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New York Times
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
At the Cloisters, Percussion and Dance Move Through Medieval Spaces
It was the hottest day of the year, and young musicians from the University of Michigan were staying cool in a 12th-century Benedictine cloister that, reconstructed indoors, let in the summer sun while a chill blew in from vents around their ankles. But they wouldn't be inside for long. Those players, from the University of Michigan Percussion Ensemble, were rehearsing 'The Forest of Metal Objects,' which premieres on Friday and is designed to travel through the Met Cloisters, the hilltop museum of medieval art and architecture, with the performance ending outside in the lush garden of the Cuxa Cloister. Before they went outdoors, though, the piece's composer, Michael Gordon, had notes about how the percussionists were handling makeshift instruments constructed of small chains and jingle bells. 'The first time you shake them, let's make it playful,' he said. 'But maybe the second time is about discovery, and then as we slow it down it becomes more serious.' The players were also receiving direction from Annie-B Parson and Paul Lazar, founders of Big Dance Theater, who had choreographed each movement within the cloister, such as picking up the chains and processing to the next room, with some of them standing on steps to form a corridor for the audience. Lazar didn't know how many steps he could fill with performers without getting too close to the centuries-old sculptures at the top. 'Does this work?' he asked a member of the museum's curatorial staff who was observing. He was told to leave a couple of steps' worth of space between the musicians and the art, and he happily obliged. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Scoop
24-06-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Westpac-McDermott Miller Employment Confidence Index, June 2025
The Westpac-McDermott Miller Employment Confidence Index rose by 0.5 points to 88.8 in the June quarter. The index remains little changed over the last year, and is close to the lows seen after the first Covid lockdown in 2020. 'A perceived lack of job opportunities remains the key concern for New Zealand households,' said Michael Gordon, Senior Economist at Westpac. 'This measure has been low, but relatively stable, over recent quarters.' 'These results are encouraging in the sense that they suggest the rise in the unemployment rate over the last couple of years may be peaking,' said Mr Gordon. 'That said, people were more pessimistic this quarter about an improvement in job prospects in the year ahead.' The survey results were mixed across regions. Southland saw the biggest improvement for the quarter and is now the most confident region. However, other dairying-intensive regions such as Waikato and Taranaki fared poorly. Among the main centres, Auckland saw a solid lift in confidence, but Wellington and Christchurch were down slightly. 'Confidence amongst employees working in the private sector has further eroded this quarter with a drop of 2.9 points down to 85.0, while public sector employees' confidence has increased 7 points up to 96.2,' noted Imogen Rendall, Market Research Director of McDermott Miller Limited. 'Public sector employees are beginning to take a more optimistic view of the availability of jobs and their personal job security over the coming year, which accounts for their increasing confidence. Private sector employees, in contrast, are taking an increasingly pessimistic view of the current job market and future job opportunities over the coming year. They continue to remain concerned for their personal job security. It will be interesting to see how this plays out over the months to come,' commented Ms Rendall. The survey was conducted over 1-12 June 2025, with a sample size of 1,550. An index number over 100 indicates that optimists outnumber pessimists. The margin of error of the survey is 2.5%.
RNZ News
23-06-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Employment confidence levels remain low
Photo: Unsplash Employment confidence remains near the lows seen during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown. The Westpac-McDermott Miller Employment Confidence Index rose by 0.5 points to 88.8 in the June quarter, and was little changed over the past year. An index number over 100 indicates optimists outnumbered pessimists. "A perceived lack of job opportunities remains the key concern for New Zealand households," Westpac senior economist Michael Gordon said. However, he said the results were encouraging because they suggested the rise in the unemployment rate over the last couple of years may be peaking. "That said, people were more pessimistic this quarter about an improvement in job prospects in the year ahead." The survey results were mixed across regions. Southland saw the biggest improvement for the quarter and was the most confident region. However, other dairying-intensive regions, such as Waikato and Taranaki fared poorly. Among the main centres, Auckland saw a solid lift in confidence, but Wellington and Christchurch were down slightly. McDermott Miller research director Imogen Rendall said private sector employees were less confident than those in the public sector. "Confidence amongst employees working in the private sector has further eroded this quarter with a drop of 2.9 points down to 85.0, while public sector employees' confidence has increased 7 points up to 96.2," she said.
