Best of Business

The retail sector is pointing to Government justice policies as a reason for increasing crime. Police figures suggest only 2.3 percent of reported retail crime results in arrests. The number of retail offences reported to police last year was over 125,000, up from 61,000 in 2021, although that year saw lengthy Covid-19 lockdowns in several regions. Sandringham Business Association Chair Jithin Chi...

A group of veteran public servants who were appointed to set up four water entities are collecting high salaries for work that no longer exists. Jon Lamonte, Vaughan Payne, Colin Crampton and Michael Brewster were commissioned to run the Government's proposed water super-entities- until they were scrapped for 10 entities in April. NZ Herald business journalist Kate McNamara says their salaries wer...

Analysts are feeling less than optimistic about tonight's GDT auction amid low Chinese demand for dairy. According to the SGX-NZX futures market, whole milk powder prices are expected to fall a further 3 percent. The Country's Jamie Mackay says it's a grim market for dairy farmers following on from environmental  disasters. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Finance Minister Grant Robertson remains under pressure, as he bats off questions about Labour's tax policy. Robertson is still refusing to confirm whether Labour will remove the GST from fruit and vegetables, amid allegations from National. BusinessDesk managing editor Pattrick Smellie says Labour's been caught flat-footed, as Robertson would have said so directly if the party weren't considering...

New research shows over a third of New Zealand's workforce are thinking of quitting their jobs and moving to Australia. A joint university study highlights those workers are 2.6 times more likely to jump the ditch - after recent changes gave Kiwis an easier pathway to Australian citizenship. Massey Business School Professor Jarrod Haar says Kiwis are struggling financially and more opportunities p...

Economists are baffled over BNZ's decision to bump up the interest rates on three home loan terms. The bank will lift their six-month rate from 7.85 percent to 7.99 percent. Their four- and five-year rates will increase from 6.89 percent to 7.09 percent. Infometrics Chief Forecaster Gareth Kiernan says the six-month rate increase is at odds with BNZ's own economic forecast. "The six-month rate is...

Now this is another tricky one and we have talked about it before, and it's in the news again. I am all for personal responsibility in owning your own mistakes. Case in point is me overpaying my insurance premiums by thousands and thousands and thousands for about 10 years because I hadn't checked the fine print. Nobody to blame but me. Unfortunately, as much as I had tried to squirm and writhe in...

BNZ is under fire for refusing to reimburse scam victims who lost nearly half a million dollars in an elaborate scam. Consumer NZ is urging banks to raise their game and provide better protection to New Zealanders who fall victim to scams. Most big banks in the UK are signatories to a voluntary code where they typically refund scam victims for their losses. Consumer NZ would like to see a similar...

We are seeing a climb in business credit defaults across the board. Latest data from Centrix shows company liquidations are up 36 percent year-on-year, while consumer arrears have fallen slightly with the number of people behind on repayments now 414,000. Delinquencies in mortgage arrears also fell slightly in June with the proportion of loans in arrears at 1.29 percent, down from 1.32 percent in...

Businesses are continuing to struggle under cost pressures. Latest Centrix data shows a climb in business credit defaults, with company liquidations up 36 percent year on year. CEO of Small Business Voice, Max Whitehead joined Kate Hawkesby to discuss the effects on owners. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

US economists are predicting the region will be able to get inflation under control while avoiding recession. The US Federal Reserve is no longer projecting a recession in the near term, and employment and the economy are holding strong. One Nashville-based markets analyst, Scott Shellady, still believes the region is at risk of entering a recession. "The consumer is starting to falter here in the...

A GST expert says it is possible to remove the tax from fruit and veges, but whether it's good policy is another question. National's Nicola Willis claims it's part of Labour's election tax policy, that's been leaked to her. Labour won't confirm or deny it. Deloitte GST specialist Allan Bullot told Mike Hosking we can make rules to do just about anything, but it might not be the best use of resour...

