The SME Stream

Treasury has raised the alarm over the state of New Zealand's public finances as part of its long-term fiscal forecast. Record levels of Government spending, increasing health costs and an ever-growing aging population are among the concerns set to create additional fiscal pressures for the country, according to new reports. Treasury warned Net Core Crown Debt is set to hit 200 percent of GDP by 2...

A grim outlook from business leaders.  The Herald's annual Mood of the Boardroom survey shows business leaders are less optimistic about the economy than they were a year ago.  They’re calling for more bipartisanship when it comes to tax, retirement, and the long-term outlook for New Zealand.  NZ Initiative co-founder and Chair Roger Patridge told Francesca Rudkin the business...

Our next Reserve Bank Governor is being commended for her track record in Sweden.  Dr Anna Breman —the First Deputy-Governor of Sweden’s central bank— will lead our central bank from December.  Swedish economist Selva Baziki says the Swedish economy is similar to New Zealand's.  And she told Mike Hosking Breman and her colleagues successfully reined in inflation wi...

A view that small businesses may suffer and not be able to survive if the Government's surcharge ban comes into play.  Commerce Minister Scott Simpson announced the ban on surcharges like PayWave will be in place by May next year.   In an open letter, 36 Chambers of Commerce, industry and business associations warn the ban will just be passed on through increased prices.  North Cham...

The Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister is not sharing the same fears as retailers over the surcharge ban. Scott Simpson says the legislation banning surcharges like PayWave is before the Select Committee and will be in place by next year.  36 business associations have written a letter warning the ban could be passed on through increased prices. Simpson says a lot of businesses don't use...

The Swedes do central banking a little different to us, and I reckon it's good news we've got a Swede in charge. Riksbank - their RBNZ equivalent - is really big on this thing called transparency. There's three things to know - this is stuff they do that we don't, currently. 1. They rank amongst best performing on openness and honesty in the world. 2. They publish an actual forward forecast for th...

Nicola Willis admits the economy isn't where the Government would like it to be.  The Herald's annual Mood of the Boardroom survey shows business leaders are less optimistic about the economy than they were a year ago.  Only a third of respondents back the Government's current growth agenda.  The Finance Minister told Mike Hosking they're hearing the call for harder, faster action,...

Changes to the Holidays Act have been welcomed by businesses as long overdue. The new system will include accrual for sick and annual leave. The Government says it will be two years before these changes are implemented. But Restaurant Association boss Marisa Bidois told Francesca Rudkin the industry wants a faster timeline. She says while she understands the need to update systems, some of their s...

Business NZ says the Government's making workers leave simpler and more cost-effective. It's announced a new hours-based annual and sick leave accrual system, including flexibility of being able to take only the hours needed off work rather than a full day. It'll also mean part-time workers will no longer have a minimum sick leave entitlement. Business NZ's Paul Mackay says leave's always been acc...

Businesses are hopeful an overhaul of the Holidays Act will give them clearer leave guidelines.  The Workplace Minister will announcing a change to the 2003 Act today.  Business Canterbury CEO Leeann Watson told Francesca Rudkin the current legislation is far too complex.  She says businesses have almost needed an advanced calculus degree to meet their obligations.  LISTEN ABOV...

There are still grey areas in the Government's proposed leave legislation.  The Government's announced a new system to replace the 2003 Holidays Act.  Coffee Club Director Brad Jacobs told Mike Hosking while some parts still need clarity, the proposal appears to solve many issues.  He says as long as he's been in New Zealand, the Act has caused problems, and he's concerned by the lo...

Nicola Willis says there's been a clear message to all ministers - we don't want the billions recently allocated for infrastructure sitting in Government bank accounts. A small scale hospital project announcement yesterday and a school property maintenance announcement today have both talked up the boost they'll give the construction sector in the coming 12 months. The Finance Minister says they w...

Last week's GDP data prompted disappointment from many - but how did the markets react? GDP figures show a worse dip in the economy than economists and the Reserve Bank expected, with a fall of 0.9 percent in the June quarter. Harbour Asset Management's Shane Solly explained further. LISTEN ABOVE The podcasts in the SME Stream contain general information only, not financial or profession...

