The SME Stream

We catch up with the Supreme Winner of the NZI Rural Women Business Awards, held last night at Parliament. Kylie is the owner of Southern Reproductive, an independent reproductive services and training business that she began five years ago. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand businesses are selling like hot-cakes.  ABC Business Sales' latest report shows there were 503 completed sales over the last 12 months, up 19 percent on the year before.  The business broker says New Zealand is still in a seller's market with an average of 34 buyers per new business listing. Managing Director Chris Small says they're sending out huge numbers of confidentialit...

S&P's Anu Ganti on what's driving Wall Street, the next phase of AI trade and what investors should watch in the second half of 2026 / Video. Herald NOW Business See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A banking expert believes there's enough competition as it is, between the country's eight largest banks. The Financial Markets Authority's found all but one lifted floating mortgage rates 25 basis points after the OCR rose by the same amount this month. The average bank lifted its savings rates by only 17 basis points.  Massey University's Claire Matthews told Mike Hosking that there's alway...

Waitomo CEO, Simon Parham reveals whether fuel prices will reach $3 again. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The United States has announced it will impose new tariffs on 60 trading partners, including New Zealand.  After his previous tariffs were deemed illegal by the Supreme Court, Trump is using the excuse that the countries are not doing enough to stop the imports of goods associated with forced labour to justify the increase.  ExportNZ Executive Director Joshua Tan told Heather du Plessis-...

The Finance Minister says changes to paid parental leave weren't in the coalition agreement for the current government. The National Party is promising to extend paid parental leave to 30 weeks by 2029 if re-elected, with further increases possible if finances allow. It would also allow parents more flexibility to share, or take leave at the same time. Nicola Willis told Mike Hosking that the chan...

Support for National's paid parental leave policy, from at least one business leader. The party's promising to extend paid parental leave from the current 26 weeks,  to 30 weeks by 2029 if re-elected, with further increases possible if finances allow. Parents would also have more flexibility to share, or take leave at the same time. Business Canterbury CEO Leeann Watson told Andrew Dickens th...

As business owners, you know how hard it is keeping up with your business, let alone the news. Join Wilhelmina O'Keeffe each week as she gives you a rundown of the biggest stories that could impact your business, so you can make informed decisions with expert advice.   This week,  Inflation swells, are petrol prices to blame? Exporters brace for more tariff hikes in the US. Plus, just wh...

New Zealand’s housing market remains firmly in buyers’ favour.  Sales activity is continuing to weaken and property values are showing little sign of a broad-based recovery.  But, while first-home buyers remain active, investors are pulling back, with some wary of what a shifting political and tax environment could mean for returns.&nbs...

Taxing the super-rich has been tried overseas and hasn't always worked out, one expert says.  The Greens have set their wealth tax rate at 2.5%, but Treasury modelling suggests it could shrink the taxable wealth base by more than 40%.   The party's own modelling puts the reduction at about 28%.   Dentons tax partner Bruce Bernacchi told Kerre Woodham if introduced, we'd be only one...

NZME’s head of business content previews an excellent 28-page Agribusiness lift-out in the NZ Herald, where subjects as wide-ranging as global trade, AI, ag emissions, weight loss drugs and politics are covered.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

$20trillion of debt is set to be issued in 2026, about two thirds of that is from governments.' See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Climate Change Commission CE Jo Hendy on what changes are needed to unlock investment and help businesses decarbonise See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Borrowers' pockets may feel the most impact from more regular inflation reports.   From next July, Stats NZ will phase in monthly Consumer Price Index reporting on top the current quarterly reports.   Statistics Minister Scott Simpson says it'll keep businesses, households, and decision-makers, like the Reserve Bank, better-informed.   The Herald's Liam Dann told Kerre Woodham it wi...

Professor Anita Wreford discusses how El Nino could reshape costs, commodity prices and investment decisions. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Satellite-to-mobile coverage - Starlink, AST SpaceMobile, Amazon all chasing a bigger slice of the market. Chris Keall Herald Technology Editor. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand is bringing its inflation reporting into the modern era.  People will be able to access the data monthly from July next year, as part of a major upgrade to the country’s economic statistics.   Stats NZ says the move provides a more current view of price changes across the economy, rather than it being reported every quarter.   Statistics Minister Scott Simpson told...

News from OpenAI, that two of its advanced models got out of a sandbox system, seems like proof of their power and our difficulty controlling it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Leaders Getting Coffee episode 67, our guest is  Amelia Linzey, Group CEO of Engineering firm Beca.   Amelia Linzey has broken the mould in more ways than most of us. Firstly, if we think of large-scale infrastructure engineering as a ‘mans world’, then she has truly broken that particular glass ceiling. But her other main attribute is stickability. In an environment where...

What can HR and business leaders learn from paramedics who make life-and-death decisions every day? In this episode of HR Unlocked, Lisa Oakley sits down with Ross Aitken, Clinical Operations Manager at Northern Rescue, and Mark Quin, Secretary of the New Zealand Ambulance Association. Together they explore leadership under pressure, resilience, decision-making in high-stakes environments, and wha...

New Zealand isn't exactly famous for producing automotive brands, but FTN Motion is trying to change that. In the latest episode of The Business of Tech, the company’s co-founders Luke Sinclair and Kendall Bristow recount how a backyard BMX hack led to them creating one of the country's most distinctive electric vehicle startups. That was almost a decade ago, when two mechanical engineering...

Finance minister Nicola Willis says while inflation has been largely driven by fuel prices, rates are also an issue that need attention. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

HighGround Dairy's Stu Davison discusses the latest GDT auction prices. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rabobank’s senior agricultural analyst also comments on the GDT auction as well as Rabobank’s 2026 World Dairy Map, which shows New Zealand remaining the world’s largest single-country dairy exporter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.