assets
Categories under assets
- privatisation (511)
Have the Nats been at the insanity peppers?
Written By: - Date published: 6:57 am, September 23rd, 2013 - 23 comments
Selling Mighty River shares was bad enough: $66m taxpayer dollars spent on selling shares with a dividend yield of 6% (the total shareholder return for the Crown last year was 11%) to avoid borrowing at 4% . That’s spending money to lose money. Not crazy enough, apparently. For the Meridian sale, they’ve doubled down. The cost will be $100m and they’ll be selling shares with a dividend yield of 8%.
Have National’s asset sales officially cost more than they’ll earn?
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 pm, September 22nd, 2013 - 51 comments
In a previous post at The Standard I did a wee bit of math and came to the conclusion that National has already made $5.26 billion worth of spending promises out of the Future Investment Fund, the not-actually-a-fund chunk of cash they plan to make from selling taxpayer-built infrastructure to their mates. Things have developed. […]
You’re paying for interest-free loans to foreign bankers
Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, September 19th, 2013 - 89 comments
You will have heard of this ‘buy now, pay later’ plan that the Nats have to try to save the Meridian sale. Pay 60% of your shares’ price up front, the remaining 40% in 18 months. It’s an interest-free loan, funded by higher government borrowing. What we didn’t know is this outrageous fact: this taxpayer-funded interest-free loan will be extended to foreign banks
John Key’s anti-democratic government
Written By: - Date published: 9:31 am, September 17th, 2013 - 48 comments
John Key tries to smear the winner of Labour’s democratic leadership contest as “far left”, while his government continues in its anti-democratic, plutocratic ways: sale of Meridian to avoid referendum; Joyce’s Broadband pricing “arm twisting”.
Colin James on the asset sales referendum & Nats’ economic record
Written By: - Date published: 10:25 am, September 10th, 2013 - 17 comments
Colin James takes on Key over the asset sales referendum, savaging the economic argument for sales. Then he turns to National’s other big financial markets call – suspending contributions to the Cullen Fund James discovers its cost us a lot of money. What James doesn’t recognise is that asset sales and suspending the Cullen Fund payments were never about what’s best for NZ.
National’s asset sales cost $124m + $2.3m per week
Written By: - Date published: 7:26 am, September 4th, 2013 - 32 comments
National says that $9m is too expensive for you to have your democratic say on asset sales (that’s less than the budget for Pike River re-entry, which everyone supports even though it’s unlikely to recover bodies). What National doesn’t want to you now is that they’ve spent at least $124m on the asset sales so far, and the foregone net profits from Mighty River is running at $2.3m a week.
Spendthrift Key objects to cost of democracy
Written By: - Date published: 8:01 am, September 3rd, 2013 - 282 comments
Key’s big whine today is that the referendum on asset sales, which over 10% of Kiwis have requested as required by law, will be ‘extremely costly’ at $9m. This guy’s joking, right? Mr ‘2-billion-of-tax-cuts-in-the-middle-of-a-recession’ is whining about $9m on democracy? All up, Key’s squandered well over a hundred million on asset sales so far.
Cost of Mighty River sale keeps on rising
Written By: - Date published: 7:27 am, August 29th, 2013 - 32 comments
National spent $66 million selling Mighty River Power. That’s what it costs to put 750 kids all the way through school. The Greens have done the numbers on Mighty River’s profit announcement to work out the Crown would have a net $2.3 million more per week if it hadn’t sold the shares. That ongoing loss is enough to pay for the education of 18,000 kids.
Who would buy Meridian shares after MRP?
Written By: - Date published: 11:00 am, August 28th, 2013 - 209 comments
If you invested in Mighty River, you’ve lost 13% of your money so far. The word is the current plunge is prices is institutions selling off in order to force the Meridian listing price lower and Mighty River has a long way to fall yet. But the lower it goes, the less likely ordinary people will be to risk their savings on another privatised power company.
