Episodes

  • Ed McKnight: Be careful fixing for too long

    Ed McKnight: Be careful fixing for too long
    Oct 19 2025

    After yet another OCR cut, economists and mortgage holders alike are holding their breath for December - the last announcement of the year.

    A new report from Infometrics suggests the Reserve Bank may be taking the cuts too far, and risking an overstimulated economy.

    Most forecasts have predicted more cuts coming, but it's possible that Dr Anna Breman may have a different way of handling things.

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    41 mins
  • Chris Wilson: Tech and AI should be changing your KiwiSaver plans

    Chris Wilson: Tech and AI should be changing your KiwiSaver plans
    Oct 19 2025

    Tech stocks have been leading the charge recently, and with the way AI is headed, it's unlikely it will slow down any time soon.

    So if you're a KiwiSaver investor, now would be a good time to start asking yourself what your long-term strategy is, and how you're thinking about risk.

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    40 mins
  • The secret to getting mortgage-free faster (and it’s not rate cuts)

    The secret to getting mortgage-free faster (and it’s not rate cuts)
    Oct 19 2025

    Recent cuts to the Official Cash Rate and the potential for more to come will be a relief for many borrowers, but the real game changer in getting mortgage free faster isn’t the interest rate.

    Shelley Palman, financial advisor at enableMe, joins Nadine to share the tips that could see you saying goodbye to your mortgage sooner.

    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.
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    35 mins
  • Cameron Bagrie: Independent economist comments on interest rate cuts

    Cameron Bagrie: Independent economist comments on interest rate cuts
    Oct 16 2025

    Economic consultancy Infometrics says the impacts of the latest OCR cut probably won't be felt until mid to late next year - by which point the economy will be growing.

    It could mean greater inflation - with predictions the OCR will rise again as early as late next year.

    Independent economist Cameron Bagrie told Ryan Bridge that caution is needed.

    He says if the economy does kick into gear, there could be capacity issues, and inflation could rear its ugly head again.

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    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.
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    5 mins
  • Gareth Kiernan: Infometrics Chief Forecaster warns of risk to rise in inflation

    Gareth Kiernan: Infometrics Chief Forecaster warns of risk to rise in inflation
    Oct 16 2025

    There are fears that inflation could come back into the picture as the OCR falls.

    Infometrics expects the OCR to fall to 2.25% next month - it's 2.5% at the moment.

    Infometrics Chief Forecaster Gareth Kiernan says they expect to see growth hit 2.3% annual growth in 2027.

    He says alongside stoking inflation, it could create other problems.

    Kiernan says it risks stretching capacity in the construction and infrastructure sector.

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    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.
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    3 mins
  • SME Stream Wrap - 17 October

    SME Stream Wrap - 17 October
    Oct 16 2025

    As business owners, you know how hard it is keeping up with your business, let alone the news. Join Wilhelmina Shrimpton each week as she gives you a rundown of the biggest stories that could impact on your business, so you can make informed decisions with expert advice.

    This week, Kiwis are still leaving New Zealand in droves but we’re on track to beat pre-covid tourism numbers. Food prices are starting to ease, and the IRD is cracking down on unpaid tax. Plus, how your money mindset affects your finances, and when to know the time is right to start hiring staff.

    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.
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    9 mins
  • Steady hands, not knee-jerk bans: Brainbox’s approach to AI regulation

