The SME Stream

The topic of New Zealand-owned banks is arising again, with NZ First pitching to buy back BNZ to bolster competition.  Kiwibank is already New Zealand-owned, but only holds a little over 6% of the lending market, raising the question – how much do Kiwis actually care about backing a Kiwi bank?  Kiwibank CEO Steve Jurkovich told Kerre Woodham that they've been in operation for much...

Chris Luxon is criticising Labour's long-awaited fiscal plan, but won't put a date on when its fiscal plan will be released. Labour's plan includes a return to operating surplus by 2028-29 - and the party's confident every campaign promise so far is fully costed and funded. Luxon has criticised the plan, for not costing the reintroduction of the pay equity scheme. The National Leader told Mike Hos...

Barbara Edmonds is adamant she's 'absolutely credible' as Labour's finance spokesperson. The party's unveiled its Fiscal Plan, promising to return the books to an operating surplus in 2028/29. Edmonds is confident every campaign promise so far is fully costed and funded. She's not providing a figure for returning the former pay equity scheme, saying that will be decided in bargaining. Edmonds told...

Consumer NZ Chief Executive Jon Duffy discusses Labour's latest consumer policy. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An economist says it will be tough to achieve the numbers set out in Labour's fiscal plan.  The party says all its election commitments are fully costed - with the country returning to surplus in 2028/29.  Labour would keep the Budget operating allowance tight at 2.4 billion dollars - and reinstate its pay equity scheme at a cost not yet determined.  Economist Cameron Bagrie tells A...

Shipping costs, a longer war, and arguments over which diesel reserves to dip into drive borrowing costs and bond yields higher. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The regulator wants minimum coverage of 2.5 cash-handling sites for every 10,000 people, reaching 95% of the population. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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,  the government’s books look better than expected, but can we keep it up? The number of people in work...

New Zealand wants more from its science system – more startups, more export revenue and more high-paying jobs. But in the rush to commercialise research, are we putting the discoveries that fuel future breakthroughs at risk? That tension sits at the heart of the latest episode of The Business of Tech, featuring Professor Frank Bloomfield, the University of Auckland’s deputy vice-chance...

New Zealand’s housing market has taken another step backwards.  Property values have now fallen for six months in a row, with the national median value dropping below the previous cycle low.  And while buyers have more choice and bargaining power, there’s still little sign of a sharp rebound - with high mortgage rates, economic uncertainty and plenty of houses on the market k...

Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds says they won't change modelling, despite the pre-election fiscal update showing smaller house price growth. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How big is his hole? Nicola Willis was asking Grant Robertson back in 2023, where are you going to find the money to fill that Government's financial fiscal hole? And now yesterday, she says that Labour has another fiscal hole to fill and it's a beauty. She told us yesterday when she was a guest in studio that there is no way Labour can afford to fund their pay equity promises, far less many of th...

... and how does the result affect earnings and market performance? Matthew Goodson - Salt Funds Management. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More growth out of the new vehicle market, with September the strongest month of the year so far.  Over 13 thousand new passenger vehicles were registered —up nearly 28% on a year ago— while total light vehicle registrations neared 25 thousand.  Toyota led the market with over 3,000 sales, with BYD, Tesla, and MG, all sitting between 500 and 1000 new registrations.  Moto...

Labour is promising to get Kiwi consumers a fair go if they get elected. If it forms a Government, it's pledging to require all mandatory fees to be included in the upfront price, and require every subscription to be as easy to cancel as it is to sign up to. Labour's consumer affairs spokesperson, Arena Williams, says Kiwis should be able to see the full price and make an informed choice. "Every N...

Now, I don't know that Labour's plan to stop businesses charging hidden fees is a game changer, or even necessarily something worth campaigning on during an election. But I think it might be a good idea. Labour's plan is basically to ban junk add-ons like paint protection insurance, stop the hard sell of extended warranties like the ones you're offered when you buy a new pair of AirPods, require a...

$15b less in bond issuance through to June 2030. That track surprised financial markets yesterday. Garth Bray 2degrees Business wrap. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In episode 71of Leaders Getting Coffee our guest is one of New Zealand’s younger government ministers, Simeon Brown. He was inspired by his grandfather who worked to support the local community and later, his mother who led the local residents association. That led to him taking an early interest in politics, and while still at school he occupied roles as secretary and treasurer alongside hi...

Why do organisations invest in leadership development only to see people return to work and carry on exactly as before? In this episode of HR Unlocked, Lisa Oakley sits down with Jocelyn Visser, founder of Compass Consultancy and consultant at People Associates, to explore what makes leadership development genuinely effective. For Jocelyn, the starting point isn't choosing a course or training pro...

What happens when you stop overthinking business and just give it a crack? We sit down with Leigh Hart - one of New Zealand’s most recognisable comedians and the entrepreneur behind Wakachangi and SnackaChangi - to unpack how he turned decades of storytelling, creativity and a cult following into brands that stand out on supermarket shelves. Leigh takes us inside his unconventional approach...

A deeper, more tactical return to Episode 8's big question, with real dollar figures attached. Mike and Scott walk through exactly how to validate an idea at $0, $500 and $5,000 budget levels — and how to land your very first customer. You'll learn: -Why an idea alone has almost no market value in the age of AI; -How to validate for free (talk to 1–100 potential customers) before spend...

The Finance Minister says tough choices aren't just made for the sake of it with the Crown books now opened for pre-election scrutiny.  It shows we're on track for a good surplus in the 2028/29 financial year, with a much smaller current deficit than expected.  But it’s not entirely rosy, with predictions slashed on house price growth, more money needed for health, and concerns ove...

New Zealanders are working. The economy is growing. So why aren’t we getting much more out of it?  For more than a decade, New Zealand’s productivity growth has been painfully weak – and that could be one of the biggest economic problems facing the next Government.  But you wouldn’t necessarily know it from the election campaign.  The parties are promising ta...

Labour Leader Chris Hipkins has admitted he hasn't yet read the Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update (PREFU) in full, but he is confident the funding for his party's policies is there. Speaking to Canterbury Mornings, Hipkins says Labour will take time to crunch the numbers before coming out with their fiscal plan, which will be out by the end of next week. "You've got to give us a little bit o...

The Prime Minister ponders the curse of being an Air New Zealand CEO. Plus, we discuss tonight’s Rural Issues Debate, the diesel crisis, the age of eligibility for National Super, Chippy’s flawed CGT and the dangers of strategic voting. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.