Best of Business

There's yet another, frankly welcome, sign that the world's climate overhype may be over, or at least correcting. The latest is that the Government has announced it's now easing the rules on how much compulsory climate reporting the big listed companies have to do. Now, I don't blame you if you feel at this minute like your eyes are about to glaze over, but do not let that happen. Because this is...

Air New Zealand says it now expects to make a first-half loss of about $30 million to $55 million, before tax. It's just provided a trading update to the NZX. The national carrier says it expected a two to three percent uplift in revenue across domestic and US-bound bookings. However, this hasn't materialised and isn't evidenced in future bookings. NZ Shareholders Association head Oliver Mander sa...

A Kiwi company is investing in drone boats able to be used for defence - on home shores and beyond. Robotics company Syos has acquired Tauranga business Bay Dynamics.  Syos CEO Sam Vye says it will strengthen their position in the surveillance and defence market.  He adds underwater sabotage is a growing concern overseas.  "Particularly in the EU around potential sabotage by hostile...

With gas prices going up all over the country, there's debate over whether households should make the switch to electricity.  Contact Energy recently revealed it's hiking gas prices by an average of 17 percent, as the decline in production has hit faster and harder than expected. Master Plumbers CEO Greg Wallace says making the switch is a big decision - and could set households back by thous...

A new report reveals the importance of contributing to Kiwisaver after buying a first home.  The Retirement Expenditure Guidelines from Massey University and Fin-Ed Centre suggests Kiwisaver is great for funding retirement - if utilised correctly. It finds a modest retirement goal can be reached by age 65 even after withdrawing funds for a first-home at 35.  But report author Associate P...

Alliance has reached a $270million deal with Dawn Meats.  2,600 farmer-shareholders voted 87% in favour of selling 65% of the company arm to the Irish-backed company.  The new investment is expected to strengthen Alliance’s balance sheet, pay down debt and enable greater capital growth.   Spokesperson for Alliance shareholders Jeff Grant told Mike Hosking that ‘The company was force...

Partially selling one of New Zealand's largest meat companies should give it much-needed capital, according to some. Farmer shareholders of Alliance Group voted to let Ireland's Dawn Meats buy a 65 percent stake in the company, for $270 million. The remaining 35 percent will still belong to the co-op. The Country's Jamie Mackay explained further.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for...

Problems with Amazon's cloud services in the US have been felt around the world. Thousands of websites and apps were affected by an outage during the night, including TVNZ Plus, Neon, Sky TV, Snapchat and Wordle. Tech commentator Paul Spain says a lot of things got broken in the process of trying to undo the damage, and some businesses are still trying to recover. "When you break a lot of technolo...

A survey of roadworkers has found many face routine abuse, attacks, and some are even purposely hit by cars, according to new reports. The survey, which was run by Temporary Traffic Management Industry Steering Group, included 667 workers across New Zealand who described their experiences with verbal abuse and physical assault. Pipeline & Civil Ltd owner Hugh Goddard says he's heard his staff...

A multi-million-dollar class action against ANZ New Zealand over historic disclosure obligations looks likely to go ahead. ASB earlier this month settled its part in the four-year class action for $135.6 million - without conceding liability or wrongdoing. ANZ Chief Executive Antonia Watson has voiced disappointment with the development. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informa...

Recent Stats NZ data shows annual inflation hit three percent in September - the upper limit of the Reserve Bank's target range. This has sparked mixed reactions from the Government, but it's unclear if New Zealand avoided another technical recession. Harbour Asset Management's Shane Solly unpacked the market responses. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's belief from some economists that inflation's peaked, and it's all downhill from here.  It reached 3 percent in the year to September - up from 2.2 percent the year before. Kiwibank says the third quarter is traditionally tough, and conditions are likely to improve as the year ends.  Kiwibank chief economist Jarrod Kerr says he's satisfied domestic prices will now ease.  "We...