Key adds another $40m to the asset sales bill
Written By: - Date published: 6:24 am, August 21st, 2013 - 120 comments
We know that only 2.5% of Kiwis bought shares in Mighty River Power. English now talks of ‘tens of thousands’ buying Meridian shares. This ain’t no widespread ownership – it’s the few buying and the many losing ownership. So far, we’ve paid at least $100m for these sales. Yesterday, Key added $40m in interest-free loans to Meridian buyers.
The opportunity cost
Written By: - Date published: 4:33 pm, August 14th, 2013 - 34 comments
National spent $30m of our money to save (some of) the 800 jobs at Tiwai Point (for an extra year). People have reasonably pointed out that’s the a lot of money – especially when government agencies are routinely destroying jobs by sending work overseas over contract prices that save far less. But what about the broader picture: did the Nats consider the opportunity cost?
“The Big Issue”: councils & transport
Written By: - Date published: 10:57 am, August 5th, 2013 - 16 comments
Campbell Live last Wednesday focused on transport: funding & Auckland versus the regions; public transport & roads; the revolutionary Congestion Free Network plan. City Vision (supported by Labour & the Green Party – with a major focus on transport) & 2 Future West candidates launch their Auckland council campaigns.
The magical world of New Zealand’s, Neo-Liberal right wing.
Written By: - Date published: 6:06 am, August 1st, 2013 - 83 comments
It has been obvious that some people live in a different world than the rest of us. One where Chicago school economics, work! One where you save the village by blowing it up! One where global warming can be stopped, Canute like, by legislation. One where dropping wages and giving everything to bloated financiers, makes […]
Dropping the pretense: Whanau Ora privatisation
Written By: - Date published: 7:34 am, July 17th, 2013 - 44 comments
So, Tariana Turia is finally dropping the pretense that Whanau Ora is anything but a scheme to privatise social assistance and put it in the hands of unaccountable private groups. Not content with funding family reunions and other bollocks, Turia is now handing the funding decisions to three private groups. Oh, and she doesn’t want them to be covered by the OIA.
NRT – Transmission Gully: A $2 billion scam
Written By: - Date published: 9:52 am, July 11th, 2013 - 13 comments
I/S at No Right Turn on a $2 Billion Transmission Gully scam…
John Key – Economic Miracle Maker
Written By: - Date published: 7:02 pm, July 9th, 2013 - 24 comments
Our wonderful leader John Key is able to sell our assets, spend all the money and then some on his favourite projects, pay down debt and maintain our credit rating all at the one time. If you believe this there is a bridge that I would like to show you …
Key, Brownlee: Not Auckland’s friends
Written By: - Date published: 9:26 am, July 1st, 2013 - 41 comments
John Key’s u-turn on Auckland City Rail is all smoke, mirrors and sleight of hand stealth of the common good. Phil Twyford and the Auckland Transport Blog are skeptical. Funding? Roads over public transport? Asset sales?
National Party economics: make $2 billion, spend 5
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 pm, June 29th, 2013 - 89 comments
The National Party are the good economic managers, right? So why are they spending money we don’t actually have yet?
Who benefits?
Written By: - Date published: 9:19 am, June 21st, 2013 - 42 comments
The leaderless uprising in Brazil exposes unbearable inequalities in a dysfunctional post-growth world. Extravagant sports events and expensive stadium contrast with anti-public service austerity measures. Home building lags in Christchurch, while Key looks to asset sales to fund a stadium.
The Blame Game.
Written By: - Date published: 9:14 am, June 20th, 2013 - 84 comments
Blame beneficiaries, blame the young, blame the old, blame the boomers, blame Maori, blame Pakeha, blame granny, hell, why don’t we just blame the Jews! Anything except place the blame where it belongs. On successive Governments who have sold us out to the rich, and offshore corporates. And the system which allows a few stupid […]
So, who’s up for buying some shares in Meridian?
Written By: - Date published: 8:59 am, June 5th, 2013 - 40 comments
Mighty River closed at a new low of $2.36 yesterday. Here’s English on the likely take up of the sale of Meridian: “We would expect that it will give New Zealanders the opportunity to invest in a large New Zealand company, and tens of thousands of them are likely to do so.” Tens of thousands. For reference, they expected 250,000 investors in Mighty River but only 113,000 showed up.
