The SME Stream

Tonight on The Huddle, Jordan Williams from the Taxpayers' Union and former Labour Cabinet Minister Stuart Nash joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! The Government is looking to strengthen free speech at universities. Should universities be allowed to decline hosting controversial speakers? It's been a dire week for the economy - with today's GDP results reve...

People will have questions, after one of the country's worst quarterly GDP dips in decades. Stats NZ figures show New Zealand's gross domestic product crashed down one percent in the September quarter. It's put the country in the deepest recession since the Covid-driven slump in 2020.  Former Finance Minister Steven Joyce says the Reserve Bank Governor, Adrian Orr, needs to speak up and expla...

This was a dire week for the economy - but experts say things can only go up from here. Stats NZ revealed that GDP was down 1 percent in the September quarter, and had been down 1.1 percent the previous quarter. This is the biggest drop since 1991, excluding the Covid-19 lockdowns. Despite the gloomy outlook, NZ Herald business editor at large Liam Dann says this will likely be as bad as things ge...

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. In this weekly wrap, the government’s books are laid bare, the Kiwisaver shake-up that means new avenues for investment, t...

Other than a few big-swing failures, it’s been a bit of a holding pattern for consumer technologies this year, with many minor improvements but nothing truly revolutionary. This week, Peter and Ben are unpacking all that and more as they dive into the consumer products and services from 2024 they thought were good, bad, and just plain silly. Topics include the series of disappointments that...

If New Zealand was a company staring down the barrel of running at a loss for at least the next five years and finding itself needing to borrow $20 billion more than it thought it did just six months ago, it would be lights out, wouldn’t it?   And no amount of creative accounting could change that picture.   Essentially, that’s the state we find ourselves in after yesterday&r...

We're less than a week out from Christmas - and some key stocks could be well-placed for a Christmas charge-up. The 'Santa Rally' phenomenon refers to a strong share market over the last 5 trading sessions in December, and the first 2 trading sessions in the new year. Milford Asset Management's Stephanie Batchelor unpacks the phenomenon. LISTEN ABOVE  The podcasts in the SME Stream...

This week on Accidental Business Owners we talk about one of the hardest decisions we’ve made so far in business – which just happens to be shutting this channel down. 2024 has been such a massive year for Seamus, Di and I – and a few weeks ago we had a pretty intense end-of-year strategic advisory session. It got pretty real, pretty fast – and what we all realized was that...

The Government's devised a new measure for counting its coins, which gives it a more positive look. Treasury reports the Government now won't hit surplus before 2030 at the earliest, rather than 2027. But the Finance Minister says the official measure will no longer consider the $4.1 billion ACC deficit, putting the books in the black mid-2029.  Nicola Willis says the Government inherited a t...

The Government's half-year fiscal update paints a bleak economic picture for the years ahead.  It revealed the Government's debt path is steeper than previously anticipated - and surplus won't be reached until the end of the decade. Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olsen explains how things got to this point - and how the Government can redirect the economy. LISTEN ABOVE The podcasts in t...

Grim readings from the Treasury's half year economic and fiscal update. The government's books will stay in the red until at least 2029, a year later than previously predicted. Although the government says it will aim to return to surplus a year earlier.  Finance Minister Nicola Willis is blaming the opposition for the bad result, saying in the past five years Labour added more than $100 bill...

There’s a view growth is coming, despite a grim outlook for the New Zealand economy.  The half year economic and fiscal update shows a surplus is not expected until at least 2029.  Cost savings which have led to job cuts and re-prioritisation in the public sector this year are set to continue.   Independent tax expert Geof Nightingale told Heather du Plessis-Allan there are gr...

The Finance Minister's painting a grim picture of the economy - signalling the Government will further cut into the Public Service.  Treasury's opened its books for the half-year economic and fiscal update - showing the expected surplus has been pushed out from 2027 to beyond 2030. Nicola Willis has adjusted the way the surplus is calculated, but says come Budget Day next year, she'll be forc...

[VIDEO EPISODE ON YOUTUBE & SPOTIFY].Amazon’s global head of data centres explains every detail of their design – including how they’re powered and why nuclear is being considered. The podcasts in the SME Stream contain general information only, not financial or professional advice. Any opinions expressed in the podcasts are not necessarily shared by BNZ,...

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment recently said that the Government is considering regulatory changes to enable KiwiSaver providers to increase private asset investments What does this mean KiwiSaver funds and how could it impact New Zealanders?  Harbour Asset Management Director, Portfolio Manager & Research Analyst Shane Solly joins with more.  LISTEN ABOVE The po...

Expectations are low as Treasury allows a peek into its books later today.  Economist Cameron Bagrie says in the 2024 update, various scenarios were presented for this year.  He told Andrew Dickens it seems we're on track with the downside prediction.  Bagrie says it forecast net debt climbing to 45% of GDP and the operating balance remaining in deficit.  Treasury will unveil i...

While 2024 may not have brought the shocks of cyclones, Prime Ministerial resignations or election campaigns, there’s a lot to digest from the last year.   The Government delivered tax relief, gang crackdowns and a Fast Track bill, while dealing with controversy over Māori relations, smoking laws and apartment entitlements. Te Pāti Māori led the fight back against the Treaty Princi...

The Government wants people to be able to invest their KiwiSaver funds more in local businesses.  Most Kiwisaver funds are currently invested overseas markets.  Commerce Minister Andrew Bayly has announced plans to loosen the rules to allow for more investment in private assets, infrastructure projects, and environmental projects.  He told Heather du Plessis-Allan it will unlock cap...

The Finance Minister's set to update the country on the state of the books next week, and experts aren't feeling too optimistic. Nicola Willis will reveal whether or not the nation is still on track to reach surplus in 2027-2028.   NZ Herald business editor at large Liam Dann explains why he's not feeling too hopeful about this target. LISTEN ABOVE The podcasts in the SME Strea...

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. In this weekly wrap, interest rates, digital money and a push to give more support to female employees in the workplace, plus th...

We're joined by four stellar journalists who discuss what they saw over the last year and look ahead to what may be yet to come.  BusinessDesk’s senior markets reporter Rebecca Stevenson offers a deep dive into Rakon's failed takeover and unpacks Gentrack’s success – and the questions that success raises.  Rob O’Neill, senior reporter at IT industry news outlet Re...

Christopher Luxon believes his so-called ‘coalition of chaos’ has defied the critics. The Prime Minister is spending the remainder of 2024 lauding his government’s achievements – inflation is under 3%, a 30% increase of cops on the beat, 26 new cancer treatments, tax relief just to name a few. But he’s ending the year facing criticism over his handling of the Treaty P...

Microsoft says its new New Zealand facility will create thousands of jobs and pump money into the economy.  The tech giant's today opening its first "hyperscale" data centre in Auckland's Westgate to power cloud-based software and AI tools.  It will ensure local organisations' data can be stored, processed and backed up locally, addressing sovereignty issues for the Government and banks....

The latest card spending data from November indicates Kiwis are keeping their expenses down for another month. Kiwibank reports claim the value of spending dropped 2.5 percent in November and new ANZ data shows a drop of 1.2 percent year on year. Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olsen says there's hope for the economy - as we're seeing early green shoots ahead of the Christmas season. LISTEN A...

2024 is nearly over - so which companies did the best on the New Zealand stock exchange for the year? Tower Insurance leads the pack, off the back of a series of upgraded earnings and regained inclusion back in the NZX50 Index. Milford Asset Management's Jeremy Hutton unpacked the winners and the losers for the year. LISTEN ABOVE The podcasts in the SME Stream contain general inform...