Category: Business

Source: Radio New Zealand

Federated Farmers says farmers are experiencing fuel shortages, with some two to three weeks behind their normal fuel drops.

The organisation’s dairy chair and Canterbury sharemilker Karl Dean said fuel distributors have had the schedule of fuel allocations changed by importers – disrupting when farmers usually receive supply.

Most farmers – if they have got an on-farm tank – will have a system set up with their fuel supplier, to get filled up about once a month, Dean told Morning Report.

Dean said he was hearing from farmers daily that some were weeks behind usual deliveries.

“That is a big concern.”

He said he is urging fuel distributors and the government to prioritise agriculture as an essential service for fuel supplies now.

“We’ve had instances where farmers have run out of water for stock water pumps … that can’t happen.

“And I think the government, personally, needs to start to make a stand and say ‘hey, there is shortages of fuel’, in terms of the distribution network in New Zealand, and that needs to be categorised and played through properly.”

RNZ has previously reported farmers running dry on fuel as rural distributors face limits.

Co-owner of Hawke’s Bay dry stock farm Caroline Kirk said in late March her fuel drop was 10 days’ late and her reticulating drinking water system for livestock ran on fuel. Distributor Fern Energy said at the time it was doing its best to prioritise fuel deliveries based on need.

Dean said he hoped the fuel drops would return to normal as soon as possible.

He also said dairy farmers will be facing high diesel costs in the next couple of months due to stock movements between farms.

“We’ve got large trucking events that happen normally around the 1st of May for young stock moving in and off farms, and then 1st of June for herds moving and going to Wintering etc.”

A big concern was the flow-on effect of fuel and transport price rises for next season, as companies will be ordering supplies now for spring and next summer, he said.

When asked about farmers facing fuel shortages, Finance Minister Nicola Willis said supplies continued to be available, but price rises were extremely concerning.

She said the government had published a fuel response plan which would call for “voluntary demand restraint” if there were disruptions in deliveries or orders.

RNZ has approached MBIE for comment.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

House building costs are rising at their fastest rate in two‑and‑a‑half years as the recovery in the residential construction sector accelerates.

Cotality, formerly known as CoreLogic, released its latest Cordell Construction Cost Index, which shows residential building costs rose 1 percent in the three months to March, compared with 0.9 percent in the December quarter.

The index is made up of 50 percent materials, 40 percent wage costs, and 10 percent other expenses such as professional fees and consenting.

Annual cost growth rose to 3 percent, but below the long‑term average of 4 percent since 2012.

Cotality chief property economist Kelvin Davidson said the rise in the annual growth rate signals the sector is moving into a more active phase.

“The quarterly figures have been relatively steady, but we’ve recorded a couple of modest increases and the acceleration in the annual rate shows cost growth is starting to find some upward momentum again,” Davidson said.

“That increase reflects a gradual pickup in activity, with more projects progressing, which has placed renewed pressure on parts of the construction cost base.”

He said the period of easing cost growth seen through much of 2024 and 2025 has shifted and is moving back into a growth phase, noting dwelling approvals have reached a two‑year high of around 37,000 as lower interest rates and policy settings improve project feasibility.

Increases were recorded across a range of materials and finishes, including a 12 percent lift in masonry costs, 5 percent for wallpaper and 5 percent for LED lighting, alongside declines in plumbing‑related products such as PVC piping and bathroom fit‑outs.

Davidson said global uncertainty, particularly events in the Middle East and higher fuel prices, are unknowns that could push costs higher as they flow through to freight and materials – something he said there are already anecdotal signs of.

“For the construction industry itself, this will be a challenging period as firms adjust to higher fuel prices just as activity is starting to recover,” he said.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Financial Markets Authority is warning consumers about an increasing number of scams using fake news articles featuring prominent politicians and business leaders to entice consumers to invest in fake trading platforms.

“This isn’t a new scam, we first warned about these tactics in August 2024, but we’ve recently seen a significant increase in ads, fake news articles and fake investment platform websites linked to the scam,” FMA manager regulatory services Samantha McGuire said.

