Best of Business

US President Donald Trump has called India a country with a ‘dead economy.’  Despite India being one of the largest and fastest growing economies in the world, Trump lumped India in with Russia when criticising their economies.  Asia business correspondent Peter Lewis says that Donald Trump’s comments could affect the two countries’ trade.   He told Heather duPlessis-Allan that ‘It’...

There’s a view we're an international outlier with our labelling regulations.  The standards are under review from the Ministry for Regulation in its latest attack on red tape.  Minister David Seymour says the labelling codes seem overly restrictive.  He says for example, Chemist Warehouse has someone employed full time to check labels.  BusinessNZ CEO Katherine Rich told Mike...

2025 has been regarded as a challenging year for economic forecasting, with experts stumped about what decisions to make. Traditional indicators have been regarded as contradictory, but one expert's developed a workaround. Sam Dickie from Fisher Funds explains further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fuel taxes are set to be replaced by road user charges for all vehicles - and it's left many wondering how these changes will be implemented. Eroad has welcomed this development, and their share price has risen in the hours since Transport Minister Chris Bishop made this announcement. Eroad co-CEO Mark Heine says the company's been making use of electronic road user charges (eRUC) for years and sa...

A temporary shutdown may be on the cards for fertiliser manufacturer Ballance as it struggles to secure affordable gas. The farmer and grower co-op says it may close its Kapuni plant for up to four months as a contingency. The company manufactures about a third of New Zealand’s urea fertiliser each year. Chief executive Kelvin Wickham says they aren't able to secure gas on a long-term basis. ...

A tax expert says there is a concerning trend as businesses owe more and more to Inland Revenue.   Businesses owe more than $1.4 billion in unpaid GST and PAYE from the 2025 tax year.  Only $66 million of that is from businesses or individuals that are bankrupt or in liquidation.  Deloitte Tax Partner Robyn Walker told Mike Hosking the construction sector alone owes about $1 billion...

Government debt levels are rising globally - with many at risk of permanent structural deficits if they can't bring down interest bills each year. Cutting spending and increasing taxes is an unpopular concept among voters, so experts are wondering what the next steps could be. Milford Asset Management's Jeremy Hutton explains further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informatio...

New Zealand businesses owe more than $1.4 billion in unpaid GST and PAYE from the 2025 tax year, according to new reports. Of 2025's number, $432.9 million relates to employer activities and $1.047 billion to GST. IRD Customer Segment Manager Tony Morris says this data's in line with what's happening overseas - but it's an area they aim to put more focus on. "What we're seeing is a bit of an incre...

The sluggish job market is another bump in our road to economic recovery, according to some recent predictions. The unemployment rate's sitting at 5.2 percent - its highest point in five years.  In late 2021, it was just 3.2 percent.  Westpac senior economist, Michael Gordon, says it shows our economic slowdown's ongoing.  He says it's not too surprising, given the Reserve Bank's mo...

Economic recovery is taking longer than many hoped.  Unemployment's risen to a five-year high of 5.2%, up from 5.1% in the March quarter.  New Zealand officially moved out of recession last year.  The Herald's Liam Dann told Kerre Woodham the job market is taking longer to catch up, so many people may not be feeling better off.  He says economists can tell us numbers are improv...

The latest unemployment statistics for New Zealand are due out tomorrow, and experts are divided ahead of the announcement. Many are projecting the market will have deteriorated further, but some are hoping things would have picked up. HSBC chief economist Paul Bloxham explains further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Trump surprised New Zealand businesses with a new 15 percent tariff, and experts have crunched the numbers to find out what this could mean for our key sectors. The imposition of the new tariff on Kiwi exports is projected to cost the red meat sector an estimated $300 million and wine exporters $112 million. The Country's Jamie Mackay explains further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for...

New World customers are struggling to get their hands on Smeg kitchenware, available under a 12-week promotion. They can collect one sticker for every $20 spent. But the highest-value option, the braiser, is running out - and New World says there won't be any extra deliveries.  Consumer NZ, CEO Jon Duffy, says New World has specified this is 'while stocks last'. But he says it's also required...

