Your Savings In The Coming Bail-In Era

From Bail-Outs To Bail-Ins: Risks and Ramifications

Food Standards Australia and New Zealand on the Brink of GM Decision

December 17, 2015

FOOD STANDARDS AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND ON THE BRINK OF GM DECISION

Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) is in the midst of making a critical decision that could impact what you know about your food in the future. The question at hand is whether or not certain new techniques used for plant propagation will be classified under the umbrella of genetic modification (GM) in Australia. Known as gene-editing, these new and un-tested techniques have already been labelled as such in New Zealand.

It’s an important issue, because, without the classification, there will be no impetus—legally or otherwise—for fresh food providers to let consumers know whether or not the fruits, vegetables, and grains they’re eating have been subjected to genetic editing.

A HOTLY CONTESTED ISSUE

The debate ranges far beyond the shores of Australia and New Zealand, chief FSANZ scientist Dr. Marion Healey explains. Reaching a consensus doesn’t seem to be a simple matter. Some groups, like Friends of the Earth, are calling for more regulation, oversight and additional investigation before the techniques are used to alter food producing plants.

These organizations point out the fact that many of these techniques have not even been agreed upon by the scientific community. A spokesperson for the group, Louise Sales, suggests that without regulation these altered foods

“are going to be making their way into the food chain unlabelled, and that’s going to reduce choices for farmers and consumers.”

WHAT’S THE HARM?

It’s not so much what we know about GM plants that are troubling—it’s what is as yet unknown, which is a great deal. Peter Langridge, a professor from the University of Adelaide, explains just how dramatic some of the alterations these plants have undergone can be.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Trans-Pacific Partnership Deal Struck As “Corporate Secrecy” Wins Again

October 5, 2015

Trans-Pacific Partnership Deal Struck As “Corporate Secrecy” Wins Again

Once again the corporatocracy wins as the so-called “Trojan horse” Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement has been finalized. As WSJ reports, the U.S., Japan and 10 countries around the Pacific reached a historic accord Monday to lower trade barriers to goods and services and set commercial rules of the road for two-fifths of the global economy, officials said.

For the U.S., the TPP (reportedly) opens agricultural markets in Japan and Canada, tightens intellectual property rules to benefit drug and technology companies, and establishes a tightknit economic bloc to challenge China’s influence in the region (likely forcing their hand into separate trade agreements).

However, Obama is likely to face a tough fight to get the deal through Congress (especially in light of presidential candidates’ opposition).

The US, Japan and 10 other Pacific Rim economies have reached agreement to strike the largest trade pact seen anywhere in two decades, in what is a huge strategic and political win for US President Barack Obama and Japan’s Shinzo Abe.

As The Wall Street Journal reports,

The deal, if approved by Congress, will mark an effective expansion of the North American Free Trade Agreement launched two decades ago to include Japan, Australia, Chile, Peru and several southeast Asian nations.

The trade deal has been in the works since 2008 but has been stymied by politically sensitive disputes, including a fight between the U.S. and Japan over the automobile industry.

Beyond that, however, it represents the economic backbone of the Obama administration’s strategic “pivot” to Asia and a response to the rise of the US’s chief rival, China, and its growing regional and global influence. It is also a key component of the “third arrow” of economic reforms that Mr Abe has been pursuing in Japan since taking office in 2012.

Biotechs, among others, are the big winners…

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

There’s Trouble Brewing In Middle Earth

April 5, 2015

There’s Trouble Brewing In Middle Earth

For the second time in three years, I’m fortunate enough to spend some time in New Zealand (or Aotearoa). In 2012, it was all mostly a pretty crazy touring schedule, but this time is a bit quieter. Still get to meet tons of people though, in between the relentless Automatic Earth publishing schedule. And of course people want to ask, once they know what I do, how I think their country is doing.

My answer is I think New Zealand is much better off than most other countries, but not because they’re presently richer (disappointing for many). They’re better off because of the potential here. Which isn’t being used much at all right now. In fact, New Zealand does about everything wrong on a political and macro-economic scale. More about that below.

I’ve been going through some numbers today, and lots of articles, and I think I have an idea what’s going on. Thank you to my new best friend Grant here in Northland (is it Kerikeri or Kaikohe?) for providing much of the reading material and the initial spark.

To begin with, official government data. We love those, don’t we, wherever we turn our inquisitive heads. Because no government would ever not be fully open and truthful. This is from Stuff.co.nz, March 19 2015:

New Zealand GDP grew 3.3% last year

New Zealand’s economy grew 3.3% last year, the fastest since 2007 before the global financial crisis, Statistics NZ said. Most forecasts expect the economy to keep growing this year and next, although slightly more slowly than in the past year. For the three months ended December 31, GDP grew 0.8%, in line with Reserve Bank and other forecasts. That was led by shop sales and accommodation.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Tag Archives: new zealand

Content

Post categories

Economic Links

Energy/Resource Links

Environmental Links

Geopolitical Links

Liberty Links

News Links

Other Links

Survival Skills

Post Archives by Category

A HOTLY CONTESTED ISSUE

WHAT’S THE HARM?

Post navigation

Latest Posts