The fake articles used the logos of real news sites including RNZ, TVNZ and the NZ Herald but the articles they linked to contained false endorsements of investment platforms.

These articles directed users to websites where would-be victims were asked to register their contact details.

Scammers then contacted victims posing as investment brokers, and referred them to fake platforms, where victims were encouraged to make an initial small investment of about US$250.

Victims were then shown manipulated profits to pressure them into investing more. When victims tried to withdraw funds, they were told to pay fees, but no money was ever returned.

“Do not click on these ads or links, and do not enter your personal information into these websites,” McGuire said.

“If you have been contacted by a scammer after entering your personal information into one of these websites, block the contact, do not transfer any money to the scammers.”

The FMA identified 110 ads linked to the scam published in one 24-hour period on Meta sites.

More than 190 of fake trading platform websites had been identified and flagged for removal since the beginning of March.

“The scammers are using artificial intelligence to create deepfake images and videos featuring likenesses of politicians and business leaders to create a sense of credibility,” McGuire said.

“We recommend exercising extreme caution when engaging with online content promoting investment opportunities, particularly when it uses images of high-profile New Zealanders.”

The current wave of clickbait headlines claimed to have information authorities did not want revealed.

Individuals impersonated using deepfakes included Winston Peters, Kiwibank chief executive Steve Jurkovich and Westpac chief executive Catherine McGrath.

“But the scammers continuously switch the identities they’re impersonating, so stories may still be fake if they feature a different individual,” McGuire said.

What to do if you have been scammed:

• Contact your bank or payment provider immediately to ask if a transaction reversal is possible.
• If you have downloaded remote access software on the instructions of the scammers, immediately contact an IT professional to have your device checked for malware.
• If you have accessed your bank account or other payment systems while the remote access software was operating on your device, report this to the relevant account providers.
• If you are receiving phone calls from scammers, block their numbers and report them to your telecommunications provider. See the NZ Telecommunications Forum’s instructions for reporting scam calls.
• If you are getting spam emails and text messages, report these to the Department of Internal Affairs.
• Tell a trusted relative or friend what has happened. They may help you see the situation more clearly, help you deal with the scammers, and suggest what to do next.
• Contact Victim Support on 0800 842 846. They can provide free emotional and practical support and information.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

A controversial entrepreneur is under fire for an April Fool’s joke.

Toby Thomas-Smith, founder of subletting platform Kiki, posted on LinkedIn on April Fool’s Day that he had made the “hardest decision of my life” to shut down Kiki Club in London. The post noted that it was not an April Fool’s joke.

But it was later followed by another that said it actually was a joke.

Both have since been deleted.

The business launched as EasyRent in New Zealand.

Kiki has also previously opened, and closed, in Sydney and New York. It controversially rebranded as a “girls-only” social club in New York in 2024.

Phil Thomson, chief executive at Auror, posted on LinkedIn that the stunt exploited the goodwill of a community that “showed up for founders in their hardest moments” and belittled those who did have to shut down companies.

A number of New Zealand businesspeople responded, agreeing with him and expressing displeasure.

Lou O’Reilly, of PR firm Draper Cormack, said the post was in bad taste.

“He won’t be the first founder to learn that attention and trust are not the same thing, and he definitely won’t be the last. A genuine apology can usually fix a fair bit, and this one is definitely better than the original rollout, but when people feel like you’ve really misread the room, you don’t just get to reset because you’ve explained yourself better the second time around. He’ll need to earn some of that trust back.”

Marketing expert Bodo Lang, at Massey University, said for humour to be effective in marketing, it needed to be clearly signalled.

“The message by the Kiki Club owner fails this first condition, particularly it explicitly states that is it not a April Fool’s joke. Second, the humour needs to be aligned with the brand’s personality…Kiki Club had to recently settle out of court in a case after admitting to breaking the New York’s short-term rental laws. Using humour after sustaining financial and reputational damage is not a wise move.

