Here's our summary of key economic events overnight that affect New Zealand, with news market-moving data is scarce today but investors should be reading the latest US CBO update.
First, there was only a modest rise in consumer debt in March, up a mere +1.5% and substantially less than the rise analysts were expecting. Stepping back for a longer term trend view, Americans have been growing their consumer debt appetite at slowing rates since 2012. This is quite different to the assumption many jump to.
US mortgage applications actually rose +2.6% last week from the prior week, recovering from the -2.3% decline in that earlier week. But they remain -17% lower than year-ago levels. Maybe one reason last week's level was higher was because benchmark interest rates actually fell, the first reversal in more than a month.
In yet another very well supported US Treasury bond auction, this one for their 10 year Note, the median yield came in at 4.42%, and actually lower than the 4.47% at the prior equivalent event a month ago.
New estimates from the US Congress Budget Office make clear the cost of extending the Trump 2017 tax cuts will likely exceed US$5.8 tln and are the single largest contributor to the swelling American federal deficits. (It is seven times more than their annual defence budget, more than three times their Health & Human Services budget.)
Across the Pacific, Taiwanese exports rose in April by a modest +4.3% amount, the sixth consecutive monthly rise, but far less than the stellar rise in March. There was disappointment all the same because they were expecting another +15% rise.
In Hong Kong, the locally imposed government is now banning songs. Invented "national security" is now covering their insecurities. The things that made the City an investment magnet, the common law and independent and transparent decision making, have been replaced by a complicit judiciary enforcing Beijing's will, which in the end will erode its advantages.
German industrial production fell as expected in March following the surprisingly good February result. But it is still -3.3% lower than a year ago in real terms. But continuing its comeback was their construction sector.
In Sweden, their central bank cut its policy rate to 3.75%, which involved the -25 bps reduction analysts were expecting. They say inflation is now approaching the target while economic activity is weak. It is their first cut since 2016, following the tightening campaign that started two years ago. They said that if the outlook for inflation stays lower, their policy rate will be cut two more times during the second half of 2024.
Perhaps we should note that Elon Musk's X-Prize competition, the largest ever science competition with US$50 mln to the overall winner, has shortlisted 20 finalists in the carbon removal category, one of whom has a New Zealand connection.
The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.49% and unchanged from yesterday. The key 2-10 yield curve inversion is shallower at -35 bps. And their 1-5 curve inversion is now at -66 bps. Their 3 mth-10yr curve inversion is now at -90 bps and 4 bps shallower. The Australian 10 year bond yield is now at 4.37% and -7 bps lower from yesterday. The China 10 year bond rate is is back up to 2.31%, a +9 bps recovery. The NZ Government 10 year bond rate is now at 4.73% and down another -5 bps from yesterday.
Wall Street is ending its Wednesday trade little-changed in late trade on the S&P500. Overnight, European markets were all up about +0.5% on average. Yesterday Tokyo ended down -1.6%. Hong Kong fell -0.9% while Shanghai fell -0.6%. Singapore ended down -1.1%. The ASX200 was up +0.1% in its Wednesday trade but the NZX50 slipped another -0.2%.
The price of gold will start today down a minor -US$2 from yesterday at US$2314/oz.
Oil prices have changed little at just under US$78.50/bbl in the US while the international Brent price is now just under US$83.50/bbl.
The Kiwi dollar starts today little-changed from yesterday at just on 60 USc. Against the Aussie we are +¼c firmer at 91.3 AUc. Against the euro we are little-changed at 55.9 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today just under 69.5 and again marginally firmer from yesterday.
The bitcoin price starts today at US$62,573 and down -1.2% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been very low at just under +/- 0.5%.
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140 Comments
Hmmm...Mr Luxon is showing signs of stress,towards the end of the interview he is losing it...must be hard not being surrounded by sycophants in the executive suite applauding every utterance...
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/christopher-luxon-in-a-huff-afte…
The reporters had points also...the govt were all over the previous admin for time limited funding and if his team are going to make food choices 'woke' then expect questions...I mean they made the comment,then want to walk away from it.
Make stupid comments expect push back. One of the reporters was ZB's Jason Walls who is a Luxon fan boy.
Every time Luxon and his crew screw up,like Big Mitch's presser about the prisons,Luxury throws his toys out of the cot and says stop questioning him,it's all good news,don't worry about the detail...well he campaigned on bringing a 'laser focus' on running the country like a business,attention to detail,adults in the room etc,now we have woke food apparently.