The economy had a worse than expected drop in the June quarter, shrinking 0.9%.  Finance Minister Nicola Willis has blamed it on global turmoil, but the Reserve Bank of New Zealand says there's a need to provide more stimulus to the economy by cutting the OCR.  LISTEN ABOVE The podcasts in the SME Stream contain general information only, not financial or professional advice. An...

When a business fails, it’s not just owners and staff who feel the impact. Customers can be left out of pocket, without products, or fighting to recover deposits. PWC’s John Fisk joins Nadine to explain why more Kiwi companies are likely to collapse, the industries most at risk, and the red flags to look out for before handing over your money.  The podcasts in the SME Stream conta...

How much blame for the GDP drop can be placed at the feet of the Reserve Bank?  GDP's fallen 0.9 percent in the June quarter – a much sharper drop than economists had been expecting.  NZ Initiative Chief Economist Eric Crampton told Kerre Woodham what we’re feeling is an effect of getting inflation back in line, but he wouldn’t necessarily blame the Reserve Bank for the...

The news came in around quarter to 11 yesterday, and it was unwelcome confirmation of what many people had been experiencing, had been feeling. The economy had contracted, and worse, it had shrunk 0.9%, far worse than economists had been predicting.   Economists at the Reserve Bank had forecast the economy would shrink just 0.3% during the June quarter. Retail banks said, "Oh, I don't think s...

Former finance minister Roger Douglas has called for current finance minister Nicola Willis to resign.  He says that the decrease in the country’s GDP is not in line with the global economic downturn and that Willis should be held accountable.  Senior political correspondent Barry Soper told Heather duPlessis-Allan that a resignation is unlikely.  'You'd have to go back then t...

Our economy's been shrinking much faster than economists thought.  Latest data just out from Stats NZ shows GDP fell 0.9% in the three months to June.  That follows six months of growth, after six months of contraction.  Infometrics Chief Forecaster Gareth Kiernan told Kerre Woodham it's far worse than any economists were expecting.  He says this number is completely "off the c...

Finance Minister Nicola Willis says a new Reserve Bank Governor will be announced “very shortly” as she comes under growing pressure to tackle New Zealand’s economic woes. Economists are calling on the Reserve Bank to cut the Official Cash Rate more aggressively after yesterday’s shock GDP result. New Zealand’s gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 0.9% in the June qua...

Sir John Key says the Reserve Bank deserves much of the blame for the latest sharp drop in GDP.  Our economy's contracted 0.9% in the June quarter.  The Government says international turmoil and uncertainty over tariffs have driven the fall, which was much larger than expected.  Key told Mike Hosking the OCR was also a major factor.  He says two months ago he was criticised for...

Nicola Willis says uncertainty over Donald Trump's tariffs drove down GDP in the June quarter. But the Finance Minister admits has admitted she was surprised to see the economy's contracted 0.9 percent. She says there was consensus that GDP would drop, but most forecasts had it at 0.3 percent. LISTEN ABOVE The podcasts in the SME Stream contain general information only, not financial or...

Well, I think it's fair to say that the GDP print has come in at something of a shock. The Reserve Bank was picking a contraction of 0.3 percent. The consensus was a contraction of 0.4 percent. The worst-case prediction from one of the banks was a contraction of 0.5 percent. It's come in at a contraction of 0.9 percent, which is basically twice as bad as most of us thought. Now, the immediate prob...

Having argued the other week for compulsory KiwiSaver, it was sort of ironic, but probably lucky, that several reports came out post the comments that wanted the same thing.  Then enter Winston who wants it as well, and will pay for it, apparently with tax cuts.  Of course the tax cuts are completely unaffordable, but it doesn’t make the compulsion a bad idea.  I personally am...

Has Nicola Willis failed on growth in her year of growth?  So far, yes. We’ve gone nowhere in six months - Q2 basically wiped out Q1.  Should she resign? No. Why? Trump’s tariffs. Nobody saw them coming. Markets thought he was bluffing, a negotiation tactic. Until he wasn’t. Businesses and Mums and Dads sat on their cash to wait it out - a reasonable response to an unce...