Best of Business

The Reserve Bank left the OCR at 5.5 percent during today's review, in line with predictions. The Bank also issued a hawkish statement about future hikes, claiming further hikes would be needed if inflationary pressures got to be stronger than anticipated. Infometrics chief economist Gareth Kiernan says there's a good chance the OCR will need to go up between now and 2025. "Economic activity is ru...

The Reserve Bank says there may be a need for more interest rates hikes. It has held the Official Cash Rate at 5.5 percent, and their forecast track suggests no rate cuts are on the horizon until mid-2025. Independent economist Tony Alexander says he doesn't think the Reserve Bank will actually do that- or really believes it will have to. "I think today's statement was all about a signal to the ma...

As part of the coalition agreement, the Government revealed some new changes for the Reserve Bank. Its dual mandate will be ditched- and focus will return to keeping inflation between one and three percent. HSBC chief economist Paul Bloxham says reduced priorities means the Reserve Bank will only have one clear goal to meet. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A date has been set for disgraced businessman Eric Watson's bankruptcy case to be called. The liquidators of Watson’s company, Cullen Investments, have chased him for roughly $57.4 million, plus interest. Auckland's High Court confirmed that the bankruptcy proceeding will be called on February 1, 2024. BusinessDesk managing editor Pattrick Smellie says Watson's been staving off problems for over a...

The Government's plan to slash the public sector is having an adverse impact on Wellington's property market. According to ANZ's latest property report, Wellington's housing market is lagging behind the rest of the country as people brace for job losses. ANZ economist Andre Castaing says housing markets all over the nation are expected to go sideways within the next year. "The housing market in We...

Some of America's most successful business figures are set to arrive in Auckland for the upcoming US Business Summit. Experts from major companies like PepsiCo and Amazon will gather in this half of the world to discuss New Zealand's evolving direction. NZME business commentator Fran O'Sullivan explains the topics that will be covered within these discussions. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/liste...

OpenAI recently reached an agreement for Sam Altman to return as CEO days after his ousting. It caps frenzied discussions about the future of the start-up at the centre of the artificial intelligence boom. As well as Altman's return, the ChatGPT maker has agreed in principle to partly reconstitute the board of directors that had dismissed him. Sam Dickie from Fisher Funds explains what this means...

Good news for Kiwi bakers out there- egg prices are on their way down. Eggs have been in short supply - and expensive - since the start of the year when a ban on battery-caged hens came into effect, sparking shortages across the country. The Country's Rowena Duncum says thing brings a positive conclusion to a turbulent year. LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Westpac is cutting some of its longer-term fixed special home loan rates- making it the first major bank to do so. The bank's two- and three-year fixed home loan rates will drop 10 basis points to 6.99 percent and 6.75 percent, and the four-year and five-year rates will drop to 6.69 percent and 6.49 percent. NZ Herald business editor at large Liam Dann explains what this means for the wider market...

Meal kit delivery service My Food Bag's latest profits have more than halved as customers seek to cut costs. The company's half year profit shows a significant decline, and a planned dividend has been axed.   Devon Funds Head of Retail Greg Smith says customers have been forced to cut back amid increased interest rates and inflation. "Their average value has gone down- meanwhile, obviously costs h...

Back in 2008 two kiwis created Invivo with the intention of bringing New Zealand wine to the world.   Sarah Jessica Parker joined the team back in 2019, and their wine collaboration is now wildly successful, their Sauvignon Blanc the fastest growing Premium Sauv currently available in the United States.   A third wine for the collection is releasing soon, this time a Pinot Noir.   Parker told Mike...

There's early signs that mortgage rates could be on the downswing again. New Zealand's wholesale interest rates have fallen sharply over the last month- and both the two-year and ten-year swap rates have dropped. NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny says banks still have yet to move their rates down, despite these early signs. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy i...

