The SME Stream

Infrastructure shapes our daily lives, but some might think that it's too often planned election by election.  Infrastructure New Zealand wants to put an end to stop-start funding and shifting priorities, launching "Let's Build NZ".  The campaign promises to put choices in front of voters and rate the parties against its eight priorities.  Today on The Front Page, Infrastructure NZ...

Labour's Chris Hipkins responds to another slip in the polls amid National's renewed attacks on CGT. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Panellists Anne Gibson and Rob Campbell discuss the coalition government's treaty clauses bill and Sydney Sweeney's controversial sports betting ad. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

National Campaign Chair Simeon Brown says Labour's CGT will tax property owners on price rises rather than real gains. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Garth Bray joins Herald NOW with the latest in business with thanks to Forsyth Barr See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

JustFund’s Lauren Milne on the rise of divorce finance and why people can still struggle to access cash when relationships break down. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

AI leaders are calling for more regulation on the developing technologies. Gorilla Technology CEO Paul Spain joins Herald NOW. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Craigs Investment Partners Head of International Fixed Income, Andrew Ede on rising bond yields, central-bank decisions and what it means for investors. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Surging global oil prices and bond yields could keep inflation higher than expected and force the Reserve Bank to raise the OCR faster than expected.  Some economists now expect the Official Cash Rate to reach 4% before the end of the year.  The Government says the Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update —due out in two weeks— will try to reflect changes in borrowing costs.&n...

NZIER economist Ting Huang on why New Zealand’s recovery will be gradual, with cautious households and weak investment holding back growth. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nicola Willis is hinting National could introduce more income tax cuts if the party's re-elected, but Kiwis may have to wait for them. Speaking on a panel at BusinessNZ’s election conference in Wellington, Willis said the party has been monitoring 'bracket creep' and adjustments could be made after a return to surplus.  OliverShaw Tax Partner Robin Oliver says there's a case for indexin...

Economist Cameron Bagrie on how likely the RBNZ will lift the official cash rate in October given the ongoing mideast conflict. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Net migration is back on the rise as the brain drain eases.  Stats NZ data shows the number of people moving here in the year to July outnumbered those leaving by 20,300.  Annually, that net migration has risen almost 55%, with arrivals up 5% and departures down 4%.  Immigration Expert Simon Laurent told Andrew Dickens that much as it has in the past, the security and safety of New...

What we should do with KiwiSaver continues to be a hot topic this election season.   The latest party to throw their idea into the ring is Labour, which wants to lift the employer contribution rate to 6% by 2032.  They would also introduce compulsory employer contributions, even when employees have paused or reduced their own share and extend employer contributions to workers over 6...

With the election under two months away, questions have been raised over the impact of Labour's proposed capital gains tax. This campaign promise has copped some backlash, with National releasing several AI-generated ads condemning its impact. Dentons tax partner Bruce Bernacchi says it could take some time to reveal the impacts of a capital gains tax, given the current 'flat' state of the propert...

The Finance Minister's brushing off concerns about the government's fast track programme.  Local Government New Zealand is calling on central Government to pause all referrals on housing projects - claiming they're bypassing council decisions. It wants a review to clarify the housing fast track's role within the new planning system. Nicola Willis says she wants to make clear fast-track approv...

The ACT Party has unveiled their party list ahead of the election - and they've placed Paul Henry in the top five and kept Seymour, McKee, and Hoggard at the top. Paul Henry also indicated that ACT would be looking to bump the retirement age up to 67, but allow people to access their KiwiSavers from age 65. ACT Leader David Seymour says the party would stagger retirement out - meaning people may h...

Herald business commentator Fran O'Sullivan on Christchurch's tech and infrastructure boom See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Forsyth Barr's Zoe Wallis joins Herald NOW for the latest from the markets. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I hope you'll be phoning in to tell me all about the CRL - because it's trains, planes and automobiles today with the official launch of the long awaited CRL yesterday. This morning it was the hard launch as commuters test the reliability, convenience and time saving potential of the railway line. Tough day to be a bus. Nobody cares, you big stinky diesel thing, even though I know a few of you hav...

Bond markets face renewed pressure as oil prices surge. Harbour Asset Management expert Shane Solly explains what higher yields mean for investors and NZ.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An expectation of more OCR hikes - with bond yields rising internationally. 10-year New Zealand government bonds are now paying above five percent - the highest level since 2023. US 30-year Treasury bonds are at their highest point since 2007. The OCR rose to 2.75 percent two weeks ago. Westpac Chief Economist Kelly Eckhold told Heather du Plessis-Allan central banks have a lot of work to do next...

There's growing calls to boost the health system in order to drive economic growth, and BusinessNZ has outlined its concerns. The list of Health Priorities  calls on political parties to take a smarter approach to health spending, including increased Pharmac funding, better workforce planning, and more opportunities to adopt medical technology. BusinessNZ CEO Katherine Rich says good health p...

There's a reason we talk a lot on this programme about bond markets, growth, central bank decisions and wars in far-away places. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The election is 55 still days away, and it's looking like a tight one. And in the US the midterms are around the corner. America has a much bigger economy, and one that we have a lot of ties to. So how will these elections influence our domestic markets, if at all? Harbour Asset Management Co-CEO Chris Wilson joins Tim Beveridge to break down the facts.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listen...