Business

Auckland house prices fell 0.7 percent in September. File photo. Photo: 123rf New Zealand's property downturn continues, Corelogic says, but it may not last much longer. Its house value index shows that prices fell another 0.5 percent in September, the seventh fall in a row. Values are 16 percent higher than in March 2020 but 18 percent below their Covid boom peak. Hamilton was down 1.2 percent in September, Wellington 0.5 percent and Auckland 0.7 percent. Christchurch values were flat and Dunedin's were slightly up. Chief property economist Kelvin Davidson said there were signs falling mortgage rates had started to boost sentiment but that was yet to show up in the data. "I think you've probably got to call this a downturn. The language has been 'it's a bit soft, it's soggy, ticking al...

By Georgie Hewson, ABC Sofia Qistine (left) said she was surprised about how expensive the cookies were. Photo: Supplied/ Sofia Qistine For Sydney foodies with a sweet tooth, the chance to try treats from a famous cookie brand only sold in the US was too good to pass up. So, a pop-up store selling the cookies advertised on TikTok in Bondi over the weekend was met with long lines down the block. Many had high expectations for the treats, which were being sold for $AU17.50 ($NZ19.40) each. But soon, social media was flooded with complaints about the quality of the cookies and their high price. Then an even-more confusing story emerged: The pop-up was not approved or run by the US brand Crumbl, and the organisers has gone to unusual lengths to bring the product to Australia. It was the ...

Products still for sale on Wednesday. Photo: Vape stores around the country have been caught selling non-compliant Heated Tobacco Products (HTPs) despite new regulations coming into effect on Tuesday. An undercover sting led by grassroots volunteer group Vape-Free Kids NZ has unveiled more than 20 stores across Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch selling IQOS heated tobacco devices. It follows calls from health leaders for the prime minister to stand down Associate Health Minister Casey Costello for her "disastrous" tobacco control policy. Philip Morris has monopolised the HTP market in New Zealand with its IQOS product, where sticks of tobacco are heated to a vapour rather than burned. RNZ also visited several stores in Christchurch on Wednesday afternoon, with one in Linwood sellin...

Motorists buying petrol now have a number of 'buy now pay later' options. File photo. Photo: RNZ / Dan Cook Mobil, Z, Caltex and Waitomo petrol stations are offering motorists new ways to pay for their fuel, but there are concerns that struggling households could end up in more debt. Z Energy now offers Afterpay at Z and Caltex stations, and Waitomo and Mobil have signed up to the Kora card scheme. Afterpay allows people to pay off a purchase over four instalments, but late fees of up to 25 percent of the original purchase price, or $68 can be charged, whichever is lower. Kora gives members cards to use at Mobil and Waitomo. They then have the option of paying off their balance weekly, fortnightly or monthly. It charges a $2 per month fee and offers a discount of 10c a litre, but people...

Chief executive Michael Steckler said he would remain part of the company along with staff. Photo: Supplied A British software giant is set to swoop in on New Zealand tech company Tradify. UK-based Access Group will take full control of Tradify in a deal potentially worth more than $100 million, though the value has not been disclosed. The deal is subject to approval by the Overseas Investment Office. Tradify provides job management software for trade businesses and has operations in Australia, New Zealand and the UK. Chief executive Michael Steckler said the acquisition by Access - a group specialising in business management software for small and mid-sized companies - allowed it to meet its "ambitions as a company more quickly". "With us certainly [being in] the trades industry, there...

Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon Air New Zealand is cutting back capacity on three domestic routes by flying smaller planes or flying fewer times a day. This comes after Monday's announcement that the airline would cut flights between Invercargill and Wellington from January next year. It is now changing the aircraft for two routes from a 171-seat Airbus A320 jet to a 68-seat ATR-72, a reduction of 100 seats, citing a decrease in customer demand. Queenstown to Christchurch The smaller plane will be used for the first flight of the morning from Queenstown to Christchurch. It will also depart later - just before 9am. The Queenstown to Auckland jet service will be increased by two more services a week. Dunedin to Wellington Flights from Dunedin to Wellington will also now operate using the small...

By Chris Keall of Curtis Bailey - the West Auckland electrician who founded Tradify after finding he was spending too much time on admin. He owns 9% of the firm ahead of the $100m-plus deal. Photo: Supplied / New Zealand Herald Curtis Bailey, who left school for an apprenticeship at a small electrical engineering company in South Auckland, is in line for a $9 million-plus payday. UK firm The Access Group has entered an agreement to buy Tradify, the firm Bailey created in 2010 after becoming frustrated there was no app for tradies to manage and book jobs. The price is confidential, but the deal is subject to Overseas Investment Office approval, implying it sits above the regulator's $100 million threshold. The Access Group, based in the Midlands and backed by a compl...

Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone New Zealand blueberry growers have the green light to enter the South Korean market for the first time. Minister for Trade and Agriculture Todd McClay has unveiled the long-awaited duty free agreement, with the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) working behind the scenes to gain biosecurity sign off. Blueberries New Zealand chief executive Kelvin Bezuidenhout said growers expected positive spin-offs and a good deal of competition from local producers and rival southern hemisphere exporters. "We know there are good opportunities for our window," Bezuidenhout said. "There are not sufficient blueberries for them to supply their market all year so it's really up to us to exploit the opportunity we have been given." New Zealand sells about 80 percent of its ex...

Photo: RNZ A growing number of commentators are calling for the Reserve Bank to cut the official cash rate by 50 basis points next week - and for rates to come down much faster than previously predicted. Kiwibank, ASB and HSBC now say a 50 basis points cut is likely in October - and BNZ expects one in November. Westpac and ASB then expect another 50bps cut in November, and Kiwibank expects one in February. "I'm calling quite strongly for two 50s," Kiwibank chief economist Jarrod Kerr said. "Businesses and households need rates to keep falling, they need the Reserve Bank to maintain momentum. "The only way it can do that is to deliver 50 - the market has pretty much got that fully priced in now, if they don't there's going to be a spike in wholesale rates." Kiwibank chief economist Jar...

ChargeNet operates more than 400 charging stations nationwide. Photo: AFP Power company Genesis Energy is planning to pump money into ChargeNet to speed up the growth of its nationwide electric vehicle charging network. Genesis has taken a 65 percent stake in the network for $64 million, as it looks for new income sources. ChargeNet operates more than 400 public fast-charging points across the country and chief executive Danusia Wypych said the new deal will help build more ports faster. "The Genesis investment gives us core investment into our site delivery program. So. putting more chargers in the ground. If I look back on a 12 month period under our current program, I'd be putting in maybe up to 150 charge points with the Genesis investment I can put in over 270 charge points per ann...