The SME Stream

Lower mortgage rates and income growth have helped improve housing affordability.  Cotality NZ’s new report finds the national value-to-income ratio reached its lowest point since mid-2019 in the June quarter, at 7.5%.   National property values also remain almost 17% below their post-covid peak.  Cotality Chief Property Economist Kelvin Davidson told Mike Hosking mortgage ser...

A build-up of industry income changes could have driven the pay gap between men and women to a historic low.  The pay gap for the June quarter is sitting at 5.2 percent, down from the 8.2 percent seen a year ago. It's the smallest margin seen since Stats NZ began collecting the data in 1998.  Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olsen says sectors like transport, IT and finance have been...

As the global race to develop quantum computers heats up, New Zealand is working on specialist areas of technology that could add crucial elements to the quantum supply chain. That’s according to the University of Oxford’s Professor Andrew Daley, a principal investigator in the UK’s national quantum programme tasked with developing more accurate and functional quantum computers....

Do younger Kiwis still have that No.8 wire mentality?  While some are concerned the younger generation is settling as opposed to striving and investing in their ideas and futures, others believe the worry is unfounded.  Icehouse Ventures, a venture capital company that backs Kiwi startups, hosted their 15th Annual Showcase last week, in which nine Kiwi founders presented to over 1,500 in...

The number of people coming in on the Government's new Business Investor Visa could be limited.    It'll fast track residency for any foreign investors who put $2 million or more into a Kiwi business.  If a business is worth $2 million, the applicant will have to buy it, and they'll have to invest at least a quarter of its total value if it's worth more than that.  Immigration...

I think it would be very easy to push-back on Retirement Commissioner Jane Wrightson’s call for changes to the KiwiSaver scheme to make it easier for self-employed people to save for their retirement. But I’m not going to. She wants to see changes because people who work for themselves are contributing nowhere near as much as employees —partly because they don’t get the ben...

A view that new migrant tax rules will put us on par with other countries.  The Government's proposing a bill to stop migrants being taxed on estimated overseas income and instead, only what they actually earn.  Independent tax expert Geof Nightingale told Mike Hosking the current settings are a problem for high-value migrants, particularly now we have the Active Investor Plus scheme. &n...

The Reserve Bank's move to review banking capital rules has been welcomed by Federated Farmers. Banking spokesperson Mark Hooper says the stricter rules make it difficult for farmers to borrow money - and these changes will make things fairer. The Country's Jamie Mackay explained further. LISTEN ABOVE The podcasts in the SME Stream contain general information only, not financial or profe...

According to new reports, overseas interest in NZ-based companies is at a record high. A new survey by Simpson Grierson says 49 percent of international respondents considering moving more money into New Zealand, compared with 40 percent last year. Salt Funds managing director Matt Goodson explains what's driving this change. LISTEN ABOVE The podcasts in the SME Stream contain general informa...

Self-employed people are opting out of KiwiSaver, putting their retirements at risk.  A new report from the Retirement Commission and accounting firm Hnry's reveals only 44% of self-employed people actively contribute compared to 78% of employees.   It shows 41% of self-employed workers don't get any government contribution.   Hnry CEO James Fuller told Ryan Bridge when the Governme...

A reassurance that banking won't be much riskier even if capital rules are changed.   The Reserve Bank's put out two proposals to loosen capital requirements after the government called for it.   One of them is reducing minimum capital requirement for deposit takers from $30 million to $5 million.   Founder of KiwiSaver provider Simplicity, Sam Stubbs told Ryan Bridge there are othe...

The Reserve Bank says it wasn't dragged kicking and screaming to a review of capital rules.  It's put out two proposals aimed at loosening capital requirements.   Board Chair Neil Quigley says they were reviews that the bank has been looking at for a while.   He told Mike Hosking if they were loosened, it wouldn't cause too much of a shakeup, and it probably won't have a big effect...