Nvidia's latest quarterly results have surpassed expectations amid increased demand for AI. Demand for Nvidia’s graphics processing units has been exceeding supply, and the company has tripled its year on year revenue.  Milford Asset Management's Felix Fok explains why the company is thriving amongst the AI wave.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Elon Musk has confirmed that advertising revenue from X, formerly Twitter, will be donated to war-torn Gaza and the hospitals in Israel.   The move comes amid increased backlash against Musk, after he posted support for anti-Semitic content on the site.  US correspondent Dan Mitchinson says Apple, Disney and IBM have already paused advertising on X. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for pri...

A fruitful season's in the wind for Kiwifruit growers this year. Zespri's seasonal November forecast projects record returns for all its fruit crops. The fruit company is putting it down to growers' efforts to improve quality, despite harsh conditions in recent years. Zespri Head of Global Public Affairs Michael Fox says strong market demand, respect for the brand and strong supply chain partnersh...

Used car distributor Turners Automotive has gone from strength to strength in recent months. The company saw revenue increase 16 percent to $213.9 million, while its after-tax profit rose by 8 percent. Chief Executive Todd Hunter says the combination of a shifting market and a successful ad campaign is helping the company sell more cars. "It's the Tina effect, it's been very good for our lead gene...

A tech commentator is warning people to apply due diligence to Black Friday shopping. Price comparison service PriceSpy found last year, about 15 percent of goods were on 'fake sale'. It found some retailers increased product prices in the weeks before the sale, then discounted them back to normal levels. Commentator Tim Provise says the tech sector is the main culprit. "Especially more niche stuf...

Online auction site TradeMe posted a $4.7 million net profit after tax for the year to June, turning around earlier losses. Experts believe the return to profit came from the site raising their prices- especially in its property arm. BusinessDesk managing editor Pattrick Smellie explains how this increased net profit impacts TradeMe's overall earnings. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for...

New Zealand's trade deficit appears to be getting smaller, according to the latest data. A new report from Stats NZ says imports were down, falling $1.2b to $7.1b compared to October last year. Kiwibank economist Sabrina Delgado says increased interest rates are restraining demand and causing imports to fall. "We actually saw that our imports surged during the post-Covid period when we had quite a...

Belief opposing views could be behind the ousting of former OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. At least 700 of 770 staff at the company famous for creating Chat GPT have penned an open letter calling for the board's resignation after it fired Altman. Tech commentator Paul Stenhouse says no one knows for sure why Altman was shown the door in the first place. "This comes from CNN tech contributor Kara Swisher-...

A prominent Auckland businessman has threatened legal action against Auckland Council if it votes to sell the Downtown Carpark building. Precinct Property was selected as the preferred buyer in September last year- and it plans to use the space to build apartments and office towers. Andrew Krukziener says the Downtown Carpark is a crucial asset to the city centre. "To take it away will diminish bu...

Kiwisaver advisors are urging New Zealanders to care about where they put their retirement funds. National Capital's latest Value for Money report finds the difference between top and bottom-performing funds can be as much as 2.55 percent, or $88,000 by the time of retirement. Director and KiwiSaver advisor Clive Fernandes says it's import for Kiwis to consider several key factors before they dete...

The boss of Australian telecommunications company Optus has resigned after a nationwide outage affected millions. CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin quit after a senate grilling last week. She'll be replaced by the Chief Financial Officer. A major cyber attack last year - also under her tenure - compromised personal documents of two million customers. Australia correspondent Oliver Peterson says her handlin...

Warnings malls will only get busier, after shoppers at Westfield Newmarket were trapped inside the carpark for hours on Saturday afternoon. The Auckland shopping centre is apologising to customers left sitting in queues to get out for at least three hours. Newmarket Business Association's Mark Knoff-Thomas says demand will only rise the closer we get to Christmas, with Black Friday likely to be th...

There's been a significant upswing in global equity markets in the past couple of weeks. The Nasdaq is up by 12 percent, the US Equities Market is up by 10 percent, Europe's markets are up by 6 percent, and even China is reporting an increase. Fisher Funds expert Sam Dickie explains this current burst of optimism, and what to expect from 2024. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy i...