Perriams Pacesetter — 31 August 2026

Every Monday we post some thoughts in our Perriams Pacesetter, containing fresh thoughts for the week, the weekend just gone, and a bit of left field. Click below to read.

GEM

The late and great Dolly Parton.

A true icon of all proportions.

What’s your favourite Dolly Parton song?

Hard to go past the duo with Kenny Rogers – Islands in the Stream.

Working 9 to 5 – what a way to make a living. Wouldn’t that be nice! 😊

TOPICAL

Himalayan tragedy.

Our thoughts go out to all those families in Nepal impacted by the deadly landslide and resulting floods that have killed at least 781 people, with 2,500 people missing or unaccounted for.

NZ has such a rich history with Nepal due to the feats of Sir Ed.

SPOTLIGHT

Spring officially arrives on Tuesday!

It’s goodbye to winter, and now life abounds with the expectation of warm days and great weather, so the outdoor adventures are now a reality.

Christchurch’s great weekend weather put a real spring in the step! ☀️

OF INTEREST

This is why your wallet might be feeling a bit empty.

Stats NZ reports that between June 2024 and June 2026, all salary and wage rates increased by 4%, and over that same period rates rose:

22% for power 21.4% for rates 17.2% for petrol

Not much left in the wallet now. ☹️

SPORTIFY

The exodus of NZ netballers to Australia – they are still signing.

NZ Netball, sort it out!

TAX TALK

Act’s promise of tax-free crypto gains after holding on for a year.

What are you thinking, Act? The party must be smoking something really good to come up with this campaign policy.

THE MARKETS

It’s not all doom and gloom.

Hallenstein Glasson last week had profit jump 43.5% and reached a record share price of $11.65, putting the result down to focusing on the basics and not taking a fashion risk.

On the flip side:

Air New Zealand’s $242 million net loss after tax — but the CEO acknowledges they will be back in the black next year, subject to the jet fuel price.

Let’s hope so. We don’t want to see our national airline sky dive.

OCR 2.5% ↑ July 2026 CPI 4.1% ↑ June 2026 Unemployment 5.3% ↓ March 2026 House Price Movement 2.3% ↑ July 2024 Rent Price Movement 4.3% ↑ July 2024

Only 116 days to go until Christmas!

PERRIAMS POWER RANKINGS – 31 August 2026

Each week we announce Perriams power rankings for the week.

1. Ben Taylor and Oli Welch

New Zealand’s men’s pair of Ben Taylor and Oli Welch win the World Rowing Championship title for the second year running.

Remember a couple of other guys who won this title the odd time, namely Bond and Murray?

2. The Wahs

The Wahs are back at the top of the NRL and are now guaranteed a first- or second-place spot, with only one round to go before the finals.

3. The South African All Blacks fans

The amount of South Africans who are decked out in black and who support the All Blacks.

And let’s not forget Jai Arrow taking the field for the Rabbitohs for his 199th game. What an emotional occasion.