“Lastly, but most importantly, the humour should be low in perceived consequences. Unfortunately, making a joke about the company’s viability is extremely high in perceived consequences. Financial backers would be extremely worried and customers as well as fans of the brand would also be asking themselves if using the platform is sensible.”

He said humour online could be dangerous.

“Digital platforms fundamentally change how humour is received by the audience. First, consumers encounter posts hours or days later, outside the April 1 context. The ‘joke frame’ may be lost.

Second, content may be shown to people who may not follow the brand closely and lack contextual knowledge.

Third, posts are reshared, screenshotted, or seen in isolation, so often without clarifications or comments. Lastly, online content can have a long half-life, so messages can continue circulating well beyond the date when they were posted.”

“In today’s online environment, where context is easily lost, brands need to be especially cautious. One rule of thumb is: If the joke could plausibly be believed, and would matter if it were true, it is probably not worth the risk.”

In 2018, Elon Musk tweeted that Tesla has gone “completely and totally bankrupt. So bankrupt you can’t believe it.” It was not well received by some investors, coming days after a downgrade in the company’s credit rating.

Last year, a marketing stunt claiming Lynx Africa was being discontinued was described as an early April Fool’s prank, as was the announcement that Lipton was to stop production of peach iced tea.

Consumer NZ spokesperson Abby Damen said the Fair Trading Act (FTA) made it illegal for businesses to mislead consumers, give false information and make misrepresentations, including in advertising.

Kiki Club has been approached for comment.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

New Zealand is in a better position than Australia to weather the inflation effects of war in the Middle East, HSBC’s chief economist says.

Paul Bloxham is the economist who described New Zealand as a “rockstar economy” in 2024.

But he says the fact that we are far from that position now may actually make the looming disruption easier.

He said the Reserve Bank, updating the official cash rate on Wednesday, was better placed than the Reserve Bank of Australia was two weeks ago, or was likely to be at its next meeting.

New Zealand inflation was already close to its target band and the economy had spare capacity, making it less likely that the oil-driven spike in inflation would become embedded in inflation expectations.

After the pandemic, the Reserve Bank took a much tougher line on inflation than Australia’s central bank did.

“Lifting rates earlier and by more, driving the economy into a recession to get inflation to come down. In contrast, the RBA took a more softly softly approach, seeking to maintain full employment and accepting that inflation would fall more slowly.”

New Zealand’s economy had barely grown in the past three years and inflation had risen.

Australia’s economy had kept growing and unemployment has stayed low but core inflation had remained well above target.

“Given the nature of the shock that’s now arriving to the global economy, which is one which is going to push inflation higher, New Zealand’s in a bit of a better spot than Australia is because inflation’s already lower in New Zealand,” Bloxham said.

“It’s closer to the RBNZ target. I think the other thing is the economy itself has got excess capacity, which means that it’s less likely that the higher inflation is going to get through to higher inflation expectations if the labour market has got more spare capacity, which New Zealand has.

Then workers will have less bargaining power to be able to demand higher wages in the face of the higher inflation and businesses aren’t able to pass on their cost rises quite as easily into their prices and so those are at least two mechanisms that you can point to where having an economy that’s got lower inflation and more spare capacity puts the country in a bit better, a bit of a better spot given the nature of the shock that’s just arrived.”

He said the risk for Australia was that workers would demand higher wages and might be more successful.

“In an economy that’s in an upswing as Australia’s have been, businesses might be able to pass on more of their cost rises through to their final prices.”

He said it might be cold comfort for New Zealand households that having had three years of a weaker economy meant the shock was easier to deal with but it should still be some comfort.

“It’s been a tough time for New Zealand to try and to get inflation down but now the challenge is that in Australia …the economy has to have a downturn.

“The question is only really how big is that downturn going to be and whether and how that downturn comes about.

“The global economy is facing this huge negative supply shock and that’s as a consequence of what’s going on in the Middle East so it’s a question of how do you manage your way through it …New Zealand’s in a slightly better spot for managing it way through it, it turns out because a lot of the tougher times have already happened.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

[s ]Rising oil costs have put pressure on prices across New Zealand including food and grocery essentials.