New Zealand's biggest energy players - Genesis, Meridian, Mercury and Contact - have formed a deal to stockpile coal at Huntly Power Station, and questions have been raised. The energy companies say the shared strategic energy reserve will secure supply for the next decade.  Minerals West Coast manager Patrick Phelps explained the nuances of this deal to the Afternoons team. LISTEN ABOVE See...

US markets cracked sharply last Friday, and experts are aiming to discover what happened.  Job market slumps, economic uncertainty and growing tariff tensions have been highlighted as key factors behind the drop. Harbour Asset Management's Shane Solly explained further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Genesis Energy and the three other big power generators have signed agreements to establish a strategic energy reserve centred on Genesis’ Huntly Power Station. The deals - aimed at supporting national security of power supply - have been settled by Genesis, Meridian Energy, Mercury NZ and Contact Energy. The parties intend for the agreements to take effect from January 1, 2026. Genesis Energy chi...

The Finance Minister reckons New Zealand will eventually be able to work out a better deal with the Trump administration following last week's shock announcement. President Donald Trump has unveiled a surprise 15 percent tariff on New Zealand - higher than that for both the UK and Australia.  Finance Minister Nicola Willis says there's a possibility things could improve, given the changing tr...

White-collar workers will be familiar with workplace annoyances - including unnecessary meetings, corporate acronyms and an overuse of LinkedIn - and it's all been observed by a pair of Aussie comedians. The duo put modern workplace culture under the microscope in their book - 'Wankernomics'. Co-author James Schloeffel says he's spent a long time in the corporate world and he's used this book to d...

The Prime Minister has claimed it's 'unlikely' that New Zealand will be able to make Trump change his mind about the tariffs - and many experts agree with that sentiment. Trump recently raised New Zealand's tariff rate to 15 percent, while keeping Australia and the UK at 10 percent. Trade Minister Todd McClay will head to Washington in the coming weeks to argue our case, but Felicity Roxburgh from...

So, was our government too relaxed about the tariffs then?   Cause this is a shock today – isn't it? To find out that we’ve just been bumped up to 15% while Australia and dozens of other countries have stayed on 10%.  Now, it seems to be related, most likely, to our balance of trade and that the US has a trade deficit with us. So we get 15%, but then a trade surplus with Australia, so th...

US President Donald Trump has announced an increase to the current 10% tariff on NZ goods. As of today, the President has raised these tariffs to 15%, leaving exporters concerned about their businesses. President Trump says that this increase is a 'reciprocal' tariff. Senior Business Journalist John Weekes says that this comment has left confusion, as New Zealand does not impose tariffs on US prod...

2025 is nearly halfway over - and it's been a memorable one for the markets so far. Between new developments in AI, ongoing economic uncertainty and Donald Trump's string of tariff announcements, investors have had to contend with a lot of unique factors. Fisher Funds expert Sam Dickie explains further - and reveals what investors can expect for the months ahead. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/li...

The latest Farmer Confidence survey shows farmers are seeing one of the highest lifts in confidence in recent memory. The July survey shows the rural mood has improved significantly this year, rebounding from record lows 12 months ago. The Country's Hamish McKay explains further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An Auckland company is part of a consortium which has secured nearly $18 million in UK Government funding to help Jaguar Land Rover recycle old EV batteries. Mint Innovation, along with LiBatt Recycling and Warwick University, will help develop technology to extract lithium, nickel and cobalt from used batteries. Mint Innovation CEO Dr Will Barker says the company is scaling to be one of the leade...

Agriculture is leading the way as the country's top performing industry.   Xero’s latest Insights report shows consistent under-performance in New Zealand’s small business sector in the past year, with sales falling by 0.1% in the June quarter.  Country manager Bridget Snelling told Mike Hosking sectors that are more sensitive to consumer spending and interest rates are being hit hardest...