The SME Stream

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, National’s bed-tax alternative, the lag in our unemployment rate,and the surge in KiwiSaver hardship wi...

How can leaders embrace AI and rapid change without losing the human connection that drives great workplaces? In this episode of HR Unlocked , Lisa Oakley sits down with Margo Thomas , Chief People Officer at Sime Motors, to explore leadership, trust, organisational culture, and the evolving role of HR in today's workplace. Drawing on more than two decades of experience across education, banking,...

New Zealand investment in women-only founding teams has more than tripled in a year, but a huge gender gap remains.  Gender Investment Gap University of Auckland Business School data shows these teams are still receiving less than six cents in every investment dollar, while male teams get 70 cents.  And while there's been more investment in women-led businesses, it starts falling away at...

The PM ponders Paris and whether we should be getting out of the Accord. We also discuss Labour’s ETS U-turn on pricing agricultural emissions, the Greens’ supermarket plans, and whether the Opportunity Party bubble has burst. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ASB's anticipating the upswing in the housing market will be steadier than in the past.  Its latest housing outlook predicts a more measured, household income-led recovery, rather than previous borrowing-led booms.   Chief economist Mark Smith expects national house prices to remain around 15% below the peaks of late 2021, which are unlikely to return until late 2029.  He told Mike...

The Government is looking to crack down on ACC-based fraud, but questions have been raised over the details of this move. ACC Minister Scott Simpson recently promoted that number of fraud investigations launched by ACC increased '12-fold' from two in the 2023 calendar year to 24 in 2025. In the eight months to the end of August this year, it launched 38 investigations. NZ Herald Wellington bu...

After a tough year for KMD Brands, the company's luck is turning around on the share market. The company behind Kathmandu and Rip Curl saw its share price go up by 17 percent, largely driven by Australian entrepreneur Josh Rudd buying 6 percent shareholding. Milford Asset Management expert Jeremy Hutton outlined what this could mean for the company - and whether a full takeover is possible. LISTEN...

House prices could be on track for a much faster recovery than ASB expects. The bank says national prices are still 15 percent below their late-2021 peak - and won't fully recover until 2029. But real estate agent Rawdon Christie thinks the market's about to pick up. He told Ryan Bridge the sheer number of people he's talking to points to a strong start to 2027. Christie says that's because people...

We've got another report from another ratings agency. Moody's. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy are already transforming lives – but could their impact on the economy be even bigger? Liam Dann and Tamsyn Parker look at predictions GLP-1 drugs could boost the US economy by hundreds of billions of dollars, slash healthcare costs and fundamentally change the food industry. And could New Zealand be one of the big winners as demand shifts towards pr...

Prasanna Gai, RBNZ Monetary Policy Committee member, lifts the curtain on the thinking behind last week’s interest rate hike and what comes next. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chris Hipkins is criticising his party's former policy on pricing farm emissions. Labour has released a pledge to review and reform the Emissions Trading Scheme - saying the price is too low. It wants farmers to adopt new tech to reduce emissions, and isn't campaigning on making them pay for agricultural emissions, as it did for nearly two decades. Hipkins says he's not convinced it would've worke...

The Labour Party has pledged to review the Emissions Trading Scheme if elected, and claims the current price is 'too low' to drive down reductions. In an earlier announcement, leader Chris Hipkins said the party would make changes to the scheme - and that they wouldn't campaign on pricing agricultural emissions, a departure from their earlier stance.  The Country's Jamie Mackay has admitted h...

The latest forecast from BusinessNZ shows New Zealand's economy's regained momentum. It's predicting solid economic growth out to 2028, citing the fact business confidence is holding up, the Performance of Manufacturing and Services Indexes are back in black, tourism's growing, and credit activity's increased.  Chief Economist John Pask says performance is improving across the board.   H...

Lightforce Solar CEO John Harman explains why commercial solar is gaining ground as businesses look to cut power costs and strengthen energy resilience. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

'I don't think we should be automatically blocking someone's Kiwisaver withdrawals if they still owe money on their student loan.' See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What separates genuinely innovative organisations from those that simply talk about innovation? In this episode of HR Unlocked , Lisa Oakley sits down with Nicola Taylor , co-founder of Tax Traders and Taxi, to explore organisational culture, innovation, leadership, and the mindset required to build businesses that continually evolve. Drawing on her experience building successful fintech companies...

Economist Naomi Fink on Japan’s shifting economy, the weaker yen and what it could mean for New Zealand businesses, exports and investors. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Trade Minister Todd McClay and Australia’s Trade and Tourism Minister Don Farrell have met in Auckland for the annual CER talks.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Christchurch-based Komodo Wellbeing founder Chris Bacon on expanding into the UAE as NZ exports rise seven percent since the free trade deal. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Forsyth Barr's Aaron Ibbotson says bond yields continue to rise globally with Japan's hitting a 30-year high. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

BusinessNZ's calling for a funding reset on medicines, with a new report highlighting the long-term benefits of investing more into healthcare. The report shows every dollar invested into medicine returns $1.93 to the economy.  BusinessNZ CEO Katherine Rich explained that there's long-term benefits into investing more, including boosting productivity and improving the quality of life for New...

The US and Iran have launched more tit-for-tat strikes over the weekend, resulting in oil prices going up - but what has it done for the markets? Experts indicate the Asia-Pacific market is still going strong, with the index going up by 1.1 percent. Harbour Asset Management Shane Solly explained further - and revealed why Korean chipmakers are helping things grow. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/l...

Finding a manufacturer in China is easy. Finding one you can actually trust is the hard part. In this episode of Make It Happen, we sit down with TK Wang, founder of Epic Sourcing, who has spent more than a decade helping businesses source and manufacture products in China. We get into how to tell whether you’re dealing with a genuine manufacturer or a middleman, the red flags to look for on...

The OCR changed this week, The Reserve Bank has upped it from 2.5% to 2.75%. But mortgages are already high, some unlucky buyers are now finding they owe more than the value of their house as equity erodes.  So if you're in this situation, what can you do? Opes Mortgages Managing Director Peter Norris joins Tim Beveridge to answer your questions. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for p...