Best of Business

Finance Minister Nicola Willis warns the Government could likely miss the proposed 2027 surplus forecast.

The Government included this deadline as a key goal in their pre-election fiscal plan.

Willis blames worsening economic conditions and the resulting lower tax income.

"I want to be upfront with New Zealanders about the fact that the numbers are looking a lot harder now than they did before Christmas."

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There's a prediction big drops in mortgage rates are on the cards.

Both ANZ and ASB have lowered some of their mortgages rates, following the Reserve Bank's decision to keep the Official Cash Rate unchanged at 5.5 percent.

KiwiBank Chief Economist Jarrod Kerr says if the central bank starts cutting in November, it could be just the start.

"They'll be cutting throughout 2025, so we'll see mortgage rates, I think, fall quite sharply next year."

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The demand for beer nationwide has dropped significantly, according to new figures.

Stats NZ data shows consumption has dropped by 4 percent, the largest drop in 15 years.

Brewers Association NZ executive director Dylan Firth says smaller breweries have taken a significant hit as consumers look to curb their spending.

"With interest rates being very high and consumers looking to curb their spending, I think a lot of those smaller businesses have been struggling a bit." 

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Households can breathe a temporary sigh of relief following yesterday's announcement from the Reserve Bank.

The Bank has held the OCR steady at 5.5 percent, in line with with what most economists were predicting.

NZ Herald business editor at large Liam Dann says it's going to be a long battle to get inflation down, so the future's uncertain.

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There's growing concern that the proposed closure of Newshub could be a sign of tougher times for the media industry. 

Warner Bros. Discovery revealed they planned to shutter newsroom operations from July, forcing hundreds out of work.

AUT media researcher Merja Myllylahti says the entire industry is in trouble, revenue-wise.

"For example, results from NZME were not as good as expected because of an advertising slump. This is the same thing the New York Times is going through, most of the industry is in turmoil." 

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There's salt in the wound for Christchurch Blink-182 fans after bassist Mark Hoppus was filmed ripping on the city.

It comes after the band announced they were cancelling their Christchurch show, just two weeks ahead of the event taking place.

Consumer NZ Communications and Campaigns Manager Jessica Walker says the band's actions have encouraged fans to seek extra compensation beyond tickets.

"It's worth seeing if you can get your money back under the Consumer Guarantees Act, or maybe even the Fair Trading Act- that's where we've landed with this."

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ACT Party leader David Seymour has asked Treasury to look into the returns the station is offering tax-payers, after 1News' competitor Newshub revealed it was broke.

Warner Bros. Discovery has proposed shuttering Newshub from July, axing one of the country's biggest commercial news operators.

Seymour says it's possible requesting dividends could improve returns- and competition.

"It's one possibility- having one big state competitor that gets a pretty easy run in terms of getting taxpayer capital and paying dividends is distorting the marketplace."

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An issue with paying for fuel at outdoor pumps has been confirmed as being related to the leap year.

The extra day in February has affected Allied, Waitomo, Gull and BP truck stops, stopping customers from paying for their gas.

Software provider Invenco was meant to roll out a fix at 3 o'clock - but that hasn't happened.

Waitomo Chief Executive Simon Parham says it's surprising because it's not the first time we've had a leap year.

"I think it's near a base in the software where they've just missed this day, and then the processing couldn't happen."

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The Reserve Bank Governor says inflation is still too high to consider cutting the OCR.

Adrian Orr held the OCR steady at 5.5 percent today, in line with most economist's expectations. 

Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olsen says the Bank's on the right track to bringing down inflation.

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The Reserve Bank Governor has held the Official Cash Rate at 5.5 percent today, as expected by most economists.

Adrian Orr says there was discussion on whether to bring in a small hike, but the Monetary Policy Committee concluded holding was the right move.

Milford Asset Management's Katlyn Parker analyses the market reaction to this announcement.

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Finance Minister Nicola Willis wants to exempt some trusts from paying the new 39 percent trustee tax rate.

She hinted the Government planned to modify the bill aimed at lifting the trustee tax rate from 33 percent to 39 percent from April 1.

NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny explains how Nicola Willis plans to determine these exemptions.

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Building back trust is next on the agenda for the rat-plagued Countdown Dunedin South.

It reopened today, after being closed for almost three weeks for pest management procedures.

Woolworths Stores Director Jason Stockill says foot traffic was down today, but they're determined to regain customers' faith.

"We know it's going to be a slow process, but we've got to get the confidence back into the community. Our team have been doing a great job keeping in touch with the community."

Stockill says finances have taken a hit, but customers are the priority, and are today being treated to free coffee and chocolate.

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Economists at our biggest bank expect the Reserve Bank will increase the Official Cash Rate.

ANZ's changed its forecast, now predicting 25 basis point hikes in February and in April.

That would take the OCR to 6 percent- from its current 5.5.

ANZ chief economist Sharon Zollner says the Reserve Bank said it was very close to hiking it again in November.

"Since then, they've had a series of small, but very consistent surprises that do suggest that inflation's just going to take a bit longer to get back to target."

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Warner Bros. Discovery's Asia Pacific president reckons shutting down Newshub at the end of June is the best way forward.

Staff were shocked as the company announced they would close down Newshub's newsroom and website- blaming financial headwinds and a tough advertising market.

President James Gibbons says he's come to the conclusion this is the right approach.

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Uncertainty over the future for hundreds of Newshub workers, following the shock announcement its newsroom will close.

Warner Brothers Discovery executives told staff today they're shutting the newsroom and website, from the end of June.

The former-Mediaworks news company says it's battled financial headwinds and plans to focus on streaming service, ThreeNow, not news.

Media commentator Bill Ralston is predicting he expects more media failures over the next six months.

"Once you start chewing into losses of $100 million, and then more, and then more on top of it- it becomes unstoppable." 

Ralston expects some who've lost jobs will head overseas.

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As several trade ministers come together for this week's WTO meeting in Abu Dhabi, some experts are less hopeful.

Stephen Jacobi, the executive director of the International Business Forum, says there's no chance of an agreement for further cuts to agricultural subsidies and tariffs.

The Country's Jamie Mackay explains why he's less than optimistic about this gathering.

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Immigration NZ have found themselves in hot water for failing to do enough risk analysis for migrant workers.

A review of the Accredited Employer Work Visa Scheme has found the department had insufficient checks and balances for preventing migrant exploitation.

BusinessDesk's Pattrick Smellie says this feedback could send the wrong signal for the future of immigration. 

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The Aggregate and Quarry Association says urgent intervention is needed to avoid delays in construction projects in the Upper North Island.

Auckland reportedly ran out of sand fit for construction purposes, and the quarry industry head says an interim fix is needed to get projects back on track.

CEO Wayne Scott says they've been on the cusp of a major shortage for 12 months before the end of 2023.

"The National Policy Statements that came out last year for Indigenous Biodiversity and Highly Productive Land have severely impacted on the ability of quarries to get consented."

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Sir John Key believes the time was right to step down as chair of the country's biggest bank.

Key has been working with ANZ's Australian and New Zealand boards since 2017, and became chair in 2018.

He says the bank is in good shape and they had an obvious replacement in mind- so he knew he was ready to retire.

"The timing seemed about right for me, and it's a pretty good time for the bank as well."

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Several trade ministers from the World Trade Organisation are expected to gather over the next few days.

The MC13 gathering, held in Abu Dhabi, will be co-chaired by New Zealand's own Trade Minister- Todd McClay.

NZME business commentator Fran O'Sullivan says New Zealand has a lot to gain over this timeframe, if McClay does well.

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