Business

Overall food prices are more than 18 percent higher on last year, says an economist. File photo. Photo: 123RF Food prices are no longer increasing at the dizzying pace recorded in 2023 - but the recent run of inflation has left grocery shoppers shelling out significantly more for their groceries. Food price inflation picked up pace from the end of 2022 and peaked mid last year, with increases running into double-digit percentages. It has dropped significantly in recent months. In June, the first annual food price drop in six years was recorded. But Infometrics chief executive Brad Olsen calculated that overall food prices were a bit more than 18 percent higher in July this year than they were in July 2021. Fruit and vegetable prices were 7.3 percent higher, meats, poultry and fish were ...

Ryman Healthcare's Miriam Corban retirement village. Photo: Supplied Ryman Healthcare raising prices for new residents Suspends any new building projects Revamps structure - three senior executives made redundant Retirement village operator Ryman Healthcare is raising prices, slowing construction, and cutting senior jobs as it looks to restore its finances. The company, which operates 49 villages in New Zealand and Australia, is raising the deferred management fee (DMF) paid by residents when they leave a village, to 25 or 30 percent, depending on the initial entry price paid, from the current 20 percent. The weekly fixed charges for new residents will also be raised or they can pay fees indexed to rises in NZ superannuation or Australia's consumer price index. Executive chairman Dean...

Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Energy Minister Simeon Brown. Photo: RNZ / REECE BAKER Consultation on open banking and open electricity has begun. Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Energy Minister Simeon Brown have now asked for feedback in both of those areas. Open banking was expected to be the first cab off the rank, with a view of it being operational by the end of 2025. Bayly said that was well before the target set by the recent Commerce Commission banking market study. "At the moment, banks and electricity companies are operating inside a walled garden," he said. "New entrants face high barriers to entry and as a result consumers do not benefit from innovative new products and services." Bayly said the government was seeking feedback...

Expectations were high going into the latest reporting season but overall results, for the period ended June, ultimately disappointed. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver The corporate reporting season has produced some mixed results, with a difficult outlook for most companies exposed to the domestic economy. Expectations were high going into the latest reporting season but overall results, for the period ended June, ultimately disappointed - leaving the NZX Top 50 Index little changed. The biggest highlight over the past month was the Reserve Bank's 25-basis-point cut to the official cash rate, which was followed by a strong rebound in business confidence. "Even though we've had some good news in terms of that rate cut, there's still clearly parts of the economy which are still hurting, and th...

Photo: RNZ The reduction in the official cash rate is flowing through to the property market with improved buyer sentiment. A new property report from realestate.co.nz shows buyer enquiries increased by 8.5 percent in August in the fortnight following last month's OCR cut to 5.25 percent. The national average asking price dipped to $844,595 in August, the lowest in three-and-a-half years, with a further a 0.5 percent decrease from July and a 3.4 percent decrease from August 2023. Stock levels remain high increasing across the country by 30 percent year-on-year in August. August also marked a return to seasonal listing trends, according to realestate.co.nz chief executive Sarah Wood. "The rise in new listings suggests that vendors view this as a favourable time to sell, likely in response...

Summerset by the Park Rest Home in Flatbush. Photo: Google A report on the state of retirement villages highlights regional inequities and a critical shortage in the number of aged care units, despite a recent ramp-up in development. Property management firm JLL's latest Retirement Villages Market Review to the year ended December 2023, indicates there needed to be a significant increase in the rate of development to meet future demand. "New Zealand's retirement village sector has shown remarkable growth over the past decade, reflecting the increasing demand from our ageing population," JLL head of research Gavin Read said. "However, the findings of our review underscore the importance of strategic planning and development to ensure that future demand can be met." Development falls behi...

Seascape was meant to be New Zealand's highest residential building. But construction has stopped, thanks to a feud between the builder and developer.  Builders working on Auckland's Seascape tower were told to down tools in late August. Photo: Sharon Brettkelly It is being marketed as the "very best lifestyle imaginable" by Sotheby's real estate, an architectural masterpiece due for completion by "Q2 2024". But that date has come and gone and the Seascape tower in downtown Auckland sits unfinished after work was shut down last month over a dispute between the developer and the builder. The empty building site on Customs Street East is closed off and guarded by security workers, with no word on when work will restart. There is no mention of that on either Sotheby's or on Seas...

Wairoa District Mayor Craig Little. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone High power prices are hurting not just manufacturers, but councils too. Wairoa District Council said its energy costs had gone up 40 percent in the past three months. Mayor Craig Little told RNZ the town relied on electrical pumps to get water to residents, and the price increases had been scary. "I think it's hit everyone by surprise right across the country as with us. You try and predict it and you can't get that one right - we've got pumps with massive electrical motors and it's going to be huge for us," he said. Ministers met with several manufacturing companies this week, after Winstone Pulp International proposed closing down because of the high wholesale energy prices. That closure would result in the loss of 230 ...

Photo: 123rf Food wholesaler Gilmours is freezing prices of essential products in a move it says will help struggling hospitality businesses - but there is no such move planned for households as food price inflation stalls. Products included in the freeze for hospitality businesses are from grocery, chilled and frozen, liquor, beverage and general merchandise categories. Gilmours general manager Cindy Chaimowitz said it was important to take action because many operators were facing closure. Some have also reported that their current trading conditions are the worst they have ever experienced. "Our price freeze is designed to provide immediate relief to these businesses, enabling them to keep their prices competitive and attract more diners." Restaurant Association chief executive Marisa...

The main banks have all trimmed their rates significantly since the Reserve Bank cut the official cash rate earlier this month. Photo: RNZ Two-year mortgage rates have had the biggest falls, as banks move to cut what they charge borrowers. The main banks have all trimmed their rates significantly since the Reserve Bank cut the official cash rate earlier this month. From a peak of about 7 percent late last year for two-year special home loan rates, according to Reserve Bank data, on Friday all of the major banks had two-year specials below 6 percent. The cheapest advertised rates were 5.89 percent for two years at ASB and BNZ. Six-month and one-year rates have fallen from a peak of about 7.3 percent in January to as low as 6.45 percent for a year at ASB, BNZ, Kiwibank and ANZ, and 6.85 p...