If he told shareholders not to worry about the numbers,they might not be right,but focus on being positive about the message,he would have been crucified.
The reporters have every right to ask their pointed questions, the point Luxon was making was that those were dim questions, which of course they were. The reality shields have concrete foundations in the 4th estate, not sure how these mind-sets will help them in the dole queue but I wish them the best of luck.
They weren't stupid questions. They have made a massive cut to school lunch programme basses on the previous approach apparently being woke. It's not the only thing they are cutting based on being woke (transport being the most obvious).
We as the public have a right to know what they mean by woke, especially as it seems to be a key driver of their ideological policy positions.
They were dim questions because they were chasing something that only a section of their audience (ironically those who are more ideological and see everything through that lense) had any interest in at the expense of some actual questions that might add understanding of other policy.
They have got a 100% (over, $7 to $3) better deal on lunches for the same coverage. It is a mystery how you can see that as a bad thing but try taking off your ideological hood, it's good news!
Transport is a big worry.
Simeon Brown's rejection of solid data from prior experience as "I understand the theory but this time it'll be different" has the potential to set NZ back heavily on reducing congestion and emissions while losing productivity through wasted time. Road Transport donor boondoggles like Mill Rd are crazy spending.
Who gets a hot meal for free every day? Aren’t the free meals meant to relieve parents who can’t ( or sometimes won’t) provide a “cold” lunch each day? Isn’t such a lunch the standard lunch NZers have when they gave time for it and can afford it?
By the way, food meant to be served hot is often unappetising if it inadvertently gets cold causing waste.
i cannot believe we were providing hot lunches when most of us aspire to simply have lunch. The energy waste must be significant.
You like a dog with a bone on this one, strange. But you were right on, Make stupid comments expect push back. The journo clearly made stupid comments and he got push back from Luxon.
The whole woke food saga got hashed and rehashed yesterday with Seymour. Journos don't need to take every piece of political commentary back to the other 2 political parties in the coalition to get their take on said utterance. Absolutely juvenile STUFF, TVNZ NZHerald......
Yeah it was unnecessary, and perhaps a bit more PR training might not go amiss.
UNLESS... there is someone in the team that has been doing the coaching... from my point of view the media have possibly been tricked into giving themselves a punch in the face as they appear ever-more disconnected from things that matter and more importantly a large (and wealthy) section of their audience.
JAO...I think it is calculated language...you throw out the term 'woke' about anything and it immediately triggers a response on both sides,feeds the facebook ZB crew,the reporters jump all over it,the ZB crew then get all over the reporters,hence reinforcing ZBoomer crew views that the media are woke,enabling the govt to disenfranchise all media as woke idiots allowing the govt to get their messages out through trustworthy platforms such as tik tok facebook & insta..
Yes, it is sad to see what our 4th estate has become. I am sure there will be a few smart people in the industry (yet to surface) and I hope they can see that their current approach and culture is at odds with what people are interested in. Otherwise, I will take a flat-white with a sugar ;).
kids are not going to eat Sushi, how much of the current school lunches are going in the bin ? Did you watch TV3 yesterday looked like macaroni cheese with runner beans and guess what none of the kids wanted beans except one. I guess we got spoilt in the 1970's with the school lunches in the UK, there was several things to choose from and kids ate vegetables.
One of my first memories is puking into the bowl of sago and prunes at a school lunch in the UK. I only ate chips dipped into fried egg yokes at that time. Never been able to face sago or rice pudding since. Oh, god, don't talk to me about the warm milk forced on kids at NZ schools in those days.
Kids would do a lot better concentrating on an empty stomach. All those carbs will maker them hyper. Keep them lean and mean. These lunches are promoting obesity and poor health. I only ate about three lunches in my entire primary school life. Countless sandwiches went mouldy in my leather satchel which was a significant biohazard.
Healthy meat only lunches would be beneficial. Not ham or sausages, just nice cuts of meat.
It is when you are deciding that it is worth cutting.
It just shows how they don't actually understand their portfolios and aren't even bothered understanding them. There whole approach is based on culture war narratives, they don't give a shit is something works or not, it's just reckons, hot takes and feels.
They are completely uninterested in evidence.
The most important thing is cutting provisions for kids from $7 to $3 and raising bus fares for kids so they can fund tax cuts for property speculators, while retaining free public transport for older voters.
You're right they seem to have little care for what the kids actually get to eat, not even understanding some pretty basic foods.
