Business

The decision to decline the Foodstuffs merger could mean higher prices in the near future. File photo. Photo: RNZ / Kim Moodie The Commerce Commission's decision not to allow a planned merger of Foodstuffs' North Island and South Island divisions could be bad news for shoppers - at least initially. The commission said on Tuesday it was declining the proposal because it would substantially lessen competition. Chair John Small said it would reduce the number of buyers of grocery products in New Zealand, and give them more power to extract lower prices from suppliers. University of Auckland emeritus professor Timothy Hazledine said, while the decision to decline the merger was the right one, in the very near future it could mean higher prices. "They've still go to compete with each other w...

By Lisa M Katerina and Drew Franklin of Multiple submissions to the Commerce Commission claimed Foodstuffs' unwillingness to compete with each other demonstrated a worrying precedent. Photo: 123RF Analysis: Two of the dominant players in New Zealand's supermarket sector - Foodstuffs North Island and Foodstuffs South Island - have failed in their quest to officially join forces. In a decision announced on Monday, the Commerce Commission declined to green-light the merger between the two cooperatives. The watchdog said it was not satisfied the move wouldn't result in reducing competition in the New Zealand grocery sector. But it needs to go further. Instead of adjudicating on a merger, the commission should be given the power to break up the two Foodstuffs entities t...

The cost of the new Dunedin Hospital could hit as much as $3 billion. Photo: RNZ/Tess Brunton Problems with Dunedin Hospital highlight that New Zealand needs to develop a more mature approach to large, important projects, Infrastructure New Zealand says. Plans for the new hospital have been thrown into doubt by government revelations last week that a report had found it could probably not be delivered in the current $1.88 billion budget. Health Minister Shane Reti and Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop said it would need to be reduced, or done in stages, or the cost could hit $3b. In 2017, it was estimated the build would cost $1.2b to $1.4b. Infrastructure New Zealand chief executive Nick Leggett said on as cost-per-metre basis, it would be the costliest hospital in Australasia. "We ...

While the rental market has softened, commentators say it is unlikely that the return of deductibility is the driver. File photo. Photo: Unsplash / Tom Rumble New Zealand's rental market is cooling - but how much of that is due to the return of interest deductibility for investors? In March, prime minister Christopher Luxon said renters would be "grateful" that extra costs would no longer be passed on to them after the government moved to phase back in investors' ability to claim loan interest costs against their rental income for tax purposes - reducing the amount of tax they pay. Act Party leader and associate finance minister David Seymour said at the time the pressure on landlords from the Labour government's removal of deductibility was reducing the number of rentals and pushing re...

Property coach Steve Goodey says the market has "most definitely" bottomed out. File photo. Photo: RNZ / 123rf Property coach Steve Goodey says the time is right to buy a house - but not everyone is as convinced. Goodey asked his social media followers this week what they were waiting for. "I can get 5.59 percent for three years even if the floating rate is still in the 8s. "Auckland house prices are by average now under $1 million for the first time since 2020… Mortgage brokers round the country are recording a massive upswing in activity with investors and first-home buyers alike getting pre-approvals. "Daylight saving has started giving agents more sunlight and evening open homes. So what indicator or metric are you waiting for to get stuck in? Will you wait for two more OCR reductio...

Dozens of stores have closed between Courtenay Place and Lambton Quay in 2024. File photo. Photo: RNZ / Jake McKee While the council is looking into a financial package for some areas affected, some critics said it does not go far enough. Flora Quintana has run Syrian restaurant Damascus for five years and like many restaurant owners around the capital, she is facing tough times. She also lost most of her family's belongings in a house fire earlier this year. Not about to give up, she has opened a takeaway bar to bring in more sales. "You don't need as many staff so mainly the high costs that a restaurant has is the staff, is wages. I think that with a takeaway as well, what happens is that you can offer something a bit smaller, kind of like a cheaper price and people I think at the mom...

Port Nelson Photo: RNZ / Tracy Neal A Talley's staff member has died at the company's wharf at Port Nelson. Talley's Ltd chief executive Tony Hazlett said a staff member was fatally injured at its Nelson wharf on Tuesday. Police said the person was located in a critical condition after a workplace incident shortly before 1pm and CPR was commenced, but they were unable to be revived. St John was notified at 12.35pm and sent an ambulance and three rapid response vehicles to the incident. Police are still working to notify the next of kin. Enquiries into the circumstances of the incident were ongoing and the death would be referred to the Coroner. Hazlett said the company was extremely saddened by the death and sent its deepest condolences to the person's family. It was providing the famil...

Photo: Unsplash/ Simon Kadula Business sentiment has improved sharply but is still pessimistic as firms struggle with lower sales, leading them to shed staff and hold back on investment. The Institute of Economic Research's September quarter business survey shows a net 5 percent of respondents think economic conditions will get worse in coming months, compared to a net 40 percent in the June survey. Firms reported a decline in their own trading with a net 31 percent of firms reported a fall their trading in the past quarter from 27 percent decline in the previous survey. The weakness was expected to ease in the coming quarter with a net 2 percent forecasting a drop in their own business from 13 percent in the previous quarter. NZIER principal economist Christina Leung said businesses wer...

Photo: 123RF A new study has confirmed what many New Zealand shoppers already believed - supermarket prices are higher here than overseas. Australian researchers compared the prices of common grocery items in leading supermarkets in Australia, the UK, Ireland and New Zealand. New Zealand was the most expensive place to buy the items, with the UK the cheapest. Researchers from Edith Cowan University compared the prices of some common supermarket staples, including fruit and vegetables, milk, cheese, chocolate, meat, bread, coffee and some toiletries. Here's the winning order on price alone: UK - on top with the lowest prices, with the cost of the groceries ranging between $314-$329 Ireland - next cheapest with prices ranging between $347-$383 Australia - in third with the price the groce...

Photo: Supplied by Karikaas The market has never been tougher for a boutique cheesemaker, says Karikaas owner Di Hawkins. Di and Alan Hawkins have been making cheese out of their Loburn factory since 2004, when they bought the Karikaas cheese business from Dutch transplants Karin and Rients Rypma. Their Dutch and New Zealand cheeses have won many awards - including this year where they took out prizes for best Dutch cheese and best NZ original cheese. But after 20 years in the business, the market has never been tougher, she said. "Over that time the entrants to the New Zealand cheese market who've come and gone are probably 10 to one to those that have survived. "People come and they get started, and there's lots of enthusiasm, and then the reality and the work and combination of circu...