Best of Business

South Korean Lawmakers Move To Impeach President Yoon South Korean MPs have begun impeachment proceedings against President Yoon Suk Yeol hours after thwarting his shock move on Tuesday to impose martial law. This has triggered the country’s worst constitutional crisis in decades. The president had said martial law was needed to protect the country from "North Korea's communist forces" and to "eliminate anti-state elements” and “normalise the country”. The order was unanimously rejected by the opposition-controlled legislature. Chinese Exporters Front-Load Shipments To Dodge Trump Tariffs Exporters from China, Canada and Mexico are seeking to front-load shipments to the US after president-elect Donald Trump pledged to impose new levies on goods from the three countries on his first day in office. At a giant supply chain expo in Beijing last week, logistics company representatives said the number of customers asking about bringing forward shipments had increased following Trump’s threat to impose an extra 10% tariff on Chinese goods, the Financial Times reported. EU To Crack Down On Asian Online Retailers Temu & Shein The EU is preparing a crackdown on the growing flood of packages from Asian online retailers such as Temu and Shein, following a big increase in ecommerce that largely evades EU custom checks, according to the Financial Times. The bloc’s safety authorities have detected a growing number of dangerous and counterfeit goods, many of which are dispatched directly to consumers. Asia Business Correspondent Peter Lewis talks to Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVE. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New reports show there's been a significant decrease in lambs for spring 2024, compared with this time last year. The B+LNZ 2024 Lamb Crop Report indicated 1.1 million fewer lambs were tailed/docked compared to 2023, bringing the total lamb crop to an estimated 19.2 million. The Country's Jamie Mackay explains what this means for the market. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dairy giant Fonterra has raised its forecast milk price payout to a midpoint of $10 - the second rise in less than a month. The company says this new forecast reflects strong international demand, particularly from China and Southeast Asia. Fonterra's CFO Andrew Murray says this news has been received positively by farmers. "US production is very flat and European production is down - so the demand from imports is pretty good from our perspective and we've had a strong start to the season as well." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government is looking to crack down on merger rules. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment is reviewing the Commerce Act - which could lead to blocking more proposed mergers and acquisitions. It's also hoping to give the Commerce Commission more teeth. Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayley says they're making sure the laws are fit for purpose. "We've got a number of industries where we've got a small number of players who've got very significant market shares - and it means less innovation happening and more New Zealanders paying more than they ought to." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.