Best of Business

NZME and The Warehouse Group have joined forces to create a unique online shopping experience. The new online channel- Selection Live Shopping- will host live shopping events with radio host Mike Puru every Tuesday at 12:30pm, showcasing a wide range of products. NZME Chief Digital and Publishing Officer Carolyn Luey says this channel is designed to be an immersive new shopping experience combinin...

New Zealand's unemployment rate is unchanged at 3.4 percent. Stats NZ has just released the March 2023 quarterly figure, which hasn't budged since the December 2022 figure. Economists had picked the rate would stay close to record lows. NZ Herald Business Editor at Large Liam Dann joined Kerre Woodham to break down the figures. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I think Carmel Sepuloni gave us enough yesterday, didn’t she? Along with previous comments from Megan Woods and Chris Hipkins we can conclude that some sort of tax attack is coming from this Government as part of their re-election bid. My gut says their approach will go down in history as one of the most ill-conceived/mad hat ideas of the modern political era. A Government in a recession with a my...

Months on from Cyclone Gabrielle, no-one is willing to discuss a course of action for all the red-stickered homes. An expert from BusinessDesk is suggesting these affected homeowners could be the 'canary in the mine' for the future of long-term managed retreat. BusinessDesk managing editor Pattrick Smellie says whatever ends up happening to the affected residents will become a template for the fut...

The sugar hit many businesses received during the pandemic is starting to wear off. Company liquidations are on the rise again as the Covid-related protections that once shielded businesses are subsiding. Restructuring Insolvency and Turnaround Association chair Kare Johnstone says the number of liquidations from the first quarter of 2023 is 265, up 29 percent from early 2022. "While liquidations...

The Hawke's Bay region is calling out for more Government assistance following Cyclone Gabrielle. A report has found the area will have ongoing economic losses of $3.5 billion dollars over the next 10 years if no support arrives immediately. Rockit Apples chair John Loughlin says they'd like $750 million dollars to help with clean ups and replanting efforts. He says if they don't get help, the res...

A Christchurch business owner is expressing frustration at the disruption created by maintenance. For the last four weeks, traffic management and road cones have been set up outside the Vehicles Under $6990 dealership. According to the Council, this is being done to fix waterworks. Owner Hamish Cross has observed that work on this project has only taken place during one six hour period over the co...

In the UK they are known for their food and booze - but are leading and expanding in tech and safety as well. In New Zealand we have more than 600 businesses known as SAAS - a software-as-a-service business. They bring in $20 billion to the New Zealand economy and employ 13,000 people. One of these companies, Safe365, is experiencing huge success and growth in the UK and now count Amazon, Heathrow...

The Acting Prime Minister says it's still far too early to say whether Labour will introduce a Capital Gains Tax if it wins the next election. Carmel Sepuloni told Mike Hosking she can't discuss a tax policy that doesn't yet exist. “We haven’t had the conversations or discussions to explore what that might mean as a political party through our manifesto going into the next election.” LISTEN ABOVE...

Heading into a busy winter season, the dairy sector is still lacking thousands of workers. The shortage is being partly blamed on the median migrant wage with the $29.66 cent hourly wage requirement being called unreasonable as local workers earn less for the same job. Federated Farmers Dairy chair and Immigration spokesperson, Richard McIntyre, joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio....

Founder of hugely successful beauty bar brand Ethique Brianne West is out to help others achieve their own success. After stepping down as Ethique's CEO, West launched Business But Better, an organisation that mentors and coaches other start-up social enterprises.   Brianne West says stepping down from Ethique was a hard decision, but she believed it was in the company's best interests to depart....

One of the things I like about London is the infrastructure works. The buses, the trains, the tube, the taxis all work. It’s a systems place, it’s got the population to support it, and it works, so people use it. The other thing I’ve found on our travels both here and in the States, is that service culture is huge. It’s a career. At home it feels a bit more of a transient option for school leavers...