Business Recorder
19-06-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Australia, NZ dollars take collateral damage from Mideast conflict
SYDNEY: The Australian and New Zealand dollars slid on Thursday as concerns the United States was inching closer to striking Iran dampened risk sentiment, while domestic data was too mixed to offer much direction. The Aussie, often used as a proxy for risk assets, lost 0.4% to $0.6482, reversing its overnight bounce from $0.6470. Resistance lies at the recent seven-month top of $0.6552, with major support at $0.6456 and $0.6408. The kiwi dollar eased 0.7% to $0.5988, breaking support at $0.5996 and threatening a retreat to $0.5944. In Australia, data showed employment fell by 2,500 in May, when analysts had looked for a rise of 22,500. Australia, New Zealand dollars attempt to steady after sell-off, Fed decision looms The details were stronger with the jobless rate steady at 4.1%, while full-time jobs and hours worked both jumped. Markets slightly trimmed the chance of a July rate cut from the Reserve Bank of Australia to 64%, from 70% before the data. A quarter-point reduction in the 3.85% cash rate is still fully priced for August and rates are seen bottoming between 2.85% and 3.10% by early next year. 'In our view, the labour market is no longer 'tight' and isn't contributing to wage pressures or inflation,' said Andrew Boak, an economist at Goldman Sachs. 'We continue to expect the RBA to cut 25bp at its next meeting in July, followed by cuts in August and November to a terminal rate of 3.1%.' In New Zealand, figures showed the economy grew 0.8% in the first quarter, just pipping forecasts of 0.7%, thanks mainly to a rebound in consumer spending after a couple of tough years. That was twice the 0.4% gain projected by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and reinforced the case against a rate cut in July, which is priced at just 17%. 'With the economy regaining its footing sooner than expected after last year's sharp downturn, we continue to expect that the RBNZ will take the opportunity to pause and assess the situation at its July review,' said Michael Gordon, a senior economist at Westpac. The market implies around a 60% chance of a quarter-point cut to 3.0% in August and is fully priced by November, though that is seen as the end of the cycle.
Business Times
19-06-2025
- Business
- Business Times
New Zealand's economic recovery gathers pace as exports jump
[WELLINGTON] New Zealand's economic recovery from a 2024 recession gathered pace in the first quarter as the central bank lowered interest rates and exports surged. Gross domestic product rose 0.8 per cent in the three months to March, accelerating from a downwardly revised 0.5 per cent growth in the fourth quarter, Statistics New Zealand said on Thursday (Jun 19) in Wellington. The result was slightly better than the 0.7 per cent growth expected by economists. While the economy is still smaller than it was a year ago, its recovery will be welcomed by the government as it makes growth a key priority ahead of a 2026 election. That ambition is being tested by the uncertainty arising from global trade tensions, which is damping spending and investment and raising concerns that the expansion may weaken. 'Repair of the economy is underway but significant risks are apparent,' said Nick Tuffley, chief economist at ASB Bank in Auckland. 'Data since March suggest a sizeable deceleration in economic activity. Geopolitical deterioration in the Middle East presents upside risks to inflation and therefore pricing behaviour.' The New Zealand dollar was little changed after the GDP report, buying 60.29 US cents at 11.30 am in Wellington. The yield on two-year government bonds rose two basis points to 3.44 per cent. RBNZ easing Buoying the economy, farm production improved in the quarter while food manufacturing also lifted, the statistics agency said. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Taken together with high global commodity prices, that has seen a boost to rural incomes and growth in the regions, even as the cities have been encumbered by a sluggish housing market and cautious consumers. Lower interest rates are expected to underpin steady growth in 2025 even as the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) hints it may be nearing the end of its easing cycle. The central bank has cut the Official Cash Rate (OCR) aggressively, reducing the benchmark by 225 basis points since August to 3.25 per cent. Still, last month it removed an explicit easing bias ahead of its July decision. Investors no longer see much chance of the OCR falling below 3 per cent this year, swaps data show. 'With the economy regaining its footing sooner than expected after last year's sharp downturn, we continue to expect that the RBNZ will take the opportunity to pause and assess the situation at its July OCR review,' said Michael Gordon, senior economist at Westpac in Auckland. Growth was stronger than the 0.4 per cent that both the RBNZ and the Treasury Department forecast. Treasury Chief Economist Dominick Stephens yesterday said that while recent data has been weak, he still expects growth to pick up in 2025. From a year earlier, GDP fell 0.7 per cent, which was less than economists' estimated 0.8 per cent decline. Still, the annual GDP contraction in the fourth quarter was revised to 1.3 per cent from 1.1 per cent. Key drivers of the first-quarter expansion were farming and manufacturing, today's report showed. Manufacturing grew 2.4 per cent and goods exports increased 3.6 per cent, led by primary products. Tourism fell. GDP per capita rose 0.5 per cent from the fourth quarter, its second straight gain after more than two years of decline. BLOOMBERG