Coffee isn’t going to get cheaper, but there is currently no risk of supply shortage to Kiwis.

Rising oil costs have put pressure on prices across New Zealand including food and grocery essentials.

Carl Sara president for the New Zealand Speciality Coffee Association said there were a few factors playing into how we get and how much we pay for our morning cup of joe.

“There’s lots of complications and it’s a very complicated supply line.”

The first hurdle is the price of coffee beans.

He said the price was initially dropping after record highs for the past 18 months, but the uncertainty caused by the war in the Middle East pushed it right back up.

“When the Iran crisis came on and we saw a small rally back up, but it sort of flatlined at what is still very high historical records.”

He said the prices remained high because the market was worried about supply, that’s pushed some international buyers to go straight to the stored reserves or ‘certified inventories’ at commodity exchanges to ensure they get what they need when they need it.

That kind of buying impacts the ‘futures pricing’ but doesn’t represent an actual shortage of coffee supply.

The second component adding to your flat white is war surcharges.

“War surcharges are being placed on containers coming out of the regions which are most impacted, so sort of around the top of Africa and some of those places, especially coffee beans coming out of Ethiopia.”

That comes at a cost of about $2000 per container. Sara said that’s not going to hugely impact roasters in New Zealand, but it adds up.

“Alongside of that, we’re seeing containers that aren’t in the right place in the right time and shipping lines that are struggling to keep up with the demands of shipping.”

The third part of the problem which New Zealand has largely avoided he said was a “just-in-time” supply method, something that hurt roasters during Covid.

“Everyone learned their lessons… So we have a little more inventory in the pipeline at the moment.

“Roasters aren’t quite so hand to mouth as they were before.”

The final component is fuel.

As anything roasted in Aotearoa first has to come from the port after it arrives.

It needs natural gas for the roasting process and more diesel to get it distributed to supermarkets and cafes.

“That cost has risen very quickly and it’s really the silent shock.”

Sara said roasters and freight were absorbing that cost because the stock had been priced before the crisis.

“That can’t always be immediately changed or altered.”

And consumers might not want or even be able to meet those costs when they are passed on to the purchase price.

He said even if the war ended tomorrow, the impact would flow for some time.

“I don’t think coffee is on it’s own either… anything that’s being sourced from overseas will be subject to the same.

“I can’t see a situation where anything is getting cheaper at the moment.”

Sara said fuel shortages or a change in fuel phases in Aotearoa would be the toughest part of ensuring supply.

“The potential for fuel tightness in New Zealand and the ongoing implications of distribution of the green [beans] to get it roasted, and then once it’s roasted to take it to those points of sale is more likely to be the challenging point for us.

“That’s not a coffee specific problem.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Overall commodity prices are at record highs with the war in the Iran generating risks and rewards for New Zealand exporters.

The ANZ World Commodity Price Index rose 4.1 percent in March over February (m/m) — an increase second only to the outbreak of the Russian-Ukraine three years ago.

All components of the index rose in March except horticulture, which was between seasons, with market prices unavailable until the new season’s produce reached its destination.

A 2.8 percent drop in the value of the New Zealand dollar last month also supported export price growth, and helped drive the NZD Commodity Price Index up 6.4 percent m/m to a record high.

Global dairy prices rose 5.9 percent m/m as importers increased purchases to secure supply.

ANZ agriculture economist Matt Dilly said global dairy prices were rising even before the current Middle East conflict started, with current events pushing prices even higher.

“Importers have increased purchases in response to concerns about supply chain disruption. However, global milk supply remains healthy, so higher prices might not be sustained once purchasing behaviours return to normal,” he said.

Aluminium prices were up 9.8 percent m/m, with a damage to a large aluminium smelter in the United Arab Emirates further supporting prices, as the damage was expected to take several months to repair.

Meat and fibre prices increased 2.4 percent m/m with higher overseas prices for beef and lamb.