I hate to think what Seymour understands chickpea to be. Probably Trumpian.
Good Job by Luxon. Some of these so called journalist questions are bordering on infantile. Focus on the policy, issues and outcomes instead of hounding on inconsequential detail such as sushi and quinoa and definitions of 'woke' food.
He didn't sound stressed, more frustrated with constant bombardment of inane questions. Media needs to up its professionalism.
Truth in that and in truth it contributes to the scenario that more or less arrived with Holmes, as far as news broadcasting at least. Now there are scores of wannabe journalists striving to get themselves up the ladder and become such a famous identity. Once we had announcers now we have presentations in which it is very difficult to distinguish whether it is news or opinion. Very seldom do we watch any TV news and usually, if we need to, Prime because at least it’s short with no need for all the padding.
Eh, Judy Bailey and John Hawkesby were bigger celebrity tv figures than any news reader or journalist today.
There's definitely a place for having some long-form interviews with strong intellectual journalists, though it's obviously now difficult to get politicians to engage in long-form for fear of eventually having to answer questions and tripping over themselves.
Do need folk who are well-read and researched, and agile questioners... There are a few on the radio, perhaps, but not sure about TV. I haven't seen NZ TV for years.
Don't know if we have an equivalent of the likes of Christopher Hitchens anywhere (long form interview days, not the religious debates).
I was going back a bit further. Remember Dougal Stephenson surprised at getting an award - I just read the news, he said. Bailey & Hawkesbury advanced from that certainly but by then the corporatisation was taking hold, popularity attracts advertising etc and in truth they were popular but hardly opinionated either and they weren’t ladling out opinion like their equivalents today.
I did hear one of Luxon's managers at the time describe him in terms of "He's a good salesman, and ... well, he's a good salesman!"
Not disgruntled, but also served under the previous more transformational CEO. Seemed to be a common sentiment that he's no Rob Fyfe or Ralph Norris.
Not personally as in 'had a beer with him'...but viewed him in action many times and compared to those who came before & after in his role...him saying he is a people person is laughable...Fyfe & Foran were & are leaders who actually get to know the business,actually go hands on working alongside and taking time to talk one on one with all levels of staff in the company.Foran asks people for the unvarnished truth,wanting to cut out layers of middle management filters. When Luxon talked to staff,it was like a Hollywood production,stage,pulpit,lighting...adressing the crowd,not engaging with them.Fyfe would at least once a month don overalls,join a crew to clean aircraft toilets,do a service alongside cabin crew...Foran the same,he spends hours at the coal face understanding the issues.Luxon was never seen...he projected an innate sense of entitlement even then,a kind of "do you know who I am ?" attitude.
When some twenty years ago Ralph Norris arrived at the plight that was then AirNz reportedly he requested all the senior executive to submit a paper outlining their thoughts on where the airline had bee, was now and was going. The response was not without quality but sadly he had to point out to them every submission was about flying aeroplanes, not one about servicing passengers. From that point there was noticeable improvement in the airline’s customer service. From experience every incoming CEO will tend to favour their experience, their area of expertise where they are strong. Luxon I believe was previously CFO of AirNZ which translates to accounting and financials. I had experience of such and a favourite expression was I don’t care how it gets to be on my desk, provided it’s going to make money. Only lasted long enough to make a hash of it.
I think it’s hard to tolerate the Third Estate portraying themselves as a pillar of democracy then using access to the Prime Minister to ask frivolous questions meant to create perceived division in the coalition.
Maybe take the trouble to find real stories like why gas production has fallen and who is responsible?
I was having the conversation about Hong Kong with some friends the other day and we were all lamenting the loss of what was once an awesome city.
Unfortunately the good times are long gone, as is the money and the tourism, Hong Kong is just another Chinese City. A waste for both the Western and Eastern world it really was the Jewel of Asia and could have given China some real western capital power if it had been left to prosper.
Luckily Singapore is all too willing to fill the gap.
Well it certainly doesn’t have the financial hub power it once had. It remains a great port and gateway to the mainland. But obviously the entertainment, the night life and all the associated unique, colourful activity is being steadily suppressed. China lost Hong Kong & Macau because China was coerced into the opium wars for which they were hopelessly militarily outclassed. That 100 years or so of lease is a minuscule period in China’s vast history. Perhaps to China Hong Kong is now considered as just business as usual. Very clear message though will obviously have been received by Taiwan as to what fate China would like to impose there.
Hmmmm...
