"Almost half of the 500 firms surveyed say they intend pushing up prices by up to 5 per cent or more..."Has anyone ever written a less meaningful sentence?
Anyway, some people might think that 11 per cent (the businesses 'planning' to raise prices by 5%+) is "a small number" - but then we have no idea what the ratio of people putting up their prices by 5% and those lowering prices is, because the Herald hasn't bothered to tell us the latter percentage. Meanwhile, later on in the article - entitled, of course, "Shoppers face GST price-rise rort":
So nothing to see here then.Westpac economist Dominick Stephens said small firms could struggle to get away with large price rises on the back of GST changes.
"I would suggest that sort of thing will be very short-lived. Exactly the same sort of competitive pressures and market conditions that have got prices and profit margins to where they are now will prevail after the GST increase," he said.
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"Has anyone ever written a less meaningful sentence?"
ReplyDeleteProbably not. But the runner-up goes to my favourite info-monkey who repeatedly assures us that his ladder "will reach the second-storey window on a two-storey structure".
"More than half of companies don't intend to put up their prices" is another way to write that sentence. But that changes the point of the story.
ReplyDeleteIt's a press release which has been duly noted and reported in classic churnalism style. Our NZ Herald is up there with the best of the press when it comes to cranking out this trash.
ReplyDeleteLove this blog !! Where has it been all my life?
ReplyDelete