An economic expert says homeowners are disproportionately feeling the pain of the cost of living crisis. Latest figures from Stats NZ show the average household's cost of living increased 7.2%in the year to June. The official inflation rate for the period was six percent, but interest payments went up 28%. New Zealand Initiative Executive Director Oliver Hartwich told Mike Hosking there's been a d...

An economist says removing GST from fruit and vegetables can become very complicated in practice. National claims it is part of Labour's election tax policy, but Prime Minister Chris Hipkins is refusing to either confirm or deny it. Nicola Willis says she has been leaked the information. ASB Senior Economist Mark Smith told Francesca Rudkin the extra administration to do this comes at a cost. He s...

Cautious optimism prevails throughout small and medium businesses, a new report finds. My HR data reveals almost two thirds of companies expect revenue to improve in next year and 60 percent of businesses expect to raise salaries in the coming months. My HR chief executive Jason Ennor says many of these businesses feel that they've reached rock bottom- and it's all up from here. "We have seen an a...

Former Reserve Bank governor Don Brash believes the RBNZ should be empowered to lift fuel taxes to fight inflation. He stated in a blog post that increased fuel taxes would encourage people to to reduce their spending elsewhere- meaning inflation would fall. NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny says Don Brash's proposed solution is 'messy', and it would impact people differently....

New research shows consumers are gravitating towards home brand products due to the rising cost of living. EY data indicates that 65 percent of people believe these home brand products satisfy their needs as much as branded products. The data also shows Gen Z are less willing to buy private label products than Baby Boomers, Gen Xers and Millennials. Massey University marketing professor Bodo Lang...

Disappointment vaping law changes won't stop new sales near schools and marae. A loophole in the law banning specialist vape stores from setting up within 300 metres of schools or marae from October, exempts dairies and supermarkets. The Health Ministry has confirmed general retailers which don't currently sell vapes can still set up after October 1. Cambridge Middle School Principal Daryl Gibbs t...

Federated Farmers says some North Island maize growers are facing financial disaster after a poor season. It's expected there'll be a 13 percent decrease in the harvest, despite a four percent increase in the size of the planted crop. Vice President Jamie Blennerhassett says weather events have destroyed crops. He says this year has also seen record-high input costs and growers have had to replant...

People are back buying cars and doing home renovations again - with demand for credit on the rise. A quarterly report by financial services company Equifax shows a 5.3 percent rise in applications in the three months to June - however mortgage finance remains subdued. Equifax New Zealand Managing Director Angus Luffman told Kate Hawkesby says it follows seven quarters of decline. He says the incre...

An Auckland councillor is gobsmacked at the spend on lawyers and consultants. The council has paid out $190-million to the Big 4 global accountants and large law firms over the past five years. It's an average cost to ratepayers of more than $100,000 a day. Councillor Mike Lee told Mike Hosking it's deeply troubling and there's been a lack of transparency. He says the scale of spending was hidden...

House prices have been falling, but the tide may turn soon enough. HSBC predicts house prices will rise again by 5 percent in 2024, with a strong rebound in migration supporting demand. Chief Economist Paul Bloxham says the increased number of migrants will drive prices up again, as this has already happened in Australia. "Now you're seeing really strong inward migration and we think that will sta...

The Twitter bird has flown the coop. The platform's logo has officially changed to a white "X" on a black background overnight, replacing the familiar blue bird symbol. It's the latest change by new owner Elon Musk. Greg Smith at Devon Funds Management told Mike Hosking everyone knew the change was coming. He says tweets will now be called 'Xs' - but Musk is still thinking of what to call re-tweet...

After yesterday’s shooting in Auckland, those words are still hard to believe - 'shooting in Auckland', a lot of debate’s been thrown up around law and order, crime, people on home detention, discounts given to offenders and so on. There are those saying this was only a matter of time given the state of law and order in this country these days. I know the state of our country right now is enough t...

Last year's job boom hasn't followed into this year. New Seek data shows a three percent decline in job ad volumes over June, adding to a 21 percent annual drop. Auckland saw the biggest monthly drop in job ads by four percent, while Northland was the only region that saw an increase, while Manawatu recorded no change. New Zealand manager Rob Clark says it's a much different job market from 2022....