It's amazing how far China has leaped ahead of Europe and the United States. Excellent informative and surprising post by @RnaudBertrand
The Collective West doesn't need to be first (probably can't be), but we're not adapting to world change in a progressive positive manner. Link
Quote Arnaud Bertrand @RnaudBertrand ·4h
Europeans don't realize just how deeply in trouble they are geopolitically. A fascinating measure of this is the "Critical Technology Tracker" compiled by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI):
https://ad-aspi.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/2023-09/All%20technolog…
Which by the way is the only interesting output…
https://youtu.be/CWUcnn1Lecc?si=B1BGh1H_NGtUGN1U
"Donald Trump was the smartest student I (n)ever had"
You forget how stupid this guy is see dumbest Trump statements below
Willis pre budget announcement this morning
KEY POINTS
Tax relief coming for 83% of New Zealanders
Tax relief will be "fiscally neutral"
Aiming for core crown debt to drop below 40%
Operating allowance set at $3.5b
New Social Investment fund announced
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2024/05/live-finance-minister-n…
Will be interesting to see whether it is actually fiscally neutral or whether they're actually borrowing to fund tax cuts.
Also whether most people benefit from tax cuts or if they're outweighed by increases in costs (e.g. kids' bus fares) elsewhere. Robbing Peter to pay Property Speculator, etc.
If you are paying out $15B in Tax Cuts but having to borrow $15B more than forecast, is it really fiscally neutral?
Yes I laughed out loud at the totally (and clearly) predictable outcomes to the non-thinking actions of the virtue-signalling left.
But then I remembered I have kids that have to a)live with this self-defeating economic and ecologically-poor outcome and b) live with an ever-greater number of these morons being churned out by academia.
But please, don't for a moment think why. Associating academia with intellect is a stretch however, having just sat through another graduation ceremony recently, 2/3 of the doctorate theses on offer were furthering ideological studies. So much waste of potential and time.
Proclaiming academia to be moronic is more a stretch, and doesn't have great historical bedfellows. Not great contemporary bedfellows with the anti-science, anti-expert ranting rhetoric of recent times.
You'd be better off arguing against specific arguments made and data cited than broadly attacking intellectuals.
Their behaviour clearly has been.
Associating a historical simile is further running away from the reality on the ground. A dog-whistle only attracts dogs.
I just gave you my prima facie evidence of the current direction of academic studies (at the doctorate level for this university). If you cannot see that this is very clear signal that the target of this energy and detailed study will have at very best minimal impact on the good of society then I cannot help you.
Of course I would also warrant your defence of this (should you choose to) would then supply further evidence of intellectual "moronic behaviour" (in my opinion).
You provided not prima facie evidence but merely a description of your own viewpoint based on a very small dataset, apropros of username. No specifics were cited nor any statistical basis on which to justify generalising academia as moronic.
Thus, mere anti-intellectual dog-whistling, yes.
I thought this was interesting -
I asked an old mate of mine if he thinks things were getting better and if sentiment was improving in the US.
He’s an MD level investment banker who went from trading to corporate risk and then now in governance and risk. His what’s app reply (quickly jotted down) his opinion went something like this…
“Oh god no. Latest consumer confidence readings in the toilet. Inflation reaccelerated back to near 4% and that is the bullshit number because real inflation (ie Chapwood index) is still closer to 8% or 9% in most locations. Definitely at least that high here in KY. A year of family groceries was recently reported to cost $10,000 more than last year and even we feel it. Over 70% of the population is living paycheck to paycheck, credit card, student loan and car debt at all time highs, and roughly 70% of people say they do not have enough emergency savings. A recent report also said every generation is under saved for retirement to the tune of 100s of thousands of dollars and social security is nearly bankrupt. Housing continues to be completely unaffordable and the housing market is completely frozen because they jacked the rates down then up so fast that it did not have the effect of lowering prices because no one is now willing to give up their 2% rate and no one can afford 8% mortgage rates unless prices come down. The fed has said they’re keeping interest rates higher for longer. The prevailing theory is that they are desperately trying to break something w/o being obvious so that the economy will crash so that they can lower interest rates back down because our government is effectively bankrupt. We are something like $35 trillion in debt and because of interest rates the national debt is increasing at a rate of about $1 trillion a month (or maybe a quarter) now. Many people think the US economy and US dollar are in a death spiral. At any rate, the middle class is broadly at the breaking point, everyone apart from the mega wealthy are stressed, and tech is increasingly replacing jobs. It’s an election year so they are duct taping things together for optics but we are heading for a crash most think - just no one knows if it will be hyperinflation followed by massive deflation followed by a digital dollar, or just straight to the deflation”
“Most bets are on corporate real estate breaking as something like $300 trillion in CRE financing is coming due and vacancies are through the roof as people left the cities during COVID and primarily work from home if they can. Also, Anyone holding government bonds older than maybe two or three years is sitting on a massive loss as the interest rate on those will be one or 2% in a 5% interest rate environment now”
”As for me, I have no idea and don’t even try to guess what is happening anymore. All I know is the US dollar has lost something like 85% of its purchasing power in the last 30 years and something like 60% of the US dollars were printed in the last five years”
… then goes on to talk about risks of non-conventional currencies leading to BRICs buying oil and other commodities outside of USD and the flow on to the US. People have been scammed by big business and central banks. He talks about how SPX companies are all underperforming but propped up by google, Apple and Amazon.
