Prices are soaring for food staples, with prices up 4.7 percent on a year ago.

Stats NZ data for October shows cheese, instant coffee, eggs and milk had some of the largest surges. 

Gas rose 14.4 percent and electricity almost 12 percent

Infometrics chief executive Brad Olsen says fruit and vegetables are cheaper - but not meat.

"A couple of months ago, right, we were talking a lot about butter. Mince is now the new butter in a sense, given that that's increased, I think, $23 a kilo."

LISTEN ABOVE

Prices are soaring for food staples, with prices up 4.7 percent on a year ago.
Stats NZ data for October shows cheese, instant coffee, eggs and milk had some of the largest surges.&nbsp;
Gas rose 14.4 percent and electricity almost 12 percent
Infometrics chief executive Brad Olsen says fruit and vegetables are cheaper - but not meat.
"A couple of months ago, right, we were talking a lot about butter. Mince is now the new butter in a sense, given that that's increased, I think, $23 a kilo."
LISTEN ABOVE

Best of Business is the home of all things business at Newstalk ZB, from morning market updates right through to incisive interviews with New Zealand’s top business leaders and decision makers. 

Whether you’re a small business owner or interested in what’s going on in the Big End of Town, this podcast encompasses the sharpest voices and minds in the world of business.

Best of Business is the home of all things business at Newstalk ZB, from morning market updates right through to incisive interviews with New Zealand’s top business leaders and decision makers. Whether you’re a small business owner or interested in what’s going on in the Big End of Town, this podcast encompasses the sharpest voices and minds in the world of business.

Best of Business is the home of all things business at Newstalk ZB, from morning market updates right through to incisive interviews with New Zealand’s top business leaders and decision makers.

Best of Business

Brad Olsen: Infometrics chief executive on food prices going up again thanks to eggs and dairy

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/ee131f00-b7eb-4ddf-8f3e-b398004ded5b/transcript

Donald Trump has floated the idea of the US guiding neutral ships out through the Strait of Hormuz, and it's made an impact on the oil markets.

The Brent oil price was little changed above $108 a barrel, after falling as much as 2.4 percent at the open - below last week's $118 high.

Harbour Asset Management expert Shane Solly explained further.

LISTEN ABOVE

Donald Trump has floated the idea of the US guiding neutral ships out through the Strait of Hormuz, and it's made an impact on the oil markets.
The Brent oil price was little changed above $108 a barrel, after falling as much as 2.4 percent at the open - below last week's $118 high.
Harbour Asset Management expert Shane Solly explained further.
LISTEN ABOVE

Shane Solly: Harbour Asset Management expert on the market reactions to the possible US-Iran negotiations

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/5f0bc17e-86d0-4952-be00-b44000870da5/transcript

I have good news and bad news for you this morning. 

The good news, I was out shopping on the weekend, which means I didn't actually buy anything but drove halfway across town looking for a bed-head, couldn't find one that fit, and went home empty-handed. 

But the good news is the shops I visited were full of people spending money. Hardware store, full. Furniture store, less full but still busy. The Devil Wears Prada on Saturday night was 100% booked out for sessions running almost on the hour. 

I've never rated Anne Hathaway's acting chops, but literally thousands of middle-aged women, glass of Savvy B in hand, clearly did. 

A survey out today says retailers are worried about the fuel shock, but I didn't see much reason to be freaking out on the weekend. 

Now the bad news, all the stuff we buy in this country comes by sea. 

All the trinkets and furniture and non-perishables come over the ocean, because we're, yah know, an island.

More than 80% of our trade is done on a ship, by value and weight.

Half of that trade - imports and exports - is done by the shipping giant Maersk.

In a little-reported note to customers Friday, Maersk is slapping an almost 30% fuel surcharge on to inland transport. 

The fuel bill for imports is increasing 27%. The Aussies' is going up 18%. 

This cost gets added to all the stuff we buy. So anything in country right now will be cheaper than anything that's about to be sent here. 

They started the new charging rate on Friday. 

Which does make my weekend in busy shops and gay old time at the pictures on Saturday night feel somewhat like, to use another movie analogy, a dinner party aboard the Titanic as it listed into the Atlantic ocean. 

I have good news and bad news for you this morning.&nbsp;
The good news, I was out shopping on the weekend, which means I didn't actually buy anything but drove halfway across town looking for a bed-head, couldn't find one that fit, and went home empty-handed.&nbsp;
But the good news is the shops I visited were full of people spending money. Hardware store, full. Furniture store, less full but still busy. The Devil Wears Prada on Saturday night was 100% booked out for sessions running almost on the hour.&nbsp;
I've never rated Anne Hathaway's acting chops, but literally thousands of middle-aged women, glass of Savvy B in hand, clearly did.&nbsp;
A survey out today says retailers are worried about the fuel shock, but I didn't see much reason to be freaking out on the weekend.&nbsp;
Now the bad news, all the stuff we buy in this country comes by sea.&nbsp;
All the trinkets and furniture and non-perishables come over the ocean, because we're, yah know, an island.
More than 80% of our trade is done on a ship, by value and weight.
Half of that trade - imports and exports - is done by the shipping giant Maersk.
In a little-reported note to customers Friday, Maersk is slapping an almost 30% fuel surcharge on to inland transport.&nbsp;
The fuel bill for imports is increasing 27%. The Aussies' is going up 18%.&nbsp;
This cost gets added to all the stuff we buy. So anything in country right now will be cheaper than anything that's about to be sent here.&nbsp;
They started the new charging rate on Friday.&nbsp;
Which does make my weekend in busy shops and gay old time at the pictures on Saturday night feel somewhat like, to use another movie analogy, a dinner party aboard the Titanic as it listed into the Atlantic ocean.&nbsp;

Ryan Bridge: Things are about to get a whole lot more expensive

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/38539440-7624-494c-80ac-b43f012bd94a/transcript

No-one knows what the future of AI has in store for us, and one journalist has raised concerns about the impact of the technology.

When investigative journalist Karen Hao started looking into Sam Altman’s OpenAI, she had hopes for the technology, but extensive research and unparalleled access to those closest to the AI arms race left her with a different view. 

Her work in this space has made her one of the foremost tech journos covering AI.  She’s been listed in Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People.  

She's heading to New Zealand for the Auckland Writers Festival with her book EMPIRE OF AI: Inside the Reckless Race for Total Domination.

"My criticism of companies that use this kind of rhetoric is that they are essentially just leveraging the lack of a shared definition as a way to just hype up their technologies." 

LISTEN ABOVE

No-one knows what the future of AI has in store for us, and one journalist has raised concerns about the impact of the technology.
When investigative journalist Karen Hao started looking into Sam Altman’s OpenAI, she had hopes for the technology, but extensive research and unparalleled access to those closest to the AI arms race left her with a different view.&nbsp;
Her work in this space has made her one of the foremost tech journos covering AI. &nbsp;She’s been listed in Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People. &nbsp;
She's heading to New Zealand for the Auckland Writers Festival with her book&nbsp;EMPIRE OF AI: Inside the Reckless Race for Total Domination.
"My criticism of companies that use this kind of rhetoric is that they are essentially just leveraging the lack of a shared definition as a way to just hype up their technologies."&nbsp;
LISTEN ABOVE

Karen Hao: journalist and author on her new book exploring the impact of AI

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/8cac7429-7d3b-4af8-a684-b43f001e3bf7/transcript

Brad Olsen: Infometrics chief executive on food prices going up again thanks to eggs and dairy

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