US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell has indicated rate cuts could be on the cards soon.

Powell indicated the tariffs were making an inflationary impact, but he explained the impact could still be temporary.

Harbour Asset Management's Shane Solly explained further.

LISTEN ABOVE

The podcasts in the SME Stream contain general information only, not financial or professional advice. Any opinions expressed in the podcasts are not necessarily shared by BNZ, or its related entities. BNZ is not liable for any losses resulting from the content of the podcasts. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Self-employed Kiwis are prioritising their businesses rather than thinking about retirement. 

A report by the Retirement Commission and accounting firm Hnry shows just 44% of self-employed people actively contribute to KiwiSaver. 

This is compared to 78% of employees. 

The report also reveals 41% of self-employed workers don't get any government KiwiSaver contribution.  

Retirement Commissioner Jane Wrightson told Mike Hosking they're having to make trade-offs. 

She says employees get contributions from their employers, but self-employed people are having to pay themselves. 

LISTEN ABOVE 

The podcasts in the SME Stream contain general information only, not financial or professional advice. Any opinions expressed in the podcasts are not necessarily shared by BNZ, or its related entities. BNZ is not liable for any losses resulting from the content of the podcasts. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The OCR got another cut this week, now down to 3%. 

While there have been questions for a while around whether banks are passing the cuts down to consumers, the real question is whether the cuts will actually solve anything at all. 

LISTEN ABOVE

The podcasts in the SME Stream contain general information only, not financial or professional advice. Any opinions expressed in the podcasts are not necessarily shared by BNZ, or its related entities. BNZ is not liable for any losses resulting from the content of the podcasts. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You got into your first home unscathed, so buying again will be a breeze, right? Wrong. 

When it comes to moving up the property ladder, going from your first home to your second introduces a whole new level of stress to a homeowner's journey. 

Squirrel mortgage adviser Kat McInnes joins Nadine to talk through what can go wrong, and how to avoid sabotaging yourself on the next rung of the ladder.

If you have a question you want answered, or a financial story to share, get in touch at [email protected] 

The podcasts in the SME Stream contain general information only, not financial or professional advice. Any opinions expressed in the podcasts are not necessarily shared by BNZ, or its related entities. BNZ is not liable for any losses resulting from the content of the podcasts. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government has announced a $2.7 billion defence spending boost to upgrade the aircraft fleet. 

The money will be spent on five Seahawk helicopters and two Airbus aircrafts, to replace the Defence Force's "embarrassing" planes, in Judith Collins' words. 

It's part of National's pledge to boost defence spending by $9 billion over the next four years, but why now? 

LISTEN ABOVE

The podcasts in the SME Stream contain general information only, not financial or professional advice. Any opinions expressed in the podcasts are not necessarily shared by BNZ, or its related entities. BNZ is not liable for any losses resulting from the content of the podcasts. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Parliament's finance and expenditure committee released the findings of its banking inquiry today, making 19 recommendations - 14 of which have cross-party support. 

It concluded there is no silver bullet for more competition in the sector. 

Committee member Todd Stephenson saysthe first step is reducing barriers to entry. 

He says a large part of that is capital requirements for new players. 

LISTEN ABOVE

The podcasts in the SME Stream contain general information only, not financial or professional advice. Any opinions expressed in the podcasts are not necessarily shared by BNZ, or its related entities. BNZ is not liable for any losses resulting from the content of the podcasts. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

 [VIDEO EPISODE ON YOUTUBE & SPOTIFY]  Drones were harmed in the making of this episode, and that’s exactly the point. This episode takes you behind Australian counter-drone company DroneShield’s expansion.

The podcasts in the SME Stream contain general information only, not financial or professional advice. Any opinions expressed in the podcasts are not necessarily shared by BNZ, or its related entities. BNZ is not liable for any losses resulting from the content of the podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While experts are weighing up the results of US-based tech giants, one Chinese company is dominating markets.

Tencent is a Chinese multinational technology conglomerate - and one of the highest-grossing multimedia companies in the world based, on revenue.

Sam Dickie from Fisher Funds explains further.

LISTEN ABOVE

The podcasts in the SME Stream contain general information only, not financial or professional advice. Any opinions expressed in the podcasts are not necessarily shared by BNZ, or its related entities. BNZ is not liable for any losses resulting from the content of the podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Workers are now able to speak freely about their salaries, and it's got experts speculating about what this means for Kiwis.

The House passed a new law last night preventing employers from taking legal action against workers talking about their pay. 

The bill, introduced by Labour's Camilla Belich, essentially renders pay secrecy clauses unenforceable. 

Employment lawyer Jordan Boyle says New Zealand already has a culture of keeping pay private. 

"People may feel a little bit more freedom to ask, but you don't have to share. People may choose to share, employers may face some difficult conversations."

LISTEN ABOVE

The podcasts in the SME Stream contain general information only, not financial or professional advice. Any opinions expressed in the podcasts are not necessarily shared by BNZ, or its related entities. BNZ is not liable for any losses resulting from the content of the podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Will the latest cut to the Official Cash Rate provide some much-needed stimulus to the business sector? 

The central bank's cut the OCR 25 basis points to 3% and is signalling more are possible. 

It's recognised unemployment is high, and businesses aren't producing as much as they could. 

Prospa Managing Director Adrienne Begbie told Mike Hosking that while some people were hoping for 50, a 25 basis point cut does help a lot.  

LISTEN ABOVE 

The podcasts in the SME Stream contain general information only, not financial or professional advice. Any opinions expressed in the podcasts are not necessarily shared by BNZ, or its related entities. BNZ is not liable for any losses resulting from the content of the podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.