 The newly unfettered business environment created by the deregulation of the financial sector, David Grant writes, left New Zealanders "easy targets for speculators and their agents", exacerbating the effects of the October 1987 stock market crash.During wage bargaining in 1986 and 1987, employers started to bargain harder.Lock-outs were not uncommon; the most spectacular occurred at a pulp and paper mill owned by Fletcher Challenge and led to changes to work practices and a no-strike commitment from the union.