New Zealand's business confidence in the fourth quarter improved significantly but remains slightly pessimistic, a private think tank said on Tuesday. A net 2% of firms surveyed expected general business conditions to deteriorate compared with 52% pessimism in the previous quarter, the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research's quarterly survey of business opinion showed. Christina Leung, principal economist at the think tank, said that the institute expects inflation to return to the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s target of 1% to 3% by the second half of 2024 and to reach 2% in the first half of 2025. This will be ... (full story)