    Steady hands, not knee-jerk bans: Brainbox’s approach to AI regulation
    Oct 15 2025
    The call for dedicated regulations governing artificial intelligence has grown louder as the technology’s power to disrupt industries and society becomes ever more apparent. But this week’s guest on The Business of Tech podcast, Brainbox Institute director and co-founder Tom Barraclough, warns against rushing into bespoke artificial intelligence regulation. He instead argues that the country is best served by leveraging and coordinating its existing legal framework. “It’s not a binary exercise,” Barraclough stressed. “Even if you take the most strident approach to regulating artificial intelligence, and that is really the European Union approach, what you find is the top-level legislation can be quite general. It’s not like we’re just going to say, let’s regulate AI and then tomorrow AI will be regulated.”​ AI Act - no easy fix The European Union’s AI Act takes a risk-based approach to regulating AI services, requiring scrutiny and oversight of them in proportion to their potential to do harm, with an outright ban for some AI-powered uses, such as social credit scoring systems. But in reality, a complex series of codes of practice, self-regulation, regulatory instruments and legislation makes up the EU’s regulatory regime. Many of those provisions exist in our own laws and could be applied to AI – if we better understood what is available. New Zealand shouldn’t see existing legislation as obsolete, Barraclough told me. “Fraud through deepfakes is already a criminal offence. The other example of this is non-consensual sexual imagery as well… covered by the Harmful Digital Communications Act and the Crimes Act,” he pointed out.​ Biometrics Code as a model “From a kind of starting point, it’s much more grey in terms of what we already have in place and how we use that more effectively. Even if we did decide to just really kick things off and go hard, it would still be a pretty long process of trying to work out what regulatory stuff means.” Barraclough suggests that clarification is needed more than new legislation, something Parliament could play a more proactive role in by updating existing laws. He also points to initiatives like the Biometrics Processing Privacy Code 2025 developed by the Privacy Commissioner as examples of models that can be rapidly adapted or incorporated into AI policy. “If you can demonstrate that you’ve got a code that works, it’s much, much easier for an agency to just pick that up and give it some teeth if it works well,” he said.​ New Zealand’s competitive edge: Smart deployment and sovereign AI Barraclough does see a vital need for a national vision for AI. “I probably would have advocated for what’s called a human rights-based approach, but that kind of framing has fallen out of favor internationally,” he pointed out. Sovereign AI, where New Zealanders have a level of autonomy over the infrastructure supplying AI services rather than relying on offshore tech platforms plays into his thinking.​ “This isn’t about having a NZ GPT that’s trained on like all of the data in New Zealand and speaks with a Kiwi accent. [Sovereign AI] can be as simple as talking about meaningful AI literacy, or making sure that we do have resilient digital infrastructure for access and deployment of AI systems. In all likelihood, it probably means fine-tuning models that already exist,” he said.​ New Zealand’s competitive advantage lies in “being the world’s smartest deployers of AI systems” Barraclough argues. That acknowledges that while we may not, as a nation, have the resources to build our own large language models, with smart regulation and a collaborative approach, we can deploy innovative AI systems that can transform digital services and win offshore business in the process. Listen to episode 121 of The Business of Tech, powered by 2degrees Business for my in-depth interview with Tom Barraclough, streaming on iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts. Your weekly tech reading list Gigged out: meet your new digital co-workers - BusinessDesk Dispute Buddy startup makes its case for ‘justice tech’ - BusinessDesk Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7: Slimmer, sharper, and (almost) ready for prime time - BusinessDesk Latest capital raise values Sharesies at $750m - BusinessDesk It’s Sam Altman: the man who stole the rights from copyright. If he’s the future, can we go backwards? - The Guardian Tesla faces Australian class action suit - news.com.au AI Data Centers Are an Even Bigger Disaster Than Previously Thought - Futurism DOJ seizes $15 billion in bitcoin from massive ‘pig butchering’ scam based in Cambodia - CNBC Researchers used $800 of off-the-shelf hardware to collect data sent by satellites unencrypted, like T-Mobile users' calls and texts and some US military comms - Wired Salesforce expands its OpenAI and Anthropic partnerships to embed their LLMs into Agentforce 360, letting users access...
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    38 mins
  • Jenee Tibshraeny: NZ Herald Wellington business editor on the Reserve Bank modelling finds Covid-era money printing didn't cause inflation to spike

    Jenee Tibshraeny: NZ Herald Wellington business editor on the Reserve Bank modelling finds Covid-era money printing didn't cause inflation to spike
    Oct 15 2025

    The Reserve Bank recently disputed the idea that Covid-era money printing programme caused sky-high inflation, which cost the Government billions.

    Staff at the bank have published new research that concludes the bank’s $55 billion Large-Scale Asset Purchase (LSAP) programme didn’t 'meaningfully' contribute to above-target inflation following the pandemic.

    NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny explained further.

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    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.
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    4 mins