Best of Business

David Seymour's floating the idea of giving high school students 500 dollars each, to learn investing. Students would be able to track earnings and losses, and will be tested on it. Seymour told Matt and Tyler, "I just think, especially for poor children from poorer households, if you don't have someone in your household who knows how to invest and talks about this stuff, how would you learn?"&nbs...

Christchurch bars, restaurants and retailers are preparing for a bumper weekend with the city's new stadium playing host to its first crowds.  One NZ Stadium hosts Super Rugby’s Super Round over the next three days, with the Crusaders taking on the Waratahs in the opening match tonight.  Recent alcohol law changes mean hospitality venues can now open past midnight and sell alcohol withou...

Victorian Hydrogen is proposing a $3 billion urea plant to be located 30km northeast of Invercargill. The company says it could deliver 1.5 million tonnes a year of urea fertiliser (using 3 million tonnes of lignite), making New Zealand's agricultural sector fully self sufficient. The Country's Jamie Mackay explained further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Finance Minister says politicians should see our downgraded Moody's economic outlook as a wake-up-call, as she pieces together her Budget. The rating agency's moved our designation from stable to negative, but reaffirmed our triple A credit rating. Nicola Willis says she's got a clear set of goals for the 2026 Budget - and she's committed to sticking with them even during the ongoing crisis. "...

The ongoing uncertainty about the Middle East conflict is impacting the markets, but there's some hope. Initial ceasefire talk saw things pick up, but enthusiasm took a dive after the weekend. Milford Asset Management's Remy Morgan explained further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Michael Hill International is set to trial customisable engagement rings across some of its stores. The popularity of its TenSevenSeven brand has highlighted the increasing popularity of custom-made jewellery - and the company's looking to utilise that as part of a restructure. Michael Hill CEO Jonathan Waecker says more people want to build something special and unique - and they want to create t...

The latest NZIER Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion has revealed business confidence has taken a hit for the March quarter. Only a net 1 percent of firms expect better general economic conditions over the coming months on a seasonally adjusted basis. EMA Head of Advocacy Alan McDonald says people were expecting the economy to get better - and this conflict put an economic 'handbrake' on recovery...

Microsoft has today announced it will double its existing AI and digital skilling commitment in New Zealand, with a plan to train up over 200,000 Kiwis by 2028. The company has observed this training will help many businesses, with survey data showing 59 percent of Kiwi business leaders say productivity must increase. Microsoft's national chief technology officer, Sarah Carney, says upskilling wil...

Inflation's already looking vulnerable, with the reality of worse economic blows still to come.  Figures out today showed annual CPI unexpectedly held at 3.1 in this year's first three months, confounding expectations it would fall as low as 2.8.  Economist Cameron Bagrie says the rate reflects what was happening to prices, just as the cost of fuel began to climb, when the Iran war close...

Inflation was higher than it should be, even before factoring in the full impact of the war on Iran.  Stats NZ data shows the inflation rate remained unchanged at 3.1% in the March quarter.  Internationally driven tradeable inflation dipped to 2.5% and the domestically driven non-tradeable rate was unchanged at 3.5%.  The Herald's Liam Dann told Kerre Woodham these figures come befo...

US President Donald Trump's accused Iran of completely violating its ceasefire agreement - with the Strait of Hormuz closed again. Iran's fired shots at ships in the Strait over the weekend, and has warned it'll stay closed until the US lifts its blockade. Harbour Asset Management expert Shane Solly revealed how these developments could impact markets. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for...

New Zealand First is heading into the election with a plan to break up the supermarket duopoly. If re-elected, the party's promising to split Foodstuffs into two nationwide co-operatives - one for New World and Four Square, and the other for Pak'nSave. Consumer NZ says the current Government's efforts to encourage a third player into the market have largely been unsuccessful.  Head of Advocac...

