The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Donald Trump is escalating his threat to deploy the National Guard in Democrat-run cities. 

He’s doing it under the guise of cracking down on crime, beginning with Washington DC. New York City, Los Angeles, Baltimore, and Chicago were among the cities singled out. 

The US President called Chicago a “mess”, and derided its mayor, Brandon Johnson, as “grossly incompetent”. 

The Illinois Governor, JB Pritzker, is hittin...

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 27th of August, we have good economic news: a new Westpac report says our growth is set to outpace Australia over the next few years. Does that stop the brain drain? 

Erica Stanford has another new visa up for grabs to get entrepreneurs in and spending. 

Mark Mitchell joins from Queenstown and Ginny Andersen joins from Fiji to discuss four year terms, burner ph...

A new pitch has been made for a two-hour ferry link between the North and South Islands. 

The ‘North South Express’ would see a new port built at Clifford Bay, near Blenheim, through a public-private partnership. 

The plan proposes a multi-use terminal, with no speed restrictions, and boosted logistics productivity. 

CB Port Limited Spokesperson Dr Stephen Grice told Mike Hosking they can have the port up and running...

There’s hope the horticulture sector will see a massive boost over the next decade. 

A roadmap has been unveiled to double farmgate returns by 2035.  

Actions aimed at increasing value include building consumer understanding, mapping domestic supply chain vulnerabilities, and establishing an online horticulture library.  

HortNZ Chief Executive Kate Scott says they're in a strong position to succeed.  

She told ...

New Zealand's on track for stronger economic growth but it could take a while to flow through to house prices. 

Westpac is forecasting New Zealand will outpace Australia's growth over the next few years. 

But New Zealand will still face a higher unemployment rate and lower wage growth, and the recovery's likely to be felt in some regions much sooner than others. 

Former Finance Minister Steven Joyce told Mike Hosking...

The number of people coming in on the Government's new Business Investor Visa could be limited.   

It'll fast track residency for any foreign investors who put $2 million or more into a Kiwi business. 

If a business is worth $2 million, the applicant will have to buy it, and they'll have to invest at least a quarter of its total value if it's worth more than that. 

Immigration Minister Erica Stanford told Mike H...

A view that new migrant tax rules will put us on par with other countries. 

The Government's proposing a bill to stop migrants being taxed on estimated overseas income and instead, only what they actually earn. 

Independent tax expert Geof Nightingale told Mike Hosking the current settings are a problem for high-value migrants, particularly now we have the Active Investor Plus scheme.  

He says these people usually h...

Britain is facing a financial crisis, with the country potentially heading towards a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). 

Economists are warning that they’re headed towards a 1970s-style debt crisis, with one saying the UK’s borrowing costs are higher than in Greece – which has the highest debt in the euro zone. 

UK Correspondent Enda Brady told Mike Hosking that financially the UK is “screwed”, and Chance...

Has the penny dropped? 

There was no shortage of headlines and news coverage yesterday out of our interview with the Prime Minister on the Reserve Bank. 

In a nutshell, Luxon suggested Christian Hawkesby blew it and should have/could have moved faster on the cash rate. 

This is news, but not because the Prime Minister is right. We all know he is right. 

But there is a convention whereby because the Reserve Bank ...

A new use for “ugly” fruit, with two Kiwi dads turning a hobby into a business. 

Fruit Cru makes use of seconds, the ugly fruit from local orchards that doesn’t make it to export, turning it into organic wine.  

Since starting in 2021, they now produce about 10,000 bottles each year, and have signed a deal with Foodstuffs to stock their beverages in five supermarkets in the Wellington region. 

Co-founder Cosmo Hawke ...

Motorsport fans are getting a look inside the career of one of the more recognisable names in Supercars. 

After 21 years, last year saw Mark Winterbottom retire from full time driving.  

His career included a championship win in 2015 in his infamous Ford at the height of the Ford v Holden rivalry, a Bathurst win, and 39 wins overall. 

Although he may have retired from full time driving, Winterbottom has signed on to ...

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Tuesday 26th of August, the Reserve Bank is opening consultation on banks’ capital requirements – Chair Neil Quigley discusses the situation.  

TVNZ will be introducing a paid event pass for the first time ever after securing the broadcasting rights for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. 

Mark 'Frosty' Winterbottom has a new memoir out about his time as a full time Supercars drive...

TVNZ will be charging its viewers for content for the first time after securing the rights to broadcast next year's Fifa World Cup. 

Viewers will be able to stream 104 football games over the tournament's 39 days, including replays and highlights, if an event pass is purchased. 

All of New Zealand's games will be free-to-air, alongside a handful of others. 

TVNZ CEO Jodi O'Donnell told Mike Hosking data was collected...

The Reserve Bank says it wasn't dragged kicking and screaming to a review of capital rules. 

It's put out two proposals aimed at loosening capital requirements.  

Board Chair Neil Quigley says they were reviews that the bank has been looking at for a while.  

He told Mike Hosking if they were loosened, it wouldn't cause too much of a shakeup, and it probably won't have a big effect on pricing.  

Meanwhile, Quigl...

The tertiary sector's not losing sleep over grade inflation at universities. 

A New Zealand Initiative report's found the proportion of A-grades has increased from 22% to 35% since 2006, but academic improvement can't explain it. 

Universities NZ CEO Chris Whelan told Mike Hosking it's not clear what's causing the change, but the report only considers four factors. 

He says none include the changes in how teaching is...

Self-employed Kiwis are prioritising their businesses rather than thinking about retirement. 

A report by the Retirement Commission and accounting firm Hnry shows just 44% of self-employed people actively contribute to KiwiSaver. 

This is compared to 78% of employees. 

The report also reveals 41% of self-employed workers don't get any government KiwiSaver contribution.  

Retirement Commissioner Jane Wrightson to...

Port inefficiencies could undermine New Zealand's goals to double export earnings.  

The Cargo Owners Council says there's been a 30% drop in productivity since 2019.  

Chair Brent Falvey says there needs to be a comprehensive reset of our ports and a strategy for the whole supply chain.  

He told Mike Hosking we just aren't keeping up with rest of the world.  

Falvey says New Zealand is in the bottom 20% for po...

Jason Pine and Andrew Saville join Mike Hosking this morning to discuss the weekend's sports.

On the table today: The All Blacks suffered a defeat at the hands of Los Pumas in Argentina, is the criticism they're receiving justified? 

TVNZ is set to broadcast the NPC through the year, hopefully bringing attention to the local games.

And the Warriors defeated the Titans in Queensland to secure an important victory in the NRL.

LI...