Business

Photo: 123RF Master Builders say the industry is being held back by the ability to get finance for housing and major infrastructure developments like schools and hospitals. A survey of more than 1000 homeowners and 300 builders ranked difficult financing as the number one issue, followed closely by weak consumer demand and the rising costs of construction. Master Builders chief executive Ankit Sharma said the current economic conditions had resulted in a slowdown. He said the highly conservative approach taken by the banking sector is a major barrier to the development of much needed housing and critical infrastructure. "We need businesses and clients to have the confidence that they can access money for projects, because it sends the signal that the economy is going to recover, and that...

Photo: RNZ The Reserve Bank will announce the Official Cash Rate at 2pm on Wednesday. The current rate is 5.5 percent. The Reserve Bank had previously indicated it wasn't likely to drop until 2025. But business leaders and economists now think it's likely they'll move sooner as inflation slows and unemployment rises. Most banks have been pre-empting lower rates with drops in their lending rates already. Expectations are building that the Reserve Bank will cut the official cash rate on Wednesday for the first time in more than four years. Wholesale interest rates have been falling in recent weeks as financial markets expect the first cut to the official cash rate since March 2020. The Reserve Bank started increasing the cash rate in late 2021 in response to high inflation, with the OCR ...

Photo: RNZ Board of Airline Representatives says rising visa fees could hurt New Zealand's tourism recovery. Visa fees will increase on 1 October. Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment says the new rates won't significantly impact demand. BARNZ criticised MBIE for not consulting airlines, which they say hold crucial tourism data. Rising visa fees could cement a decline in tourism too hard to bounce back from, the Board of Airline Representatives says. Higher visa fees are set to take effect from 1 October - a move Immigration Minister Erica Stanford said would free up more than $563 million over four years. A visitor visa would increase from $211 to $341, while the working holiday scheme would rise from $420 to $670. Official documents showed that in March the Ministry of Bus...

One third of construction contractors expect to see revenue growth this year, compared with 47 percent in 2023. File photo. Photo: 123rf.com The construction industry is losing confidence, amid rising concern about the lack of a clear pipeline of government work in the immediate future. The 2024 Construction Industry Survey - commissioned by Civil Contractors - found just one in five contractors have confidence in the outlook, which compared with a third last year. A third expected to see revenue growth this year, compared with 47 percent in 2023, 52 percent in 2022 and 55 percent in 2021. Civil Contractors chief executive Alan Pollard said the industry was facing a severe lack of work, which was affecting 64 percent of businesses, compared with 29 percent in 2023. "There has to be chan...

Photo: 123rf Online shopping is awash with bargain hunters, citing convenience as the number one reason for buying online. A report by global data and insights organisation Pureprofile and Australia's Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) indicates 83 percent of Australian online shoppers and 77 percent of NZ online shoppers were active every month. The survey of 1000 Australian and 1000 New Zealand online shoppers during July 2024 also found an increase in the number of shoppers prioritising lower prices and discounts, while 62 percent switched products and brands in favour of cheaper alternatives. Search engines remained the most used method for shoppers, with 38 percent using price comparison sites and services, and 20 percent using major shopping events to find discounts. The top thre...

A Southern Star Oil rig platform in Taranaki. Photo: Supplied Analysis - For the second time in three months the whiff of panic has enveloped the country's power sector. In May it was a case of plunging temperatures, rising demand, scarce supplies and the threat of lights out. The country got through without blackouts by the finest of margins. And now a scarcity of gas, and a lack of wind and rain have sent wholesale power prices skyrocketing and forced big industrial users to reduce usage and cut production, in some cases even to shut up shop. This time the world's biggest methanol maker and New Zealand's biggest gas user, Canadian based Methanex, has come to the rescue with a deal to shut its production until the end of October, and sell the gas it would have used to power generators ...

KiwiSaver has been criticised for continuing to invest in companies linked to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. Photo: IRD/screenshot An ethical investment group is raising fresh concerns about KiwiSaver funds invested in companies involved in constructing and financing Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. Research from Mindful Money showed investment in such companies increased by 20 percent in the six months to March to $85 million. Last month, the United Nations' highest court said Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories were illegal, though it was disputed by Israel. Mindful Money chief executive Barry Coates said the charity identified a number of companies involved in settlements, covering a broad range of categories, including demolition...

Photo: Ziming Li First Union says its members who are Woolworths staff aren't happy at having to pay for their own Disney costumes as part of a promotion at the supermarkets - but the chain says it's completely voluntary. Woolworths is running a new promotion in which customers are given cards featuring Disney characters. As part of that, staff are being asked whether they want to dress up as Disney characters - though they must provide the costumes themselves. The union said staff were told were to dress as accurate Disney, Marvel and Star Wars characters with licensed Disney clothing, and were not allowed to dress as DC characters or mix their costumes. Staff have been involved in industrial action with the company over pay and staffing levels. First Union national secretary of retail ...

An EFTPOS card being swiped at a terminal. Photo: 123RF Retail NZ says they understand that an Eftpos outage that occurred earlier on Tuesday is now over. Eftpos had posted an advisory on their website, saying they were experiencing a technical issue which was preventing some of its transactions from being processed. Retail NZ chief executive Carolyn Young said they had since heard that the service was now working again. RNZ has approached Eftpos for comment, but have not received any reply. The advisory on their website has now been removed however. Kiwibank, ANZ and BNZ were also not aware of any of their customers having issues. Source link

Jordan Rondel, aka The Caker, will be based in LA, working on other pursuits. Photo: thecaker, Instagram Jordan Rondel, aka The Caker, has decided to call it a day on her successful baking business, selling the boxed cake kits company along with the name she has become known for. "The Caker brand has been built on the sturdiest of foundations - honesty, commitment and passion. Anouk (Jordan's sister) and I dedicated a huge chunk of our lives to upholding its purpose and values, ingraining the business into every part of us. My name became synonymous with it, I became The Caker," Rondell wrote on Instagram to her 71.1K followers on Tuesday afternoon. "But while stuck on the exhilarating rollercoaster of entrepreneurship for almost 15 years (the last 3 being the most relentless), I've com...