KiwiSaver hardship withdrawals have spiked to their highest in a decade last month, amid rising fuel prices. According to the IRD, more than 5600 people withdrew their savings due to financial hardship - the second-highest amount ever since August 2016. Over 49 million dollars was withdrawn, a 12.6 percent increase from March last year. Simplicity chief economist Shamubeel Eaqub says the cost of l...

A Kiwi company is flipping the bird, pivoting from making environmentally friendly wool shoes to AI.  After years of losses, Allbirds sold all its assets this month and now plans to lease GPUs – chips used to train AI software.  It's revised its moniker to NewBirds AI.  Kevin Milne joined Jack Tame to talk about the rise and fall of the company.  LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystud...

Kiwi company Allbirds has announced a new direction and it's drawn questions from experts. After years of losses, the former sustainable shoe company is transitioning to AI after selling all its assets this month. It's revised its moniker to NewBirds AI - seeing share values surging up to 700 percent. NZ Herald senior business writer Chris Keall says the tech and business-based press has raised co...

The US earnings season is in full swing, with many leading companies posting their results. The Middle East conflict is looming over this year's data and experts have raised concerns. Sam Dickie from Fisher Funds explained further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Airlines are now treating the fuel crisis as a long term issue. The conflict in Iran, which has closed the Strait of Hormuz, has forced airfare rises and route cuts. Board of Airline Representatives NZ Executive Director, Cath O'Brien, says airlines have to look well ahead. "At the moment, we're planning for the season that runs October to March. As we plan ahead, we have to plan networks on a tot...

The Government’s looking at ways to give businesses long-term certainty about fuel.  Latest figures show we have 56 days of petrol, 45 of diesel, and 47 of jet fuel either here or en-route.   Associate Energy Minister Shane Jones told Mike Hosking officials are considering what additional information they can release.  He says the real plague is uncertainty, and it's not a bad idea...

There’s renewed hope in the Kiwi start-up scene with a surge of investment in 2025.   New data shows the number of deals rose 14%, with total investment surging 61% to $754 million.   Fintech and health-tech saw strong gains, while climate and clean-tech dropped.  Angel Association Chief executive Bridget Unsworth told Mike Hosking 47 companies were funded, compared to 51 in 2023. &...

Inland Revenue has claimed New Zealand needs higher taxes, building off earlier arguments made by Treasury. It sees scope to increase the goods and services tax (GST) rate - offering a cash transfer to low-income earners - and tax more capital gains. NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny explained further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shares in A2 Milk dropped this week after the company downgraded their earnings forecast - after the business was hoping to increase their net profit for the June year. A2 Milk has cited supply chain issues, partly relating to the conflict in the Middle East. Milford Asset Management's Jeremy Hutton explained further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you haven’t watched the Bunnings video yet showing its staff being attacked, I recommend you go and watch it - especially if you feel uneasy about the company using CCTV for facial recognition. It’s a compilation of incidents that have occurred in its stores. The first incident shows a man pulling a knife on a staff member and threatening them so he can walk out the door with two trolleys’ wort...

A Kiwi startup designed around rethinking the way we sleep is getting international recognition. Do Not Disturb Sleep Company, an Auckland manufacturer of premium sleep products, has secured a multi-million-dollar distribution, sales, and marketing agreement in the US. Founder Chris Larcombe says the brand's grown and evolved over the years, and this is great news. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/...

Repeat offenders are the target of the recent Bunnings facial recognition technology rollout. It's turning on scanners in Te Rapa and Hamilton South today, before later rolling them out countrywide. Threats have more than doubled in the hardware retailer's stores in the past four years, 34 percent from repeat offenders. Bunnings New Zealand general manager Melissa Haines says data on regular shopp...

An employment expert's raising his eyebrows over Xero investigating complaints against the newly crowned New Zealander of the Year. The tech company's reviewing a decade-old accusation of inappropriate behaviour from former chief executive Sir Rod Drury - which has come to light, and he denies. Employment relations specialist Max Whitehead says Xero can't do much. "It's a mystery why Xero are taki...