Annual inflation has risen to a 15-month high of 3%.  Economists had been expecting inflation to reach or surpass the 3% upper limit of the Reserve Bank's target band.  The central bank's expected to look past this current spike when it reviews the OCR next month.  New Zealand Herald Business Editor-at-large Liam Dann told Kerre Woodham that, “this this drip feeding of the rate cuts...

Another spike in inflation won't stop the Reserve Bank from cutting the Official Cash Rate again next month. Stats NZ is providing its latest quarterly CPI update at 10.45. Most economists expect it to hit the Reserve Bank's upper limit of three-percent, and some think it will surpass that limit. But Westpac Chief Economist Kelly Eckhold told Mike Hosking the Reserve Bank still thinks the economy'...

Shane Jones is determined to use his voice to attract mining investors to our shores - no matter the next election outcome.  The Resources Minister and self-proclaimed 'mining champion' is heading to the International Mining and Resources Conference in Sydney, to promote our supply of rare earth minerals.  Jones told Ryan Bridge regardless of the risk of the opposition taking power, if t...

Several Kiwi industry leaders and screen businesses have teamed up to officially launch Screen NZ International, an industry body designed to boost New Zealand's film industry. The organisation aims to help New Zealand remain a competitive screen destination by building relationships with clients and promoting the country internationally. Screen NZ International executive chair Mel Turner says the...

Most people think about money in terms of days. Wealthy people think about money in decades. Here's how to think about money differently: Based on this calculator .  Ed McKnight joined Jack Tame to look at how Kiwis view their money, and why we should start counting decades, not days. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In July the Government announced a  ban on surcharges on credit card payments in-store from May 2026 at the latest. ACT is attempting to block this ban by allowing credit card surcharges, as long as other payment options are offered- such as cash or eftpos. They suggest the ban will either increase prices for customers or unfairly punish businesses.  ACT Commerce and Consumer Affair...

There are fears that inflation could come back into the picture as the OCR falls.  Infometrics expects the OCR to fall to 2.25% next month - it's 2.5% at the moment.  Infometrics Chief Forecaster Gareth Kiernan says they expect to see growth hit 2.3% annual growth in 2027.  He says alongside stoking inflation, it could create other problems.  Kiernan says it risks stretching ca...

An argument has been made that the government has ‘overdone it’ with interest rate cuts.   Economist Cameron Bagrie told Ryan Bridge that the Reserve Bank has a difficult balance to maintain.  'Giving the economy a little bit more juice is not without risk...and headline inflation is moving up.’  LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Amazon has been scaling up its same-day grocery delivery services across cities all over the US. It's looking to expand to 2,300 US cities by the end of the year, and investors are speculating about what it could mean for the market. Sam Dickie from Fisher Funds explained further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's no guarantee businesses will honour unredeemed vouchers from GrabOne, which has gone into liquidation. The online deals website won’t be issuing refunds for unused purchases - and has told customers to directly contact vendors. Some sellers have indicated they’ll recognise GrabOne deals, but others say they may not be able to. Parakai Springs general manager Dion Tilson says they will hono...

It's thought that the aviation sector is over capitalising - as New Zealand's domestic airfares have shot up more quickly than any other country.   A global airport group says domestic airfares are up 63% in six years, and are well ahead of the second-highest, up 53%. Air New Zealand's Chief customer and digital officer Jeremy O'Brien told Mike Hosking that accelerated inflation is effecting...

The Airports Association is defending itself after airlines blame their charges,  for spikes in airfares.  An international airport group says New Zealand’s domestic airfares have shot up more quickly than any other country by 63-percent in six years.  But Air New Zealand says its fares are only up 35-percent. Association chief executive, Billie Moore told Ryan Bridge the biggest dr...

The Reserve Bank recently disputed the idea that Covid-era money printing programme caused sky-high inflation, which cost the Government billions. Staff at the bank have published new research that concludes the bank’s $55 billion Large-Scale Asset Purchase (LSAP) programme didn’t 'meaningfully' contribute to above-target inflation following the pandemic. NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee...