The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Global oil prices are forecast to increase in the wake of US airstrikes against Iran.  Greg Smith from Devon Funds Management told Mike Hosking analysts are forecasting a rise in oil prices, from anywhere from 5% to 70%.  Currently, oil prices sit at around $75 per barrel. But Smith warns prices could rise to $130 a barrel.  The increasing cost of food around the world was also disc...

At the end of each week, Mike Hosking takes you through the big-ticket items and lets you know what he makes of it all.    Good ideas: 7/10  Not a bad week. Monthly inflation data, the census scrapped, the Housing Minister to overrule council and health targets improving. Things feel a bit like they're moving.    The Crusaders: 7/10  A great comeback story for Rob Pen...

I think this was the move of the week.  Housing Minister Chris Bishop dropped the bombshell on local body operators that the Government has decided to give him the power to intervene around housing in local body decision making.  Mind you, we could argue scrapping the calamitous Census was a good move, and indeed I'm a massive fan of reporting inflation data on a monthly basis, which sor...

Are early finishes to blame for the surgical backlog?  Surgeon Chris Wakeman claims that public health professionals won’t perform surgeries past the 4pm cutoff, causing backlog issues.   Health NZ’s Chief Clinical Officer Dr Richard Sullivan told Mike Hosking that early finishes do occur.  The rosters generally run until about 4:30/5pm, and he says that there are very few oper...

With Matariki this weekend, we’ve come to the end of a short week.  Kate Hawkesby and Tim Wilson joined Mike Hosking to get their session of Mike-bullying in early – going after his expensive tastes, his lack of control over his life, and his special burgundy suede loafers.   LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The latest carbon auction was a bust.  It attracted zero bids, becoming the eighth auction to be declined.  The secondary market currently sits around $58 a tonne, while the auction price sits at $68.  ACT’s Climate Change Spokesperson, Simon Court told Mike Hosking it shows that industrial emitters, such as coal users, already have enough units in the carbon bank to pay for this ye...

The Crusaders’ current Super Rugby season is like chalk and cheese when compared to the las.  They missed the playoffs in 2024, with just four wins in 14 matches.  In contrast, this year sees them host the grand final against the Chiefs – clashing at the Apollo Projects Stadium in Christchurch on Saturday.  Coach Rob Penney told Mike Hosking the Chiefs have beaten them twice this ye...

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Thursday 19th of June, what will our GDP number look like? It’s set to look quite healthy, but will that give us false hope in Q2?  The Crusaders are going to win the Super Rugby final this weekend, so coach Rob Penney is on to tell us how they’ll do it.    It’s a short week, so Kate Hawkesby and Tim Wilson get to have their Mike-b...

A sleep-expert assures Melatonin is safe, but is still urging people to take caution.   Medsafe has given approval for the sleep drug to be available over the counter at pharmacies. It is commonly used to treat insomnia or jet lag.   Sleepwell Clinic Director Alex Bartle says potential side-effects are fairly minor, and long-term effects aren't fully understood.  However, he doesn’t...

There are concerns scrapping the traditional census won't deliver the desired results.  Stats NZ is moving to a system using Government collected admin-data, saying the current five yearly Census is financially unsustainable.  Census-style questions will still be asked in much smaller annual surveys looking at a small fraction of the population.  Former national statistician Len Coo...

The economy is expected to look better than earlier predictions.  Figures —due out from Stats NZ this morning— are expected to show the country's GDP grew 0.7% for the first quarter of the year.   It's slightly higher than 0.4%, predicted earlier this year.  ASB chief economist Nick Tuffley told Mike Hosking things are expected to slow through the middle half of the year.  LIST...

Now, perhaps the most startling thing of the news yesterday that our old mates at the state radio broadcaster have opened a voluntary redundancy programme, is that they've never done that before.   100 years they've been doing the business at Radio New Zealand. 100 years, never had a voluntary redundancy. Tells you something about how insulated the real world from the real world they are. &nb...

Right, let's deal to the economy.  There were two interesting things yesterday.  The first was the food price inflation number showed it is not contained.  Why it is increasing beyond broad inflation is a many and varied thing, and the upside of these numbers is we can control them to a degree.  You don’t have to buy chocolate, given cocoa is through the roof.  You don’t h...