“People like my parents have to invest in high risk tech stocks because the government keeps causing massive inflation and the banks would go bankrupt if they paid market rates on savings because they are sitting on 1% treasuries themselves”
Ouch. That's totally at odds with the signalling, perhaps being a risk-manager he has a more negative outlook?
His point about the fragility of the indices (which is a real risk due to tracker-ETFs) is a good one, the FANGS are now the only show in town. Still you have to put your money somewhere, (bonds mix might be higher now) and that certainly would not be the NZX. It is taking a cold bath.
I don’t always transcribe my WhatsApp messages with old mates, but when I do it’s at interest.co.nz… this is just his opinion. He is a smart guy and I’m sure would be quite chuffed that I thought his opinion was interesting enough to be worthy of sharing. Better than most of the repetitive drivel on here anyway. I jest.
Like I say he’s a mate. I wouldn’t share it if there was anything sensitive or confidential.
Hmmm. I wonder where they get their 'facts' from. Some are obviously wrong. Nice rant. But representative? I don't think so.
From Kentucky. A red state (Republican through and through, Trump lovers). Bibble belt where imaginary deities reign supreme.
A seriously dubious source. Sorry.
A dubious generalisation if ever I saw one.
Kentucky 4.5m people. A quick google shows ~70 investment banking jobs in Kentucky v ~100 here. Loving trump (or not) was not relevant to any part of the original post, but ~40% voted for Biden in 2020 which is more than voted for Labour here.
So first post is entirely plausable
Also pays to bare in mind, it is a comment presenting an anecdote at the bottom of a morning summary. Nowhere does it claim to be a factual, peer reviewed news statement.
Gosh! by the sounds of all that Roheir, we should all run out and commit harri karri.
But in the morning light, when we are are wandering around making coffee or whatever your desire, things are just the same.
In the back of your mind there is always this niggling thing about work and family. Somewhere in a dark corner rears the horrible thought of Putin. Will he lob a bomb.
Ah well never mind, better put my boots on and get on with it, sigh.
OUCH! Global debt rose by $1.3tn to a new ATH of $315tn in Q1 2024. Moreover, after 3 consecutive quarters of decline, global debt-to-GDP resumed its upward trajectory in Q1 2024. Emerging market debt topped $105tn in Q1 2024, w/largest increases coming from China, India, Mexico. Link
Just your regular reminder that we face an existential crisis.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ng-interactive/2024/may/08/hope…
Listened yesterday to a podcast interview with Hannah Ritchie, author of 'Not the End of the World'. A data scientist's take on some of the pressing problems in pollution, energy and climate.
Interesting listen. Unabashedly tech-optimistic, but focused on the practical.
Two overarching things necessary: burn less, and change land use.
Says we have enough resources to build enough renewable energy supply, but it is urgent. Nuclear of course important. Also notes in terms of land use, covering only USA biofuel growing land with solar panels would provide three times the USA's total electricity needs.
Didn't hear any discussion of resource waste on supply side "stuff" we don't need, but maybe it's in the book.
Notes that the higher the temp gets, the more consequential is each avoided further rise of 0.1 degree.
Interesting, thank you.
I have just moved out of energy-tech as the people in industry leadership are just way, way too stuck in small, conservative mind sets to address these real issues.
We still need an energy storage break-through and we still need a very serious policy discussion that includes the reality that without China and India leading it is a near-waste-of-time in the short term.
Interesting. Would be cool to hear more of your experience there!
