Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

The Reserve Bank will be keeping a close eye on this morning's employment data as it mulls over next week's Official Cash Rate decision.  Most economists expect the unemployment rate will rise.  But they're now divided on whether the central bank will cut the OCR next week, next month, or in November.  ASB senior economist Mark Smith told Ryan Bridge this morning's data should give them a steer on how inflation is tracking.  He says as the unemployment rate rises and wage growth slows, inflation is likely to come down, meaning interest rates need to come down as well.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The UK Prime Minister is in a war of words with Elon Musk as far-right protests continue across the country.  Almost 400 people have been arrested following last week's stabbings at a dance class that killed three girls and left several wounded.  The tech billionaire posted on his social media platform X saying civil war is inevitable, to which the Prime Minister's spokesperson says there's no justification for the comments.  UK Correspondent Gavin Grey told Ryan Bridge that Elon Musk has continued with his criticism of Sir Keir Starmer and his government.  He says Musk posted a video of someone reportedly getting arrested for offensive comments online, asking if it's Britain or the Soviet Union.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Smith and Caughey's has found a way to stay afloat.   The long-running Auckland department store has revealed new measures to remain open, despite announcing a closure in May.   It plans to reduce staff and pull back its operations to the Queen Street ground level store and online offering only.   Heart of the City chief executive Viv Beck says it's a real sign of confidence in the future of Auckland's city centre.  She says the area is evolving as we speak, and it will help people to see the confidence and investment.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The power was cut to my place last night.  Don't worry, it was expected. It was a maintenance thing from one in the morning or midnight through till 5 a.m. The heating was off, it was chilly. I think it was six degrees in Auckland last night, not as bad as your zero in Christchurch, granted.  But boy, does it make you think how important electricity is.  You don't know what you've got till it's gone, you wake up, you know, freezing, you've got a cold foot hanging out the bed, you're fumbling around in your undies, trying to find undies because it's dark.  It's quite important to have electricity, and you don't know how good it is till it's gone.  So too for major Kiwi industries who are feeling the cold, hard reality at the moment of life without energy, without gas.  There are two stories in the last couple of days that caught my attention.  One was Methanex, which produces Methanol. They've got 270 staff, $640 million is what they're worth to the Taranaki economy, and closer to a billion to the national eco

On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 7th of August 2024, labour market data is out today. All of our major banks are expecting a rise, but by how much? ASB's Mark Smith joins Ryan.  The Motor Trade Association thinks they have a plan to help the Government to reduce retail crime - but are they asking for too much? Ryan speaks to First Retail Group.  Iconic Kiwi brand Smith and Caughey's has backtracked on its plan to shut down all operations next year, what does its future look like?  Get the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The US Presidential Election is less than 100 days away.  Kamala Harris is expected to announce her pick for Vice President today ahead of their first public appearance together in Pennsylvania tomorrow.  Presidential Historian Allan Lichtman has correctly predicted almost every US Election since the 1980s through a process called ‘The 13 Keys to the White House’.  He told Ryan Bridge that while he hasn’t made a final prediction yet, a lot would have to go wrong for the Democrats to lose the election.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A lift in the terror threat level in Australia is in response to an increase in extremism, fuelled by conspiracy theories and anti-authority ideologies.   Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed the level is lifting from ‘possible’ to ‘probable’ - meaning there's now a greater than 50% chance of an onshore attack in the next twelve months.  Australian correspondent Donna Demaio told Ryan Bridge the Prime Minister is adamant there's no intelligence of an imminent attack, but there is a need for a higher level of preparedness and alertness for agencies and the public.   The Security Intelligence Service says New Zealand's threat level is low.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