Student associations say students are being forced into more work and turning to food banks,  as rents rise. The student loan for living costs and student allowance rose by $20 from April 1. It follows a $25 weekly increase in Budget 2022. Union of Students' Associations President Ellen Dixon says there are landlords and property managers that monitor those financial changes. She says there's a di...

Expectation that a funding boost for our wood processing sector will target New Zealand's slash problem. A new $57 million government fund aims to process logs onshore, move the industry from volume to value and create high wage jobs. It's estimated the fund will see up to $650 million more Gross Domestic Product over its lifetime. Federated Farmers Forestry Spokesperson Toby Williams told Mike Ho...

National claims empowering landlords to evict tenants without cause will help renters. The party's housing spokesperson Chris Bishop says increased tenancy regulation has decreased supply, pushing up rent prices. He told Mike Hosking the policy has caused landlords to fear renting to vulnerable people, as there's no way to easily evict them if things don't work out. Under the current law, landlord...

There has been plenty of discussion amongst tax experts around fairness within the system. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has confirmed no major tax overhaul will be made in this term of government, including on capital gains. But, KPMG Tax Partner Rebecca Armour told Mike Hosking there's an argument for one, where people in the same economic position pay the same amount of tax. She says people earn...

There are signs of a changing landscape in the rental market. The latest monthly Tony Alexander Investor Insight survey has found a net 13 percent of investors are finding it easier to get good tenants. That result is the highest reading in the survey since March last year. Independent economist Tony Alexander told Mike Hosking it's partly driven by tourists and overseas students coming back into...

It's hoped a new fund will unleash opportunities for New Zealand's domestic wood processing sector. Government is putting $57 million into the industry, aiming to process more logs onshore, create high-wage jobs and aid climate change goals. Forest Industry Contractors Association Chief Executive Prue Younger told Kate Hawkesby the problem the industry is facing is heavy reliance on export markets...

The Government is being called on to invest any money it may borrow, into things that create a stronger economy. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has confirmed no major tax overhaul will be made this term, including on capital gains or a cyclone levy. Council of Trade Unions economist Craig Renney told Kate Hawkesby if we borrow for things like roads, schools and hospitals, we're all better off as a s...

New Zealand's next election is fast approaching, and next year the focus will be on America's election. An expert from Fisher Funds says geopolitical events can give investors plenty of reasons to be concerned, and looking at history can indicate how to proceed.  Sam Dickie of Fisher Funds explained it's impossible to construct a long-term portfolio based around politics or elections, citing the m...

The India NZ Business Council has released information suggesting New Zealand has more work to do before establishing a trade deal with India. According to a new report from the INZBC, New Zealand will be better off building an initial relationship with India first before leading with a trade deal. Senior business correspondent Dileepa Fonseka says the growing insistence on setting up an FTA may h...

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins delivered his pre-budget speech and experts are comparing aspects of it to National's campaign promises. Hipkins talked about reducing Government spending, highlighted strong immigration numbers and ruled out introducing a capital gains tax. The Prime Minister also promised spending would be directed to boost economic productivity, with skills, science and infrastructu...

A senior tax director predicts the Government will propose a capital gains tax and take it to the election. An Inland Revenue report released yesterday found the average earner is taxed at more than double the rate of New Zealand's wealthiest. Andrew Dickeson from Baker Tilly Staples Rodway suspects the Government will introduce a broad tax on capital, but it risks running the rich out of New Zeal...

The Prime Minister is being praised for a "business friendly" pre-budget speech. Chris Hipkins says the Government will deliver a no-frills Budget, balancing restraint with funding the basics on May 18. He's ruled out introducing a capital gains or wealth tax, and bringing in a cyclone levy to fund the recovery. Auckland Business Chamber chief executive Simon Bridges says it provides certainty. "I...

Another day and news of yet more surgery delays at Christchurch Hospital. Maybe if the super-rich were paying their fair share of tax, we wouldn’t be in this mess. Because, in a nutshell, your typical rich-lister pays about half as much tax on every dollar of income they receive, compared to the rest of us. That’s the main message the Government’s been pushing from the IRD’s report on the tax affa...