16 NOV 2022 · Hong Kong stocks have jumped more than 7 percent as China announced an ease in Covid restrictions. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index is reporting the best month in over a decade, and this is linked to China cutting back on quarantine measures for citizens and inbound travellers.  Deborah Lambie from Milford Asset Management explained how China's easing of restrictions is affecting the economy, and what China opening up could mean for New Zealand. LISTEN ABOVE

16 NOV 2022 · NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny has been reading over the Reserve Bank's response to the pandemic. But it seems to have left her with more questions than answers, particularly concerning the housing market in late 2020/early 2021.  According to Jenee Tibshraeny, the Reserve Bank didn't put more weight on what the spike in house prices at the time meant for the resilience of the economy.  Jenee Tibshraeny also notes that it may be easy to factor in hindsight now, but the Reserve Bank could have been aware of this economic situation beforehand. LISTEN ABOVE

15 NOV 2022 · Today on The Huddle: Neale Jones from PR firm Capital and Nick Leggett, Chief Executive of Transporting NZ talked about the following topics- and more! A group of people chased down the Ellerslie robbers yesterday, and now police have come out and said please don't chase robbers and to leave that to the police. Is this a good idea, considering the public perception of the police? More complaints are coming out about all the cruise ship passengers using public buses to get from A to B instead of expensive taxis / shuttles. How fair is this? Do you think having to have at least two Maori representatives out of at least six representatives constitutes co-governance in the RMA replacement? LISTEN ABOVE  

10 NOV 2022 · The Reserve Bank has recently published a report about the last five financial years, in order to review the decisions they've made. They've acknowledged these last five years have presented a unique challenge due to the pandemic, and said their Covid-19 response was both consistent with the data they had and avoided any worst case financial scenarios. The Reserve Bank has also acknowledged in the report that they could have tightened monetary policy in order to “lessen inflation at the margins”. Barry Soper, ZB's political editor explained further, and pointed out that it seemed convenient for them to share this report as the Adrian Orr fiasco unfolds and opposition parties call for an independent inquiry. LISTEN ABOVE

8 NOV 2022 · Addington Raceway is humming as Christchurch punters continue to enjoy the return of Cup Day. It's the first time in two years the venue can hold the annual event without Covid restrictions. Racing industry manager Darrin Williams says despite general admission not being as high as they'd like, it's been an outstanding day. He says it's just great to be able to have punters on course again. LISTEN ABOVE

31 OTT 2022 · Which bit are we surprised about? Air New Zealand tells people to book early because fares are going up. Headlines scream how unhappy we are because fares are going up. Be as unhappy as you want, things ain't changing. We have a bit of experience around airfares at the moment. We have a family member looking to get home from Europe. The ability to get a seat, far less wince at the price, has been a problem for weeks. We have another family member looking to get a partner here for Christmas. Unless they have $9000, it isn't happening. That, by the way, is America to New Zealand at Christmas. What is happening is very simple and complaining about it solves nothing. Christmas has always been a pricey time of year. Why we thought post -Covid might be different, I have no idea. As regards Europe, we have sat on websites waiting for tickets to come up from cancellations. They do but they cost anywhere from $4000 to $12,000 and they are gone within minutes. We booked a trip next year to the east coast of the United States. I won't tell you what it cost, but it's amazing. But in that purchase is the key to all of this, very few people are forced to travel; most do it because they want to. All we are dealing with here is a desire to do something and the psychological or emotional hurdle as to whether they can bear the cost. Look up Alan Joyce's speech he gave last week about what is required to get a plane out of the desert. It's a lot of people, a lot of old equipment put on a scrap heap, with a lot of new equipment to replace it and a lot of hours of testing. God knows what it costs, but it's months’ worth of work for one plane. It's Economics 101, demand is outstripping supply. It's outstripping it by quite a lot. And if you believe Heathrow it will be several years before it's sorted. Not a lot of people are actually flying. It's a year today since the borders opened for Australia. They are still 70 percent down on the number of trips they took pre-pandemic. So, to be blunt, what you are hearing is complaining from people who have enough money to fly, but don’t like the fact it's no longer cheap. Welcome to the new world order.    

31 OTT 2022 · More people are finding it too difficult to care for pets amidst the cost of living crisis. Three Auckland animal shelters are chokka and unable to take on any more dogs, due to the influx of people not being able to meet the needs of their pet. Auckland Animal Management Leader Shaun Murray says while one dog door closes, another opens. LISTEN ABOVE  

27 OTT 2022 · Reserve Bank governor Adrian Orr says a full review of how the bank responded to the pandemic will be released next month. NZ Herald business editor Liam Dann talked us through the review and gave us an idea of what it might cover. The Reserve Bank has come under fire for their pandemic stimulus delivery, which may have contributed to present inflation levels. Liam Dann warned us this may have unfortunate implications going forward. LISTEN ABOVE

26 OTT 2022 · Five New Zealand regions have seen their population fall over the last year, including Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. Overall, the national population grew just 0.2 percent in the last year. Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olsen explained why people were leaving the country in droves. The combination of Covid-19 and the living costs have made people want to seek out other opportunities. LISTEN ABOVE  

25 OTT 2022 · Today on The Huddle- Phil O'Reilly from Iron Duke Partners and former CEO for BusinessNZ and Ali Jones from Red PR joined us to talk about the following: Another death at an E.D - this time a 4 year old boy, the way Grant Robertson says that it's sad and nothing more during today's post cabinet wasn't great. How do you feel when you keep hearing these stories? Tesla owners are raking in the rebates! Does this annoy you? Christchurch city council has heard absolutely nothing from the Government after voting down the housing intensification bill - what's the Government's plan here? After the first round of cruise ships returned to the country with confirmed COVID-19 cases, do you plan on getting on a cruise anytime soon? St. Bede's has had to put a stop to a themed dress up day which the kids were colloquially calling wife beater Wednesday - the school say they weren't told of the theme's name. LISTEN ABOVE