The SME Stream

Christchurch's new stadium is helping drive national retail spending. 

Paymark data shows spending through its Core Retail network rose 1.2% last month compared to a year ago. 

Canterbury recorded the strongest regional growth, with spending up 2.8%. 

Retail New Zealand's Carolyn Young told Francesca Rudkin that events drive activity.  

She says the Six60 concert significantly increased spending in the Christchurch area. 

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New research paints a gloomier picture for business leaders.  

The latest 2degrees Shaping Business Report suggests optimism about post-pandemic recovery has fallen away.  

It says leaders are now shifting from recovery mode to simply playing the hand they've got. 

Chief Business Officer Andrew Fairgray told Heather du Plessis-Allan people were looking for a return to normalcy in the years since Covid, but with all the volatility, businesses are starting to realise they need to control their own outcomes. 

But he says there are still some signs of positivity and moving forward, just in the new normal.  

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Aspire Property Management's Mike Atkinson discusses tough times for landlords, calling it the worst market in 50 years. 

For years the story was rental shortage, rising rents, desperate tenants, but now we’ve got softer rents in some main centres, more townhouses and apartments, and tenants needing affordability.

So, the question arises, is it a renter's market, and if so, how long will it last? 

And what is the golden number for what percent of your income you should spend on housing? 

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Could an old job be holding money you’ve forgotten about?

In this episode of The Prosperity Project, Nadine Higgins speaks to NZBritannia founder Alun Rees-Williams about the UK pension money many Kiwis lose track of after working overseas. Some people discover multiple pension schemes from different jobs, and in rare cases, the amounts can be life-changing.

They discuss why these funds are so easy to forget, how UK pensions differ from KiwiSaver, what to consider before transferring money back to New Zealand, and why the worst mistake is simply losing track of what exists. Even if you’ve never worked in the UK, it’s a useful reminder to keep tabs on every retirement account attached to your working life.

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The former Minister for Primary Industries and current NZ Special Ag Trade Envoy, just back in the country, talks about Trump’s latest tariff debacle. Plus we look at the perilous state of the honey industry.

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Prime Minister Christopher Luxon joined Heather du Plessis-Allan to chat about his Australia trip.

Lat week, after it was announced four New Zealand MPs would be banned from China for a year, Australia commented condemning China's decision. Luxon responded saying it was not a matter for Australia to be involved in, but today he stated he was 'appreciative' of the support anyway. 

A focus of the trip was economic integration in a 'volatile world', including facilitating infrastructure partnerships.

Luxon said "my job on those things is to be like the super salesman for New Zealand, really is how I look at the international part of my job."

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Interest rates have begun to creep back up.  

New Zealand’s largest bank, ANZ, has increased its rates across the board, hiking everything by 20 basis points except the one-year rate, which only increased by 10. 

It's rates now start at 4.69% for its six-month “special” and go up to 6.49% for five-year terms.  

So how high will they go and what should you do? Ed McKnight joined Jack Tame to offer some advice. 

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A Christchurch mother is calling for changes to bereavement leave laws. 

Sheena Hemens’ 27-year-old daughter Lauren was killed in a car accident nearly three years ago. 

Hemens says grief kept her from working for months, but currently, the law only provides three days of leave. 

She’s launched a petition to increase minimum bereavement leave to 10 days, saying many people don’t realise how little time they get. 

Sheena joined John MacDonald to discuss her petition.

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A Christchurch mother says current bereavement leave rules don’t give families enough time to grieve. 

Sheena Hemens has launched a petition to increase the minimum entitlement from three days to ten, after her 27-year-old daughter Lauren was killed in a car crash nearly three years ago. 

She says most people don't realise how little time you get to grieve until tragedy strikes, and the allowance feels like an insult.  

Hemens told Francesca Rudkin that if you need more than three days, the only options currently are to use annual or sick leave, or to take unpaid leave. 

Taking unpaid leave is not a fiscal option for many, she says, and it means that at the worst time of someone’s life, they’re being asked to be under financial pressure. 

“That seems, just inhuman.” 

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New data shows how unstable the construction sector is right now, with building activity dropping to a 10-year low. 

Infometrics says building activity fell 3.5% in the March quarter.  

The value of non-residential work in the South Island rose more than 8% as Wellington and Auckland recorded significant drops.  

Combined Building Supplies Co-Op CEO Carl Taylor told Heather du Plessis-Allan consents can tell them what may happen in the future – but only if people spend money. 

He says it's tough out there, particularly in Auckland, but Canterbury seems insulated from issues. 

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