The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Bit of buzz around Kiwibank as it potentially looks to have another crack at getting bigger, and by getting bigger, then becomes better able to take on the so-called "big four".
This is business and it's politics.
Asset sales are back on the agenda, especially for the National and ACT parties.
NZ First, not so much. So it may well be one of those things that gets tossed around as an idea, but in the reality of an MMP environment, it goes nowhere.
Making the Kiwibank story slightly unique is its role in the overall banking atmosphere of New Zealand and whether a bigger bank would solve any of the perceived competition problems we have.
People we know are prepared to change banks. Last year when there was a free for all on cashbacks for borrowing, people were moving freely like the wind. So the idea that there isn't competition doesn’t appear to be true.
But I'm in a minority given everyone from the Commerce Commission to the Finance Minister argues otherwise.
I also detect more broadly that asset sales are not, as a topic, as edgy as they once were.
If you go back to the 80's and Labour under Douglas and Prebble, asset sales were dynamite and not all of them went well, which didn’t help the pro-sales argument.
But the cold hard-ish reality here, 40 years on, is there isn't a lot left to sell.
Some chunks of power companies are worth serious money.
We have an airline, a TV network, a radio network, some farms – it's all got a moderately piecemeal vibe to it.
Kiwibank should be able to raise the sort of money it needs, and it should be allowed to grow. Is the counter to a partial sale that we like a small, restricted bank that hasn’t been allowed to be all it could be just so we can say we are anti-asset sales?
In Kiwibank's case you are holding back growth.
In TVNZ's case it's about ideology, i.e. should the state run a TV station given the place isn't worth anything to sell?
And in say the case of Genesis, it's about serious coin we could badly use elsewhere.
If this idea goes anywhere this election year, you would hope we are less hung up on ideology and more attuned to the nuances of the debate than we have been in the past.
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Qantas and Jetstar have announced their biggest-ever investment in New Zealand.
Chief Executive Vanessa Hudson says the Qantas Group wants to work with our Government to achieve more routes, access, and affordability.
She says Jetstar's undergoing it's biggest-ever expansion in New Zealand and has added more than 800-thousand trans-Tasman seats over the past 12 months.
Hudson acknowledges the airline's had to hike fares and cut some flights due to rising jet fuel prices, but says committing to New Zealand is important.
Jetstar CEO Stephanie Tully told Mike Hosking their biggest challenge is the fuel price, so they have to manage their business and stay focused on how they can mitigate that.
She says the reason she, Hudson, and other executives are in the country is to reaffirm their commitment to offering great value to travelling New Zealanders.
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On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Thursday 14th of May, we get a couple of interesting insights into business in this country when it comes to governance and brick and mortar retailers.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis discusses her ever shrinking Budget operating allowance.
And CEO of Jetstar Steph Tully unpacks the recent claim they’re committed to New Zealand while also cutting routes and flights due to current jet fuel prices.
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A big day for New Zealand football.
The All Whites squad for next month’s FIFA World Cup is set to be announced this morning.
36 players will be selected, each set to receive at least $250,000, and New Zealand Football is guaranteed US$10 million just for qualifying.
CEO Andrew Pragnell told Mike Hosking it’s a massive amount of money, and a good chunk rightfully goes to the players, it’s a welcome contribution for the organisation.
He says they’re probably the most international sport in regards to the number of teams they operate, and since they’re travelling around the world constantly, it’s quickly spent.
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Many Kiwis still prefer to shop locally and in person.
A survey of about 500 people by retail management platform Lightspeed has found almost eight in ten prefer shopping in store, rather than online.
About four in ten shop at independent local stores.
Lightspeed Managing Director Nicole Buisson told Mike Hosking consumers very much want the convenience of online shopping, but also the human connection or the ability to go and touch and feel a product in real life.
An example of this, she says, is when people check the availability of a product online before going into the store.
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