Best of Business

New Zealand Media and Entertainment (NZME) says its first-half revenue was slightly up on the year before, despite a tough trading environment. The media group behind the New Zealand Herald, BusinessDesk, Newstalk ZB and OneRoof reported a first-half net profit of $1.9 million, down 4.3 percent on the year before. However, there was a 3 percent lift in operating revenue and other income to $171 mi...

US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell has hinted interest rate cuts could be coming from September. In a recent address, Powell indicated upside risks to inflation have diminished, and the downside risks to employment have increased. Harbour Asset Management's Shane Solly says these comments struck the right tone with markets, causing sharemarkets to go up as a result. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio...

More and more businesses have begun utilising AI for recruiting staff - and jobseekers have concerns. Spark, Kmart and Woolworths all use Sapia.ai software to conduct automated chat and video interviews with an AI-based 'smart interviewer'. Chief executive and platform founder Barb Hyman says the AI eliminates the bias human recruiters bring to job interviews. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/liste...

There's hopes a ruling against Uber could help empower other contractors. The Court of Appeal has ruled four Uber drivers are employees, not contractors. Uber says it will appeal and claims the move will increase uncertainty for workers who enjoy the flexibility of contract work. First Union General Secretary Dennis Maga says it could have wider implications. He says while likely limited to other...

Market experts are convinced 2024 will conclude with a soft economic landing. This contradicts initial predictions that a global recession would disrupt things.  Sam Dickie from Fisher Funds unpacks why predictions have changed. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prices have bounced back in the latest Global   Dairy Trade auction - with an impressive 5.5 percent increase across the board. The sixth event of the new dairy season, it is the largest percentage lift since March 2021, and a far cry from the the beginning of July when prices plunged 6.9 percent. The Country's Jamie Mackay explains what this means for the primary sector. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystu...

The Government has moved on Auckland apartment developer Du Val Group, taking the rare step of placing it in statutory management. The move follows the group of companies being placed in interim receivership on August 2 after an application by the Financial Markets Authority. NZ Herald property editor Anne Gibson says investigations are still ongoing. "We don't really know what's going on here - w...

Kiwibank's net profit increased 15 percent - and it says it is fulfilling its role as a disruptor. The state-owned bank brought in $202 million and grew its lending book by 9.3 percent to $32.4 billion in the 12 months to June 30. Deposits also increased $2.4 billion, or 9.4 percent, to $28.2 billion. CEO Steve Jurkovich says the bank has commited to supporting people as best as it can. LISTEN ABO...

An energy boss says predicted rain will take the strain off New Zealand's power supply. Winstone Pulp plans to close its central North Island pulp and saw mills because of spiking electricity prices, putting more than 200 jobs on the line. Transpower is now offering power generators early access to emergency hydro-lake reserves - with levels massively below average for this time of year. Meridian...

Jetstar is on the receiving end of a class action lawsuit over its decision to hand out travel vouchers to customers who were impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The lawsuit filed in the Federal Court claims the airline was legally obliged to refund tickets and is pushing for the money to be returned directly to customers with interest. Australian correspondent Oliver Peterson says tens of thousand...

There’s a belief jewellery store Silvermoon will shine bright again.   Simon Thwaites has bought the business again after selling it in 2017, after the new owner put it into liquidation in March.   He's now re-purchased the business with plans to open two physical stores in Christchurch - at Riverside Market this weekend, and The Hub, Hornby, in November.   Thwaites told Mike Hosking it was a no b...

A grim warning from New Zealand's largest construction company. Fletcher Building is reporting a group net-loss-after-tax of $227 million dollars, following a $235 million profit last year. Its residential building arm has been doing well, but it's had losses from its civil business Higgins and Australian plumbing company, Tradelink. Milford Asset Management's Sam Trethewey unpacks a tough financi...

The Commerce Commission has detailed several potential changes in a new 389-page report designed to improve competition in the banking sector.  One change involves establishing a deposit compensation scheme that insures the first $100,000 of an individual or business’s savings at a bank, credit union, building society or finance company. NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny examin...

Sky TV is recording a 3.7 percent drop in net after-tax profit, with its customer base at the lowest level in five years. The provider says it's dealing with challenging market conditions - and had to slow down marketing while it sorted out technical issues with its Sky Box. Chief executive Sophie Moloney says they've lost a 'disappointing' number of subscribers. "I want New Zealanders to keep enj...

IAG, the country's largest insurer, has reported a significant increase in insurance profit in the 12 months to the end of June. The company, which owns the State, AMI and NZI brands, said it had collected 19 percent more in premiums from retail customers in New Zealand than in the previous year. Chief executive Amanda Whiting says the company has worked through a big year for the sector.  "We've...

Homeowners have been able to breathe a sigh of relief following the Reserve Bank's decision to cut the OCR. The cash rate was cut by 25 basis points after their August meeting, down to 5.25 percent.  HSBC chief economist Paul Bloxham explains that the RBNZ had to meet expectations to keep the economy in check. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's green shoots returning to the housing market, according to the Real Estate Institute. REINZ data shows the volume of sales rose 14.5 percent year-on-year and nearly 20 percent month-on-month. Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olsen unpacks what this news means following the recent OCR cut. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mercury Energy has lifted its net profit by 159 percent in the June year to $290 million. The company’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and financial instruments came to $877m, up 4 percent on the previous year. Mercury CEO Vince Hawksworth has pushed back against accusations of profiteering from Minister Shane Jones. "If you look at today's result, and yes, it was a very...

For once, we have a Commerce Commission study that isn’t going nowhere. Nicola Willis says she's going to do what the Commerce Commission has recommended in the banking study out today - and she'll do all 14 recommendations. This is a little surprise, isn’t it? Because we have got very used to these studies coming out and pretty much nothing of any substance being done. We've had the petrol study,...

The Finance Minister aims to put an end to the 'cosy pillow fight' between banks and bolster sector competition. A Commerce Commission report has found that the four big Australian-owned banks are turning high profits, far out-stripping international peers. The Commission has recommends open banking practices and tweaks to Reserve Bank rules to ease access for small players. Finance Minister Nicol...

Logistics and courier company Freightways has recorded a 5.8 percent decrease in net profit after weathering what its leaders believe to be the worst of the economic cycle in New Zealand and Australia. Freightways announced its 2024 results to the NZX on Monday. It reported net profit after tax of $70.9 million, a reduction from its 2023 result that the company said was largely due to higher inter...

BNZ’s performance of services index - which measures sentiment across services firms - was up 3.9 points to 44.6 in July from a rock-bottom level of 40.7 in June. While it’s better than June it’s still a very low result - a result below 50 indicates activity is contracting for the fifth straight month. Harbour Asset Management's Shane Solly explains how this adds to the proof that the Reserve Bank...

The corner has been turned. The 5-year pandemic pandemonium has been tamed. Inflation is down and we've had the first interest rate cut since the Reserve Bank realised they’d overstimulated everything 5 years ago. Proof that tax cuts were not inflationary, says the Finance Minister. And that is the case, but it’s not a sign that the cost of living crisis is over. Inflation and cost of living incre...

Balancing directors' safety and accountability is the goal of the Commerce Minister's shake up of the Companies Act.   Andrew Bayly is looking to make it harder to "phoenix", in which assets are transferred from indebted companies to new ones, leaving the former to face insolvency.    He says they want to make it easier to catch directors doing the wrong thing, which will be done by assigning ever...

A few years ago, the Metaverse was the biggest talking point in the world of technology. Meanwhile in 2024, the virtual platform has declined in popularity and the market has moved on. Sam Dickie from Fisher Funds explains what happened. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.