The meat and fibre index increased 2.4 percent m/m in March and is up 19 percent y/y.

“Overseas demand remains strong for both beef and lamb, despite recent events, and supply is constrained,” Dilly said.

“This could change in the coming months as New Zealand supply increases on a seasonal basis.”

Wool prices dropped 2.8 percent m/m but had risen 49 percent y/y.

The forestry index rose 3.1 percent m/m but was down 5.3 percent y/y as China’s construction activity remained a concern.

“Higher shipping costs, mostly due to fuel surcharges, will further erode margins on New Zealand log exports.”

While exporters could pass on the indirect and direct cost of fuel, he said it would be more difficult for suppliers to pass those costs on to domestic consumers.

In addition he said market volatility could quickly change global demand for commodities.

“There’s a lot we don’t know about what’s happening in the Middle East and sometimes the ripple effects of of a shock like this can have intended and unexpected consequences,” Dilly said.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

New Zealand has reached a “tipping point” with more people switching to electric cars and solar as Meridian Energy’s weekly app registrations increase by 214 percent, it says.

Rising oil prices have put pressure on prices across New Zealand, pushing an upward trend and interest in EV alternative vehicles.

Waka Kotahi data shows monthly registrations of full battery EVs last month jumped nearly four-fold from recent levels, from an average of 800 a month in the last two years, to 3100.

Registrations of plug-in hybrid vehicles almost tripled.

Meridian’s head of energy, Richard Sanford, said there has been a significant jump over the past four weeks.

“The last month has definitely seen a boost in interest towards EVs and home solar.

“It does feel like a tipping point, as more and more Kiwis see how moving away from a reliance on fossil fuels – where they can – would make financial sense.”

He said Meridian had long believed in what EV’s could offer to the country and was encouraged by the new interest.

Certain areas were seeing more interest than others.

“Across our Zero network we’ve seen a 16 percent increase in users and 20 percent increase in sessions over the last month, with the three most popular charging stations on the Zero network being Auckland Airport, Twizel and Culverden.

“That continues a trend towards more EV uptake, with our weekly app registrations increasing by 214 percent and weekly active users by 80 percent over the last six months.”

Sandford said Meridian was continuing to invest in EV public charging sites.

There are currently just over 1800 public charge points in New Zealand with more on the way according to the government.

In March, Transport Minister Chris Bishop and Energy and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced the number of electric vehicle (EV) public chargers around New Zealand would more than double thanks to $52.7 million in zero-interest loans from the government and co-investment from ChargeNet and Meridian.

He said New Zealand had one of the lowest charger-to-EV ratios in the OECD.

With the new investment the national total would be around 4550.

“The government is working towards 10,000 charge points by 2030, roughly one for every 40 EVs,” Bishop said.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

• Reserve Bank expected to hold official cash rate unchanged at 2.25 percent
• Middle East conflict clouds decision making for central banks
• Recent speech by Governor Anna Breman likely template for latest decision
• Accept inevitable inflation and growth impacts, but no knee jerk rate reaction
• Markets price in 25 basis point rise September, another by year end
• RBNZ statement due 2pm, 8 April, online news conference at 3pm

Amid a fog of war in the Middle East the Reserve Bank (RBNZ) may have one crystal clear message in its latest monetary review, when in doubt and you cannot see ahead, do nothing.

The head of research at BNZ, Stephen Toplis, said it is a nightmare time for central banks and economic forecasters, facing a significant inflation spike but faced with a lack of information and great uncertainty.

“It’s a case of if you know nothing, do nothing.”

He said Breman’s speech in late March was as clear an indication of what the new statement would be like in tone and content.

“The Governor’s played it with a straight bat, she’s said the right things which are ‘look there’s no knee jerk reaction from us because we need to see how this plays out’.”

“But there’s still a stern warning that if rising inflation now feeds into inflation expectations, and people start raising prices left right and centre, and it looks like inflation will become permanent then she’ll just raise interest rates,” Toplis said.

