The SME Stream

Westpac's Chief Economist Kelly Eckhold discusses the latest economic data and what the Australian Budget means.

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NZ First leader Winston Peters says NZ's retirement age is not a problem that needs to be fixed.

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The Prime Minister ponders further lamb tariffs in the US, whether climate polluters are being let off the hook, whether Labour can win without TPM, Judith Collins' valedictory, and the fuel price crisis. 

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Shoppers are still turning up and backing local where they can, while retailers juggle rising costs. But how long can they absorb the pain?

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Forsyth Barr's Mark Richardson gives a crash course on how currency exchange rates impact returns on your investments.

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Jarden's Mike McIntyre discusses the a strong dairy season as uncertainty over costs looms.

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Prime Minister Chris Luxon has warned less cash would be thrown around in this year's upcoming Budget amid ongoing economic turmoil.

Luxon told the audience at the pre-Budget BusinessNZ event that it's important for the Government to stay on track with their fiscal strategy as the election looms.

NZ Herald senior correspondent Katie Bradford says Luxon's speech is meant to signal to voters that his Government values stability and social cohesion.

"This is a very clear message he's trying to get out there - about how National is the party of sensible, stable planned approach going in here." 

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The Government says it won't punish genuine mistakes with its planned new crackdown on misleading pricing. 

A bill's been introduced to Parliament that would increase the maximum penalty for misleading prices from $600 thousand to $5 million. 

The Commerce Commission estimates such prices are costing New Zealanders tens-of-millions-of-dollars a year.  

Consumer Affairs Minister Cameron Brewer told Mike Hosking there's always room for error. 

But he says there's also some businesses who treat the current penalty for misleading pricing as the cost of doing business. 

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Katie Bradford talks to Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey about a workplace mental health toolkit as economic pressures mount on businesses.

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ComCom has one headscratcher - Market concentration measured by the share of the top five firms in any sector, has dropped over the past two decades. 

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