Best of Business

Calls are growing for a review of the Reserve Bank's slow response to inflation. National is calling for an independent review after Governor Adrian Orr acknowledged his interest rate decisions have contributed to inflation reaching the level it has. Orr's acknowledgment followed criticism from his predecessors, including Graeme Wheeler and Don Brash. To discuss this, former Finance Minister Steve...

More signs of a slowdown in the housing market. CoreLogic is now forecasting for the cooling of the property market to continue for the rest of the year. And ANZ says a fall to house prices is becoming more likely, as higher than expected inflation forces the Reserve Bank to raise the Official Cash Rate faster than expected. Chief Economist Sharon Zollner told Mike Hosking ANZ is now forecasting t...

An interesting insight this morning into the mind of us all as investors. Kiwi Wealth's annual State of the Investor Nation report is out this morning. It has found that 37 percent of us feel less wealthy than we did 12 months ago, but we also have come to accept how important some level of investing is. We have a record amount in KiwiSaver at the moment, 69 percent, and a growing number are movin...

The Reserve Bank is being urged to show more urgency in its efforts to curb inflation. Governor Adrian Orr has acknowledged interest rate decisions he has made during the Covid pandemic have contributed to inflation reaching the level it has. National is now calling for an independent review of the central bank's monetary policy response. Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olsen told Kate Hawkes...

Supermarkets could face huge fines if they breach the Government's new code of conduct for the sector. A cabinet paper shows supermarkets may be fined up to $10 million or three times any commercial gain they get from any breach. If that figure cannot be calculated, they may be fined up to ten percent of revenue during the breach period. Consumer NZ Chief Executive Jon Duffy told Mike Hosking says...

National says an independent review of the Reserve Bank is crucial to ensuring mistakes from the past aren't repeated. Governor Adrian Orr has acknowledged interest rate decisions he has made during the Covid-19 pandemic, have contributed to inflation reaching the level it has. It follows criticism from his predecessor, Graeme Wheeler. National Leader Christopher Luxon told Mike Hosking the centra...

Former Reserve Bank Governor Graeme Wheeler has taken a swing at central banks all over the world, including our own. He's co-authored a report accusing central banks of overdoing interest rate cuts and quantitive easing. He goes on to say the banks should admit their serious mistakes, which led to increased inflation. Don Brash, a Former Reserve Bank Governor himself, joined Heather du Plessis-Al...

Fears for the impact foot and mouth disease could have on the economy, should it reach New Zealand. Biosecurity has been keeping an eye on Indonesia's outbreak for several weeks. And in the past week, non-infectious traces of the disease have been found on meat imported to Australia. Federated Farmers National President Andrew Hoggard told Kate Hawkesby the disease would be catastrophic for this c...

There has never been a worse time to be on the Jobseeker benefit. And yet 100,000 are. Tens of thousands more than were on it when the current government arrived in power. How on Earth is that possible? And when are enough hard questions going to be asked about a government that protects the lazy, those without ambition, and a belief that the state, i.e you and I, should be paying their bills whil...

Claims the outbreak of inflation in many economies is due to mistakes made by central banks. It comes in the form of a new paper, co-authored by former governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Graeme Wheeler, and the New Zealand Initiative's Dr. Bryce Wilkinson. They say central banks overall were too confident about their monetary policy framework and thought they could control output and empl...

Business leaders want an end to Covid-19 isolation rules for household contacts, to help ease staff shortages. Instead, they want a test, pass, work protocol so people who aren't sick are able to carry on working. The Employers and Manufacturers' Association's Alan McDonald told Mike Hosking it would be helpful, but thinks it's unlikely the Government will agree anytime soon. "Just with the pressu...

Isolation rules are causing long Covid for businesses, according to the Auckland Business Chamber. The Chamber says hotels are closed, flights can't depart and there are no busses to get to the ski-fields with so many workers isolating as household contacts. Business Chamber CEO, Michael Barnett joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Finance Minister is staying tight-lipped on whether another extension to fuel tax cuts is on the horizon. The Government pushed out the 25-cent reduction to petrol prices until the end of January, to ease the sting from high inflation. Low road user charges and half-price public transport fares are enjoying a similarly long stay of execution. Grant Robertson told Heather du Plessis-Allan the i...

As schools return, let’s begin the term with a little Economics 101. When you artificially inject yourself into an economy with the view to helping people out financially, what do you do? Do you: - Give the help to everyone no matter whether they need it or not? - Give it those who need it most? - When do you stop, and under what circumstances? - Was any of this explained in a way at the start tha...

Efforts to turn the tide on harmful content online. NetSafe has reached an agreement with Meta, Google, TikTok, Amazon and Twitter for a code of practice, obliging the tech giants to actively reduce damaging material.  It's self-regulated and voluntary, but NetSafe's Brent Carey told Mike Hosking it'll hold the companies accountable through a public complaints process. He says that'll help determi...

Ian McCrae has retired as Orion Health CEO after 30 years on the job. McCrae says he's going to remain as a director and major shareholder while keeping a hand on product development. It comes after a bout with brain cancer, and he says after 30 years at the helm, it's time for him to step back and take up a background role. Business commentator Rod Oram joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABO...

The wild weather is over, but the travel chaos could continue well into next week. More than 180 flights and most Cook Strait ferry sailings were cancelled during yesterday's stormy weather. Air New Zealand is asking people to delay their flights if possible. But Chief Executive Greg Foran told Tim Dower the airline is trying to make arrangements for people who need to travel. “Got 126,000 people...

Signs the housing credit crunch might be easing a little. A new survey of mortgage advisors by economist Tony Alexander has found banks are becoming more willing to lend funds, a stark turnaround to the situation a year ago. Mortgage broker Bruce Patten told Tim Dower some banks are more willing to lend than others. He says about half of banks are more willing to lend than others, and clients who...

Kmart is shifting south. The retail giant is moving its distribution centre from Auckland to the Ruakura Superhub in Hamilton. It will be a bigger and better facility that spans four rugby fields and is set to open late next year. Chris Wilkinson, Managing Director of consultancy company First Retail Group joined Roman Travers. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over the last week or so, both Vodafone and Spark have sold their cell towers to offshore funds. Vodafone agreed to a $1.7 billion sale of mobile phone towers to a group of investment funds. And Spark sold its majority stake $900 million to a Canadian fund. Fisher Funds Senior Portfolio Manager Sam Dickie joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informa...

Australia is dealing with an outbreak of foot and mouth disease. Fragments of the disease have been discovered at Australia's border and in pork in Melbourne. The products had been imported from China, but the disease has also been detected in the Indonesian tourist hotspot Bali. The Country host Jamie Mackay joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inf...

Greedflation is becoming a big political issue in the US. It's a term used over there when companies use the cover of inflation to boost their margins. NZ Herald Business Editor at Large Liam Dann joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Research from accountancy firm Hnry has found we're losing an estimated $3 billion in unproductivity each year. Outdated ways of managing tax and admin are to blame. Hnry CEO James Fuller joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I want to start off with immigration because this is the issue of the day, is it not. This is the issue of the age. We have discovered after the pandemic that we are very dependent on those people who live overseas and come to live here in New Zealand. The Government say they want to attract a higher quality immigrant. So to that measure, yesterday Stuart Nash announced that the Government is maki...

More detail is wanted regarding the Government's changes to investor migrant visas. Investors now need to invest at least $5 million over three years and directly back New Zealand businesses. Immigration lawyer Aaron Martin told Tim Dower the policy is confusing and lacks clarity. He says even the Beehive press release is short on detail. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inform...