Moana Pasifika are downplaying their dependence on outgoing skipper Ardie Savea.  He will miss Super Rugby next year to take up a sabbatical in Japan, before making a 2027 return.  Savea is signed with NZR through to the end of the 2027 World Cup in Australia and will end up spending half of that cycle playing in Japan.  Franchise boss Debbie Sorensen told Mike Hosking that Savea’s...

Mark Mitchell's hoping to broaden relations with China in his role of Minister for Ethnic Communities.  He's in the Chinese economic capital of Shanghai with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.  Mitchell's meeting with the Kiwi business delegation today to plan out what they want to achieve.  He told Mike Hosking trade, food, and education are on the agenda.  Mitchell says they'r...

The Government's having another crack at mental health, allocating $36 million to suicide prevention.  Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey's unveiled a five-year approach for addressing high suicide rates.   The new Suicide Prevention Plan includes strengthening the workforce, targeting higher-risk populations, and improving community care.   But Mental Health Foundation CEO Shaun Ro...

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Wednesday the 18th of June, our food prices are on the way back up. Is it seasonal or is something happening behind the scenes?  Our health stats are slowly trending in the right direction, and Health Minister Simeon Brown also answers the question as to why surgeries in public hospitals don't happen past 4pm.  Ginny Andersen and Mark M...

The Government is delivering an increased number of elective procedures to try to meet patient wait time targets.  More than 84% of cancer patients are starting treatment within 31 days – 1% more than last year.  Health Minister Simeon Brown told Mike Hosking they want that up to 90% by 2030, and are working to speed up treatments.  He says they've swiftly outsourced nine thousand 5...

It's being suggested the pricey cost of our food baskets is great for the economy but bad for our wallets.  Food inflation has risen 4.4% annually, the highest in 18 months.  Meat, poultry and fish had the biggest increases, while butter, milk and cheese drove grocery prices.  Foodstuffs North Island CEO Chris Quin told Mike Hosking increases in foods like Kiwifruit and butter is fa...

It's being suggested small businesses are finding it tougher to get loans than big businesses, despite being a safer option.  The latest data shows the compound annual growth rate of bank lending has slowed from 6% to 1.5% since 2013.  Small Business NZ Founder Phil Wicks told Mike Hosking most banks are making business hard.  He says lending to someone with skin in the game should...

President Donald Trump's recent social media posts hint at major escalations in the Iran and Israel conflict.   Israel and Iran continue to trade strikes, with at least 224 Iranians and 24 Israelis killed since hostilities began after Israel's initial attack on Friday.  US Correspondent Richard Arnold told Mike Hosking Trump's posts mean we could be on a brink of a rapid shift in the Ame...

The Vocational Minister's hopeful students will flood back to polytechs after the model is de-centralised.  Staff-to-student ratios are still lower than they were in 2016, despite staff numbers being slashed by 8.2%.  Penny Simmonds says low ratios signal financial trouble.  She told Mike Hosking student numbers have dropped by 11,000 since Te Pukenga was established in 2020. ...

Last week when Shaun Johnson was in the studio, we were discussing retirement.  Not mine, but that’s of growing fascination to me these days.  When do you know? If you aren't getting cancelled, or run out of town, or falling apart, how do you know?  John Key famously had nothing left in the tank.  Johnson was explaining it was important for him to go out when he decided, not wh...

Ian Foster was one of the more polarising All Blacks coaches in recent memory.  He took the helm after the superb record of Sir Steve Hansen, and during his time there were constant discussions surrounding his job security.  During his tenure he had a win rate of 70% and lost New Zealand the number one world ranking, but at the same time, he won 4 Bledisloe Cups, 4 Freedom Cups, and 3 Ru...

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Tuesday 17th of June, we have good news around the number of families moved out of emergency housing and where they've gone. Small hint - it's not to cars or the streets.  At 23 years old, Nico Porteous has decided he wants to retire from the Olympics , at the peak of his prime. He joined the show to delve into his decision.   Former Al...