A banking expert believes changes to capital requirements would impact home loans and other lending. The Reserve Bank's seeking feedback on proposals to lower the requirements. The Government is concerned the current settings are inhibiting economic growth.  Head of Massey University's Finance school, Dr Claire Matthews, says a lot of people have said the bank's gone too far with those requir...

US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell has indicated rate cuts could be on the cards soon. Powell indicated the tariffs were making an inflationary impact, but he explained the impact could still be temporary. Harbour Asset Management's Shane Solly explained further. LISTEN ABOVE The podcasts in the SME Stream contain general information only, not financial or professional advice. Any op...

Self-employed Kiwis are prioritising their businesses rather than thinking about retirement.  A report by the Retirement Commission and accounting firm Hnry shows just 44% of self-employed people actively contribute to KiwiSaver.  This is compared to 78% of employees.  The report also reveals 41% of self-employed workers don't get any government KiwiSaver contribution.   Retire...

The OCR got another cut this week, now down to 3%.  While there have been questions for a while around whether banks are passing the cuts down to consumers, the real question is whether the cuts will actually solve anything at all.  LISTEN ABOVE The podcasts in the SME Stream contain general information only, not financial or professional advice. Any opinions expressed in the p...

You got into your first home unscathed, so buying again will be a breeze, right? Wrong.  When it comes to moving up the property ladder, going from your first home to your second introduces a whole new level of stress to a homeowner's journey.  Squirrel mortgage adviser Kat McInnes joins Nadine to talk through what can go wrong, and how to avoid sabotaging yourself on the next rung...

The Government has announced a $2.7 billion defence spending boost to upgrade the aircraft fleet.  The money will be spent on five Seahawk helicopters and two Airbus aircrafts, to replace the Defence Force's "embarrassing" planes, in Judith Collins' words.  It's part of National's pledge to boost defence spending by $9 billion over the next four years, but why now?  LISTEN ABOVE The...

Parliament's finance and expenditure committee released the findings of its banking inquiry today, making 19 recommendations - 14 of which have cross-party support.  It concluded there is no silver bullet for more competition in the sector.  Committee member Todd Stephenson saysthe first step is reducing barriers to entry.  He says a large part of that is capital requirements for ne...

 [VIDEO EPISODE ON YOUTUBE & SPOTIFY]  Drones were harmed in the making of this episode, and that’s exactly the point. This episode takes you behind Australian counter-drone company DroneShield’s expansion. The podcasts in the SME Stream contain general information only, not financial or professional advice. Any opinions expressed in the podcasts are not necessa...

While experts are weighing up the results of US-based tech giants, one Chinese company is dominating markets. Tencent is a Chinese multinational technology conglomerate - and one of the highest-grossing multimedia companies in the world based, on revenue. Sam Dickie from Fisher Funds explains further. LISTEN ABOVE The podcasts in the SME Stream contain general information only, not financial&...

Workers are now able to speak freely about their salaries, and it's got experts speculating about what this means for Kiwis. The House passed a new law last night preventing employers from taking legal action against workers talking about their pay.  The bill, introduced by Labour's Camilla Belich, essentially renders pay secrecy clauses unenforceable.  Employment lawyer Jordan Boyle say...

Will the latest cut to the Official Cash Rate provide some much-needed stimulus to the business sector?  The central bank's cut the OCR 25 basis points to 3% and is signalling more are possible.  It's recognised unemployment is high, and businesses aren't producing as much as they could.  Prospa Managing Director Adrienne Begbie told Mike Hosking that while some people were hoping f...

One of the "never the twain shall meet" moments that came out of Covid was working from home.  Here we are, five years on, and the battle has not only not died, it's intensified.  The big gab fest this week in Canberra had the unions asking for a four-day week.  Victoria, run by communists, has already stated they will put it into law, even though they can't.  Now the obligator...

As business owners, you know how hard it is keeping up with your business, let alone the news. Join Wilhelmina Shrimpton each week as she gives you a rundown of the biggest stories that could impact on your business, so you can make informed decisions with expert advice.   This week, the service sector is in decline but there’s greenshoots for other industries, plus New Zealand is on tr...