We are bombarded by stories of impending economic doom, particularly focused on what is happening offshore. Risk of recession in the US and Europe, and weaker growth in China, which was the stalwart that helped keep global economic growth above zero through the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) 10 plus years ago. In New Zealand, business sentiment is the weakest in 10 years. Does this gathering global and domestic gloom matter to Auckland? The short answer is yes, of course it does. But a more meaningful question is: How much does it matter? Or how well insulated is Auckland against these risks? Let’s start with some ... (full story)