Mike Burrowes – Markets Analyst, Financial Markets Department
When Mike Burrowes started working at the Reserve Bank in January 2008, he was surprised at the Bank’s relaxed atmosphere and open environment. “I thought the Bank might be a bit stuffy, but it has been so different to what I imagined,” he says. “There are lots of social activities to get involved in and the people are so friendly. I was surprised at how many young people worked here, and made lots of new friends quickly.”
Born and bred in Dunedin, Mike completed a BCom in Finance and a BA(Hons) in Economics at the University of Otago. He works in the Financial Markets Research (FMR) team, which is responsible for monitoring developments in financial markets and interpreting the possible implications of these developments for monetary policy in New Zealand.
Mike enjoys the fact that the things he works on now are things he couldn't learn at University. “The great thing about financial markets is that there are always things happening, especially with the current turmoil”. “The work is interesting and important. You get to see and report on events that are unfolding in real time.” He also enjoys the way he is able to make his own decisions and work independently. “The Bank gives you a lot of autonomy and responsibility early on. You get to do your work on your own and not have your hand held, although support is always there when you need it.”
Mike works in an open plan office and says he enjoys having the chance to work alongside senior members of staff. “You are surrounded by smart, experienced people who are happy to discuss and teach you things. You are never fobbed off or treated as unimportant because you are a graduate.” The Bank also offers a wealth of training programmes for its staff, and Mike says he found the advanced writing skills and oral presentation courses excellent.
When Mike tells people that he works for the Bank he often receives comments such as "Wow, that must be a cool place to work" and he is pleased he made the decision to join. “I like working for a prestigious and respected organisation, and there’s lots of scope for my career. The Bank opens doors to a worldwide network of secondments at other central banks and financial institutions, and I hope to one day work at the World Bank or IMF (International Monetary Fund)”.
A day in the life of Mike Burrowes
First thing
Arrive at work at 7.30 am Monday morning, I’m on international market monitoring for the week. Broadly speaking, this involves monitoring developments in equity markets, fixed income markets and commodity markets.
My first task is to prepare notes for the internal markets meeting, held every morning at 8.30 am. Lots to cover, it’s Sunday night in the US and there are a host of announcements about Lehman Brothers filing for bankruptcy and rumours that several other major US investments banks will be taken over before the open of markets on Monday. In addition, need to cover Friday night of trading in the US and Europe. Needless to say, with the concerns around US financials, equity markets were again down heavily and investor risk aversion continues to surge higher. Although there’s a lot to cover, our job is made easier by having access to Reuters and Bloomberg (financial software that gives live pricing and news stories across all markets).
Morning and early afternoon
After the morning meeting, my next task is to write the international section of the daily financial markets report that our team produces. This involves some further research on stories reported in the morning meeting and putting together at least one graph for each story to help explain what has happened overnight. For example, to show the impact of the rumours on US financial firms I included a chart of the main US equity market, the S&P 500 index, and the financials sub-index of the S&P 500 index – this illustrates that financial sector shares have fallen further than the overall equity index. Report completed by mid-afternoon.
Another member of the Financial Markets Research team covers developments in the domestic and foreign exchange markets. The daily financial markets report is distributed within the bank and serves to ensure that everybody is up to the minute with current market developments.
Domestic and international market monitoring duties are shared equally among the team. When not on market monitoring, team members are busy writing papers for the Monetary Policy Committee or conducting longer term research projects that often culminate in discussion papers or bulletin articles. If we are leading up to an interest rate decision (every 6 weeks), the afternoon is spent working on one of the two papers that are presented to the Monetary Policy Committee – Developments in Financial Markets and the OCR Market Expectations Survey.
Lunchtime provides a good opportunity to get out and about, either to enjoy lunch at one of Wellington’s many great eating places or for a run around the Botanical Gardens. In addition, on Wednesday and Friday I attend yoga provided within the Bank.
Late afternoon
Today I have spent the afternoon working on a paper, the New Zealand Bond Market, which is designed to be a useful reference point for people within the Bank.
If it’s a Friday afternoon, we have drinks and nibbles on our floor, which is a great way to recount the week’s events and catch up with other people in the department.
