Best of Business

• Mike's Minute: I'm confident for 2026

  It probably came out on the wrong day to get the coverage it deserved, but one of the last pieces in the economic turnaround told us we are basically there. Consumer confidence is back, up six points to 98. It needs to be 100 or more for expansion, but it’s the highest figure since June and backs the business confidence, which last week was up a lot. Business comes first because they see the turnaround on sales. The spending numbers back that up because they are pretty real time and then you get confidence as a follow up, given although we are spending, some may not want to admit it may still feel like they are in a bit of a funk. But add it all together and the conclusion is inescapable. You can also add the ASB housing numbers if you want. Confidence in the housing market is at a 15-year high. Why? Because it's almost perfect – good supply, cheap money, but most importantly we seemed to have crossed the psychological barrier and given ourselves permission to start to feel good again. The irony is the growth that drives all this might just have been there all along. We get the Q3 GDP number later this month with Infometrics suggesting it is 0.9%. Add that to the rest of the year and we are well above the growth line. Not that a lot of the commentary has backed that up. Which is not to say some still do it tough. It's not to say it's the boom times. It's just to say there comes a point where the facts, figures and evidence can no longer be denied. Here is my next prediction: as a result of all this, 2026 might well be a very good year indeed. That's based on the idea that economies are about psychologies. Yes, they are about fundamentals but if the fundamentals are in place, then the next thing you look for is mood. And given the mood has been so repressed, when we decide to take the handbrake off there might just be no stopping us. As I said last week don't underestimate the Reserve Bank and the finality of their cut. They said this was it, they they've done their job, we are free to go and enjoy our lives. For those waiting and dilly-dallying, that was what they were waiting for. The next confidence survey will be over 100 and that will be the start of a trend for the year ahead. Remember where you heard it first. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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• Tom Walters: Matakana Oysters owner says industry is struggling after heavy rain and wastewater spill

  Auckland oyster farmers are facing another blow just weeks after a major wastewater spill into the Mahurangi River. Watercare says heavy rain on 19 November caused 86 cubic metres of wastewater and stormwater to overflow into the river from a Warkworth pipeline. The Ministry for Primary Industries has suspended harvesting while tests are carried out, but growers say the spill has already wrecked their busiest season. Matakana Oysters owner Tom Walters told Kerre Woodham that, 'it's been a gutting year, and it seems to be the gutting cherry on top of it at the moment.' LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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• Chris Luxon: Prime Minister says banks should be passing OCR rates to customers, or customers should switch banks

  Chris Luxon says banks need to be passing on their OCR cuts to customers - and customers should be switching banks if they don't. Mortgage rates have been falling significantly, following recent OCR cuts. But the Reserve Bank says the banks still have room to move, to be cutting the rates further. The Prime Minister says [told Mike Hosking] banks should be competing for customers, and customers should be trying to get the best deal they can. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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• Francesca Rudkin: Why are we in such a retail frenzy?

  Audio file FR EDITORIAL 301125.mp3 Transcript So, did you get yourself a bargain on Black Friday or some kind of good deal in the last 10 days that may also be associated with a Black Friday? I've done quite a bit of Christmas shopping this weekend, most of it online through Kiwi retailers, and have saved at least the shipping costs or up to maybe 25% savings, which, you know, it all adds up. There have been warnings this week about being sucked into Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. Consumer New Zealand, they did a three-month investigation. They tracked 10 products at four major retailers, and they found that half of the items could have been bought at the same or lower prices at some point in the last three months. But I think we all know this. Black Friday is a brilliantly executed marketing campaign. The reality is a lot of discounts are a token gesture, but if you do your homework and you have a bit of luck, you can find something you wanted for a good price. And I think that we approach shopping differently these days, driven by the fact a lot of the big retailers have sales all the time. If we look at the main sales at this time of the year, people go shopping at Labour Weekend, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and hey, look, if you've missed out, Boxing Day is only about four weeks away. So you'd be an idiot to buy something when it wasn't on sale. But hopefully all the spending will still be giving retailers the lift they need. This week there was a little bit of good news from Stats New Zealand with data showing that the total volume of sales increased 1.9% in the September quarter compared to the June 2025 quarter. And this is the largest quarterly increase in activity since December 2021. Last year, payment provider data showed that more than $175 million was spent at core retail merchants during Black Friday weekend. And it's going to be really interesting to see what the figure is this year. And retail, there sort of seems to be a little bit of a frenzy around retail at the moment. Look at the anticipation around IKEA opening in Auckland's Mount Wellington this week on December 4th. Good on AT for warning shoppers there could potentially be 40-minute delays to get off the motorway. And then it may take an hour to find a car park. You were warned. You may think it's unnecessary, but we all know what it's like when we hit that traffic on the motorway and we stop. Look, I know. It's exciting. I care opening. I have a kid going flatting next year and I wouldn't be surprised if we end up buying a flat pack of some sort. But IKEA's not going anywhere. Do yourself a favour and give it some time before you descend on the Swedish giant. Or better still, shop at some of our very own Kiwi excellent flat pack furniture stores. But look, if you're less patient than me and you're prepared to deal with the traffic, best of luck out there. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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• Kevin Milne: A bouquet for a boutique business

  This week Kevin Milne wants to give a boutique business their flowers. All Better is a toy repair business run by Janice in Te Awamutu. She specialises in fixing wooden puzzles for kids – a service Kevin was in dire need of after their dog caused a bit of damage to their vintage family puzzle. If you’re in need of her services, you can contact her via email: [email protected] LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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