Images of our time: ‘shock’ capitalism
Written By: - Date published: 11:03 am, May 30th, 2013 - 87 comments
As Naomi Klein said in the Shock Doctrine documentary, disorienting natural and economic shocks result in the wealth being shifted from “public hands” to the wealthiest. The wealth gap, and extent of poverty in NZ is increasingly & devastatingly marginalising good Kiwis. Meanwhile, Peter Jackson is flying high.
Shocking the people into submission
Written By: - Date published: 10:10 am, May 29th, 2013 - 24 comments
Last night The Shock Doctrine (2009) aired on Maori TV. John Key, and his cheerleaders have followed their latest series of shock-inducing attacks on democratic processes and (low income) people’s rights, with positive forecasts for our future. Meanwhile, the gap between the haves & have-nots has grown.
The myth of ‘mum and dad’ investors
Written By: - Date published: 9:15 am, May 24th, 2013 - 121 comments
The myth that National sold Mighty River Power to ‘mum and dads’ is dead. New analysis shows that half the retail shares went to just 12,844 people. A tiny group of 394 people bought 10% of the retail shares. Only 13.4% of the company is owned by what you might call ‘ordinary Kiwis’ – less than the amount owned by foreign investors. But the truth is, ordinary Kiwis are the 98% who bought nothing.
When an “accord” is not
Written By: - Date published: 10:08 am, May 17th, 2013 - 130 comments
Yesterday’s budget is a sop to affordable housing & aims to privatise state housing. Penny Hulse says the government’s related “housing accord” Bill is at odds with the agreement her council has not yet ratified. It overrides local democracy & endangers the AKL “agreement”. [Update] Waitakere News analysis
‘That’s what the fuss is all about’
Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, May 16th, 2013 - 22 comments
Hone Harawira challenged the Maori Party for its support of charter schools, at the expense of Maori and public education. He challenged Sharples to resign if today’s budget fails to adequately support kura kaupapa and the Manaaki Tauira programme.
Sky City, pokies and corruption
Written By: - Date published: 7:56 am, May 13th, 2013 - 51 comments
Key and Joyce made sure Gilmore was out of the way before they announced their dubious Sky City for (more) pokies deal. The pokies system in NZ is rife with dubious goings on. It’s bad for low income families, communities and their children. [update: responses]
The neoliberalisation of Universities
Written By: - Date published: 8:08 am, May 12th, 2013 - 43 comments
An article in today’s Sunday Star Times, provides evidence of an organised business in providing students with assignments for their tertiary education courses. The focus is on Chinese ethnicity. Ultimately, the blame for such rorts lies with the neoliberalisation of universities: the undermining of the critical endeavour of education.
Spin-bustin’: new investors scared off MRP
Written By: - Date published: 8:19 am, May 10th, 2013 - 27 comments
The Nats’ spin is that ‘mums and dads’ were scared off investing in Mighty River Power by the Green-Labour NZ Power plan to reduce power prices but sophisticated buyers bought in. Look at the evidence: 80,000 of the 113,000 retail investors are new to the stockmarket and they boost stockmarket participation by 20%. Hence there were 400,000 existing Kiwi shareholders, and less than 10% of them bought in.
Selling Mighty River cost you $100m
Written By: - Date published: 7:33 pm, May 9th, 2013 - 158 comments
National admitted today that the sale of Mighty River cost around $100m, and that the paltry 2.5% of New Zealanders who bought an average of $8,000 each are not typical Kiwis. The figures themselves are shocking but the politics is really revealing. English didn’t try to avoid the unpalatable failure of asset sales, he was flippant. He is so out of touch he doesn’t see the problem.
We’re leaving & we’re taking the dams
Written By: - Date published: 8:57 am, May 7th, 2013 - 18 comments
Following the Labour and Greens’ rejection of their demand that the parties drop their NZ Power policy to lower power prices, the business elite has announced capital flight. ‘If Origin Energy loses its rentier profits, who’s next? said Phil O’Reilly, close to tears, ‘The banks? The Telecoms duopoly? The petrol companies?* The construction materials oligopoly? The ports and airports?
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