Confidence numbers not all doom and gloom

The headlines from this week’s Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion published by the NZIER were generally downbeat – business confidence gave up half of its December quarter gain and slipped back into negative territory, while expectations of domestic trading activity were at their lowest level in five years. But delving more deeply into the numbers gave a more varied picture of the economy’s performance – reinforcing the messages we have been getting about some sectors growing strongly, while others are nervous about their immediate prospects.