The Mike Hosking Breakfast

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Monday the 31st of March, we talk the dud that was the supermarket announcement and how the current big players are reacting. The Prime Minister has switched his regular slot to a Monday and talks supermarkets, ferries and the servicing of our Air Force planes. Andrew Saville and Jason talk Moana Pasifika pantsing the Crusaders, the Warriors winning three on the trot and Auckland FC all but securing the premiership. Get the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government says all options are on the table as Nicola Willis issues a six-week consultation to ensure 'all options are exhausted.' The announcement has been met with disappointment by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says the six-week period is reasonable.  "Maybe other governments in the past haven't actually thought about things or been prepared to go as as deep as what we're proposing, but I think it's a good thing," he said.  LISTEN ABOVE. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ASB has seen some stabilisation in interest rates, the primary sector and rising consumer spending.  It comes as it was announced Q4 was higher than expected at 0.7%.  Q1 ends today, what will the results be?  ASB chief economist Nick Tuffley talks to Mike Hosking.  LISTEN ABOVE. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government has said all options are on the table as Finance Minister Nicola Willis issues a six-week request for information.  Willis threatened to break up the current supermarket players, floating the idea of restructuring the two existing supermarket chains. Foodstuffs North Island Chief Executive Chris Quin talks to Mike Hosking about the announcement.  LISTEN ABOVE. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The New Zealand Breakers officially have new owners.  The basketball team have a a majority owner in 47-year-old American Marc Mitchell.  Mitchell's investment group includes Leon and Stephen Grice, and Paul and Liz Blackwell. New owner Marc Mitchell talks to Mike Hosking.  LISTEN ABOVE. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Half of the Government's $400m savings target has come out of Heath NZ in the form of contractors and consultant spending.  The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists Executive director Sarah Dalton says isn't happy about the cuts.  "This seems flagrant in terms of taking the short-term option, not looking a little bit further down the road," she said.  LISTEN ABOVE. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Talk about teasing me on a Sunday morning.  At 10am we are told Nicola Willis is giving us the good word on supermarkets. She doesn’t like the industry - she's been telling us this for a year and a half. She is going to do something about the industry - she's been telling us this for a year and a half. So, Sunday was the day. Except it wasn’t. It was yet another diatribe about what needs to be done, what could be done and what might be done. There were more threats, more possibilities, more questions and more investigations. It was also a speech of hopeless contradictions. On one hand she was telling us how hard it was to enter the market at scale and how big that risk was. Then she was telling us this was a $20+ billion sector, more than tourism and dairy combined, and yet she clearly hasn’t stopped to ask herself if that big. Do you not think anyone who could, might have had a bit of a look at the prospect of entering it?  She talked of a player being able to grab 10%. That’s over $2 billion dollars worth of business. You don’t reckon someone, somewhere hasn’t looked at the prospect of $2 billion dollars worth and thought "I wonder if that isn't a bit of me"? To find out why we don’t have more competition, she announced she was launching yet another investigation. Then after six weeks she may, or may not, get Cabinet to do something legislatively. If that happens she wants to do it by the end of the year and get it passed by the end of the term i.e the end of next year. So an entire term in Government having literally not produced one more shop. As I've said all along, it may be we are too small for another major player. Maybe the niche players, along with the two giants, are what are market tolerates. But as for Nicola and her finger-wagging, if threats were results then we'd be getting somewhere. If speeches were shelves of well-priced food, the issue would be dealt to. But for a Government with an image of more talk than action, she didn’t do anything to help that reputation. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

US President Donald Trump has coined Wednesday as 'Liberation Day', when he will roll out tariffs promised to free the country from foreign goods.  The President says he will impose 25% tariffs on cars and car parts made outside of the United States.  Tesla's are one of the only cars made entirely in the US.  US Correspondent Richard Arnold joins the show to discuss Liberation Day, and the death of Richard Chamberlain.  LISTEN ABOVE. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

US consumer confidence is feeling the economic and tariff uncertainty, as Lululemon shares fell 15%, and inflation expectations are picking up. It comes as Kiwi consumer confidence is still challenged according to a latest read.  Greg Smith of Devon Funds Management talks to Mike Hosking.  LISTEN ABOVE. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Village Roadshow, no small player in the movie industry, this week filed for Chapter 11. They have been having some legal issues with another major studio. But they sighted along with that their other overriding  problem, the actors' strike. You remember that? It was more than actors, of course, it was the whole industry. Hollywood came to a stop for months as they argued over pay and conditions. Some of the pay and conditions were based around what was seen at the time as this frightening new development called AI that was potentially going to slash their work and income. They wanted protections. It was eventually settled but, and here is the really big question, at what cost? Hollywood has never come back and the movie industry has never been the same. Irony of ironies a lot of people lost their jobs. Not because of AI, but because they never recovered from the shuttering as a result of the strike. So given fewer movies were made, less income was generated, and the vicious cycle began. That was until someone like Village Roadshow could no longer go on, so they folded for Chapter 11. Chapter 11, if you don’t know is not the end. It can be the end, but initially it's about some protection to get some affairs in order and potentially get a rescuer. The lesson here is unionism. This is what this is. Hollywood, the film, and television industry is heavily unionised. It's one of those ideas that, once upon a time might have made a modicum of sense, but as the world and the workplace has changed and got increasingly sophisticated now presents as an old idea that does more harm than good. So they go on strike, the multi millionaire actors back them , food parcels are handed out, they pound the picket line, and they eventually cut a deal. Is that good? Not if you then go and lose your job, not if the studio then goes and files for Chapter 11. What's the point of that? What would you rather have? More money for fewer people? Or more people? Because that’s what unionism does. So, was the strike a win or a path to joblessness and business ruin? What do you reckon Village Roadshow would say?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.