Today in Business: October 9, 2025

Welcome to Today in Business - Powered by Spark for Business, an experimental AI podcast by the New Zealand Herald.
Each weekday, we bring you five stories, the best of the New Zealand Herald business journalism, summarised and delivered by an AI voice as an easily digestible recap.
It's Thursday, October 9, 2025, and here are five stories you should know about.
The Bank of England warns inflated AI stock valuations pose a material risk to Britain's economy. Its Financial Policy Committee says equity market valuations appear stretched, especially among artificial intelligence focused technology firms dominating nearly 30% of the S&P 500. The bank cautions a sharp correction could reverberate globally, affecting finance for households and businesses. The IMF's Kristalina Georgieva also warns valuations may be "masking" fragilities similar to the dotcom bubble. Gold prices have surged past 4000 US dollars an ounce amid global instability, while the Bank highlights rising government debt and borrowing costs as additional economic vulnerabilities.
In other news, liquidators report unsecured creditors of Smiths City are unlikely to recover funds, with debts exceeding $26.8 million. Administrators Colin Gower and Diana Matchett of BDO Christchurch say the 100-year-old retailer faced falling sales, rising costs, and an unprofitable cost structure before entering liquidation. Secured creditors are owed 9.5 million, and preferential claims total 1.16 million, including Inland Revenue's 1.02 million. Unsecured creditors are owed 15.4 million against assets of 8.7 million. Smiths City employed 137 staff and operated nine stores when trading ended, after unsuccessful attempts to sell the business.
Meanwhile, the Government's begun a procurement process for a liquefied natural gas import terminal to support electricity generation during dry years. The plan follows last winter's gas shortages and price spikes. Analyst Josh Runciman from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, estimates a floating storage and regasification unit could cost about A$250 million, with full terminal costs near 400 million. The International Energy Agency reports global LNG supply expansion through 2030, led by the United States and Qatar. Runciman notes LNG use overseas is often costlier than renewables, but remains common worldwide.
Hopes for the economic recovery have been given a significant boost by the Reserve Bank's decision to "front-load" cuts to the Official Cash Rate. The RBNZ yesterday delivered a 50-basis-point cut to the OCR, and indicated it was prepared to cut again in November if required. The Monetary Policy Committee says inflation remains near the top of its 1 to 3 percent target band, but should return to 2 percent by 2026. Annual inflation stands at 2.7 percent. The committee highlights spare capacity in the economy, and notes modest signs of recovery after last quarter's GDP fall. Retail NZ's Carolyn Young welcomes the cut as support for retailers.
And on the technology front, investment platform Sharesies has launched its own Debit Mastercard, promising 1 percent "Investback" where spending rewards are auto matticklee reinvested. More than 30,000 customers have joined the waiting list, with 6000 testing the card early. Sharesies says users can freeze cards, manage spending, and view investments directly in its app. General manager Scott Nixon says the card helps people align daily spending with long-term goals. Mastercard's Ruth Riviere says New Zealanders are becoming more sophisticated with money management. Sharesies now has more than 880,000 customers across Australia and New Zealand and manages up to $9 billion in assets.
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