He said it was likely that the extent of the conflict’s impact on New Zealand’s inflation and growth rates would not become clear much before the middle of the year, with every possibility that March and April would show businesses increasing stocks and buying in materials to get ahead of disruptions.

Cold comfort of weak economy

HSBC chief economist for Australia and New Zealand, Paul Bloxham, said paradoxically this country’s weak economy over the past few years offered some insulation against the current shock.

“It may seem like cold comfort that three years of weak growth means New Zealand may be better placed to handle the current shock, but even cold comfort should be some comfort.”

He also expected a cautious approach by the RBNZ, with a decision to hold rates steady as it weighed up whether the energy shock was more of an inflation or growth concern.

ASB senior economist Jane Turner said the RBNZ faced an horizon shrouded in uncertainty, with risks skewed to the downside, but could be expected to take a longer term policy view, and that supported no change in rates anytime soon.

Key for future policy would be sentiment surveys and how well anchored inflation expectations were.

“Some ticking up in short-term surveyed inflation expectations is likely, the RBNZ will place more weight on surveys for longer horizons, confident these will remain around 2 percent.”

“We expect the RBNZ to affirm its confidence that inflation will settle within the 1-3 percent target range, with the growing margin of spare economic capacity and subdued economic backdrop to dampen domestically generated inflationary pressures.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Infrastructure New Zealand is calling for more investment in Auckland’s transport woes, warning congestion and delays threaten the country’s productivity.

The lobby group joined with thinktank Committee for Auckland to hold a summit of leaders from across business, infrastructure, and government to find ways through the city’s transport challenges.

Chief executive Nick Leggett said Auckland accounted for nearly 40 percent of the country’s GDP, and the city’s success mattered to New Zealanders regardless of where they live.

“This is about Auckland and the wider New Zealand Inc – Auckland is too big to fail and it’s too big to fail if you live in Christchurch or Wellington or Whangārei or Invercargill – it’s the lifeblood of our economy, so we’ve all got an interest in how successful Auckland is.”

He said it was not a matter of either/or, as the regions also needed investment.

“But it is the country’s largest economy, and if supply chains don’t move effectively through Auckland, it has a national impact.”

A report from the summit – Transporting Auckland Forward: A Call to Action – called for short, medium and long-term actions, a reassessment of centralised strategies and funding that saw Wellington controlling direction and the purse, and a public discussion about funding methods.

Summit participants agreed the issues were well known, and the repeated lack of progress highlighted gaps in leadership and a failure to follow through, Leggett said.

“New Zealand is very good at admiring its problems, irrespective of where in the country or what the challenge is, but what we’ve got to do is change our behaviour so we move quicker and are more effective in addressing them.”

There was a propensity to fall into a “study loop” where projects were “revisited, often redesigned and delayed rather than actually delivered”.

Leggett said that could erode confidence and push up costs over time, citing the second Auckland Harbour crossing and light rail.

“Those have come around again, but it does cost money and it costs time and people go ‘well this is just never going to happen’ and we can’t afford that as a nation.

“Being small means we should be faster and better at this but often I think there’s a bit of a cultural problem where we think we’ve got to talk about things again and again, and getting started is often our biggest hurdle.”

Funding approaches including congestion charging, tolling, local funding such as rates and development contribution, and “asset recycling” all needed to be considered, and implemented, sometimes in combination, he said.

Asset recycling was more than rebranded privatisation in that proceeds were earmarked and reinvested immediately into other public assets and infrastructure, Leggett said.

Getting Auckland right could result in a model for the whole country, and getting transport right was a key part of that.

“The bottom line is we can’t build our way out of this.”

Whatever funding solutions were used, revenue taken had to be reinvested in solutions, he said.

“That could mean transport, intensification – which has been a serious topic in Auckland of late – but it is vital to have people living closer to where they work, which builds vibrancy and intensity.

“It’s about decongesting roads so freight can move and getting people onto the modes of transport that best suit them in their daily lives.

“Transport is the key here, so people can move around where they live and work and where they have fun,” Leggett said.

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