She notes that China is making huge strides in reducing energy and other pollution even while upping coal burning in the meantime, through reducing other burning and stricter industrial controls.
She also highlighted that overall use of materials in solar panels, batteries etc has fallen dramatically in recent decades as designs improve.
Seems like potential public/private moonshot territory, but having a constructive focus on doing something better being overall better and more conducive to action than "just stop".
It is amusing that people who believe the weather is getting worse want to build windmills and solar panel farms - especially in hurricane alley US.
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/worlds-largest-floating-solar-plant-220000440…
https://cowboystatedaily.com/2023/07/08/spent-solar-panels-likely-to-en…
Mean another year of record crops.
"FAO’s forecast for world cereal production in 2023/24 has been raised by 5 million tonnes and now stands at 2 846 million tonnes, up 1.2 percent (35.1 million tonnes) from the previous year’s level."
I would certainly enjoy re-telling some war stories over a beer (or wine perhaps) but it would be difficult to do so here without doxing myself. Suffice to say I was happy with the work I was able to get done but sad at the state of the industry.
Investment will continue at current rates unless a) there is a storage break-through (this is the current business-case block for solar) b) government policy is widened to provide tax-relief and other incentives. In this instance I would suggest (given my feeling that you might see this as industry-charity) that these tax breaks are actually saving the government future money in ecological spend.
Seems like it'd definitely be worthwhile shifting some of our current taxpayer subsidising of (for example) rents and prices in property, to energy security and sustainability. The second is creating infrastructure of benefit to the country.
It was interesting seeing folk on here recently pointing out that people have been building fences out of solar panels because they've become cheap enough (not the storage problem, I'm aware).
Yes the solar prices are good now and so it is frustrating that despite so much money and intellectual horse-power we have not solved the storage problem. The other opportunity is ambient temperature super-conduction but that has less focus (and might be more of a stretch).
I would second your re-prioritisation call, I am tired of the obvious need for tax reform (CGT, Stamp duty on resale etc) being ignored because I am not sure who the pollies think wants the current dysfunction. Accommodation supplement on the other hand needs to be carefully managed as there are some that genuinely will not be able to meet market, even when it comes down.
I have Primary school aged children, one exists almost solely on "woke" food. The other is team "Not woke".
Seymour may be a dope, and "woke" is a loaded term, but the intent is somewhat accurate.
Essentially the instagramable bento boxes of the wealthy suburbuan stay at home mums/journalists are not viable/palatable for most of the lower socio-economic kids eligible for free lunches.
They are not exposed to this food at home, and one meal a day won't change that.
Cost/budget are the most common reason, but religous, cultural, and ethnic reasons also play a part. In a lot of cases it is also an outright lack of parental ability (skill/time/knowledge) to provide these foods.
A plain Ham and cheese sandwich (no mustard), Apple, Banana, and a Muffin ticks most boxes. Bland? yes, Instagrammable? no, but nutritionally superior to the kids current at-home diet (which in many cases could be nothing)
Specific dietary requirements, can and should be catered for directly by the parents of said children.
The whole feeding other people's kids thing is fraught with difficulty. A plain ham and cheese sandwich is not going to be acceptable for most Jews, Muslims, vegetarians and vegans. Even having a ham sandwich prepared in the same vicinity will be problematic.
The official stance on food for children tends to be carbohydrate heavy. This causes sugar spikes, hyperactivity, crashes, and sets them up for poor health outcomes in later life. There is also an unscientific, faith based, attitude toward fruits and vegetables.
It would be interesting to research the diets of children of the well off in Victorian Britain who had a very intense education in classical studies, learning Latin, Greek and so on and went on to have a major impact on the world. I'll bet you it was an animal product focused diet that was moderate in its proportions. Even the foot soldiers built an empire largely on meat stew and suet dumplings.
A body that is mostly fed animal protein and fat can go a long time without the need for feeding. An entire school day is a breeze if your body is not damaged by a reliance on excess sugars.
Ham sandwich was an example only. But important point is we need to stop trying to cater to every individual, and move back towards the majority.
If people object to a specific meal, they are welcome to provide their own food. Although I suspect many of the dietary consious are already more than capable of this. They just get sucked into the lunches because of the school they attend.
Re your meat diet, it is interesting, I agree with most aspects, however historically meat was not avaliable in sufficient quantity to most people, it was the domestication of grains with carbs such as rice, oats, corn, etc...that allowed us to finally source enough energy to dominate the planet.
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