Business

Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr. Photo: RNZ / Dom Thomas Forget arguing about whether the Reserve Bank will cut the official cash rate (OCR) by 25 or 50 basis points (bps) this week. It should go for a full 75bps and reduce the rate to 3.75 percent - from 5.25 percent at the moment - by Christmas, one fund manager says. Greg Smith, head of retail at Devon Funds, said it was not what he thought the Reserve Bank would do, but what it should do, given the state of the economy. Inflation was already back at the Reserve Bank's target midpoint and was likely to be below 2 percent by the end of the year. "There is therefore a strong case for official rates to already be at neutral, which the Reserve Bank estimates to be 3.8 percent in their short-run horizon. "With the official cash rate at 5...

TVNZ in Auckland. Photo: RNZ/Marika Khabazi TVNZ is planning to scrap its 1News website next year under a proposal to save the struggling state-owned broadcaster's finances. A whole staff meeting was called on Monday to go over the proposal, aiming to find $30 million in savings. The broadcaster earlier this year cut a number of news and current affairs shows, including Fair Go and its midday and late night bulletins. The proposal presented to staff at the meeting included: Closing the 1News website from February next year Outsourcing some content workflows and technology Consolidating business areas "to align with our strategy" Investing more in TVNZ+, its on-demand platform, and establishing a new team Changing roster patterns Changing its youth-oriented platform Re: News to focus "s...

TVNZ in Auckland. Photo: RNZ/Marika Khabazi A whole staff meeting has been called at TVNZ as the broadcaster tries to find $30 million, RNZ understands. The broadcaster earlier this year cut a number of news and current affairs shows as it tries to reduce costs and increase revenues. Sources at TVNZ have confirmed an invite was sent to all staff to a meeting on the proposed structure changes, for between 1pm and 3pm on Monday. "This consultation is focused on how we might achieve our $30m target and deliver our Digital+ strategy. Proposals relating to individual roles are not part of this consultation." "Our priority is to share proposals with our people first. We will not be commenting further at this stage." In a statement, TVNZ says it is entering into consultation on the proposed "s...

Photo: RNZ Reserve Bank super-sized official cash rate (OCR) cut favoured Majority in economists' poll favour bigger cut RBNZ usually favours quarter percentage point moves (25 basis points) At height of Covid pandemic in 2022, RBNZ made eight consecutive outsized OCR rises Retail interest rates have fallen with cuts in mortgage rates A super-sized interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank looks increasingly certain this week as economists and financial markets push for a quicker reduction in borrowing costs. The Reserve Bank started the easing cycle in August with a 25 basis point cut to 5.25 percent, first rate cut in four years, with a signal of further cuts over the next two years. A Reuters poll of 28 economists shows 60 percent expect a 50 basis point cut, while financial markets ar...

Photo: RNZ Reserve Bank super-sized official cash rate (OCR) cut favoured Majority in economists' poll favour bigger cut RBNZ usually favours quarter percentage point moves (25 basis points) At height of Covid pandemic in 2022, RBNZ made eight consecutive outsized OCR rises Retail interest rates have fallen with cuts in mortgage rates A super-sized interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank looks increasingly certain this week as economists and financial markets push for a quicker reduction in borrowing costs. The Reserve Bank started the easing cycle in August with a 25 basis point cut to 5.25 percent, first rate cut in four years, with a signal of further cuts over the next two years. A Reuters poll of 28 economists shows 60 percent expect a 50 basis point cut, while financial markets ar...

Photo: RNZ Send your questions to susan.edmunds@rnz.co.nz I'm currently in the process of buying my first house. The building report has shown some problems with the house that need to be fixed - like a hole in the roof - but it's not enough to make me want to pull out of the purchase. Can I ask the seller to cut the price? Assuming your offer was conditional on a building report, you can use an unsatisfactory one as a reason for pulling out of the purchase. But there are options, if that's not what you want to do. You could ask your lawyer to negotiate with the seller's lawyer to have the repairs done for you before you buy the house, or you could ask for a price reduction. You'll need to be willing to show them the report. There is no obligation on the vendor to do either, but it's wo...

Temu has become one of the most popular online shopping sites. Photo: Nicole Serrano The country's cyber watchdog has refused to engage on the question of whether popular Chinese online shopping site Temu might be a threat. In the US, lawmakers have sought an FBI briefing over whether Temu is a risk to national security and Americans' personal data. In a letter, they say Temu is linked to the Chinese Communist Party, citing US media reports. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) disregarded RNZ's direct questions about whether people should be worried about Temu. It stuck instead to general comments such as that with foreign apps, foreign laws on data-gathering might apply, though if companies operated here they had to meet local legal and privacy requirements. New Zealanders should...

Photo: 123RF Working from home might not be Public Sector Minister Nicola Willis' favourite thing - but it could be partly behind an increase in home ownership. Stats NZ reported on Thursday that the number of households who own their home increased in the latest census. It was the first lift in ownership recorded since 1991 - 66 percent of households are homeowners, up from 64.5 percent in 2018. It was still below the almost 74 percent in 1991. Infometrics chief executive Brad Olsen said there were a few possible reasons for the increase. "Affordability is quite challenging at the moment but we saw improving mortgage affordability in 2019 and definitely in 2020 and part of 2021. Then unaffordability started to come back into the system in 2022 and 2023. "When interest rates got to that ...

Not every business is following best practice when it comes to storing that information, nor disposing of it when it is no longer needed. Photo: 123rf It seems almost impossible to make a transaction of any sort these days without being required to hand over personal information. But that information is not always disposed of it when it is no longer needed. In August, a major audiology chain of clinics admitted much of its customer data had been leaked onto the dark web - potentially including bank account details, patient records and insurance information. One of those caught up in the Bloom Hearing Specialists hack was Auckland man Russell (full name withheld on request) - and he was not even a customer of theirs. "I had some hearing loss, industrial deafness. ACC covered me for up to...

Photo: RNZ More than 50,000 property investors are losing money on their rentals, Inland Revenue data shows. Information released under the Official Information Act shows that there were 53,350 taxpayers who reported negative rental income - where the rent they received did not cover their expenses - in the 2023 tax year. Their average loss was $9020. That is likely to understate the amount investors are losing though because it is after allowable deductions are claimed from income. In that tax year, they could only claim 75 percent of their interest costs as an expense. A year earlier, 51,740 taxpayers had an average loss of $7450. For many, the situation will have got tougher since the end of the 2023 year, as interest rates increased and the amount of interest that could be deducted d...