U.S. stock markets had a bit of a panic attack overnight, I think that's the best way to describe it.  Investors have been selling off, especially in tech stocks.  The U.S. job data that came out on Friday seems to have freaked the horses. Losses are being clawed back slightly this morning, but everyone is on edge.  Why? Well, it's the largest economy in the world. It affects us all, and it feels like we're all sort of teetering on the edge of an economic cliff at the moment. We're all at the mercy of our central banks and their rate cut decisions.  Will they cut? Won't they cut?  In this case you've got no cut last week from the Federal Reserve in the U.S. and you've got some bad data and oh, America's going to recession.  If our Reserve Bank doesn't cut soon, then we'll probably have the same issues here.  Bank of England, the European Central Bank, they have cut.  Here's the thing I was thinking about this morning: we've got a mortgage at my house. We're going to refix, so, when the cuts happen I'm not goi

An education expert says we should be worried about low maths results.  Prime Minister Christopher Luxon revealed data which he says shows that four out of five Year 8 students aren't at the expected level.   He's bringing forward a new math curriculum to Term 1 next year, assessing twice yearly, and a $20 million boost for teachers' professional development.   New Zealand Initiative researcher Michael Johnston told Ryan Bridge it's likely things have been like this for some time.  He says the Government's action is necessary, but time will tell whether it's enough.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ambulance workers say the call to strike boils down to ensuring their voices are heard.  2,500 members from First Union and the Ambulance Association have voted on industrial action.  Labour will be withdrawn for four hours across two days —August 20 and 24— amid calls for the Government to fulfil an election promise to renegotiate funding.  First Union spokesperson Faye McCann told Ryan Bridge 95% of its members voted to strike.  She says it's unfortunate and not the ideal situation.  The Government says it will continue with the current contract for now.   LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Tuesday 6th August 2024, more changes are on the way for our education system, but what's the thinking behind the policy decisions? NZ Initiative's Dr Michael Johnston joins Ryan to discuss.  The U.S. Presidential Election is less than 100 days out, and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris is expected to announce her running mate by tomorrow. Ryan speaks to Allan Lichtman who has correctly predicted almost every election since 1982.  St John union staff have announced further strike action later this month, including a "withdrawal of labour".  Australia has raised their terror threat level for the first time in a decade. We cross to Australia correspondent Donna Demaio.  Get the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Monday the 5th of August - the Government has unveiled their maths action plan, a new curriculum for primary and intermediate school students from next year. Ryan speaks to a principal about the changes. Kidscan have the longest waitlist in their 19-year history. Chief Executive Julie Chapman is on the show. It's been another busy weekend in Paris - Andrew Alderson has the latest in weekend sport. Violence is continuing in the UK after the Southport stabbings. We cross live to UK and Europe Correspondent Kay Oliver. Get the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An Auckland principal isn't hopeful a new maths action plan will address the root problem. The Government is bringing forward a new curriculum to Term 1 next year, assessing twice yearly and establishing a $20 million boost for teachers' professional development. Laingholm Primary School principal Martyn Weatherill believes this isn't going to fix decades of under-funding. "Political interference in the teaching practice has caused the problem. Now politicians are saying political interference in the teaching practice will solve the problem. I don't see how that's possible." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's calls for the army to be deployed in the UK, where violent demonstrations are escalating for a seventh day. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has labelled the outbreaks as 'far-right thuggery'. They've continued to escalate since last week's stabbing rampage at a dance class left three children dead and several injured. This morning, 10 police officers have been injured trying to stop a group storming a Rotherham hotel housing asylum seekers. UK correspondent Kay Oliver says politicians from all sides agree this is violence, rather than protests. "We've got Hamza Yousaf, he's a former First Minister of Scotland, saying this situation is so out of control now that the army should be brought in." More than 140 people have been arrested across Britain so far. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Novak Djokovic has won an elusive Olympic tennis singles gold medal. A 7-6, 7-6 win over Carlos Alcaraz in nearly three hours has seen him become the fifth player after Steffi Graf, Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams to win the four majors and a Games individual title. ZB sports reporter Andrew Alderson explains further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Demand for help from KidsCan has sky-rocketed in the last year. The charity is urgently appealing for donations as more than 10,000 children in 260 schools await help with food, shoes and clothing. Many don't qualify for the Government's free lunch scheme. KidsCan Chief Executive Julie Chapman says the wait-list has grown by more than 150 schools in the last 12 months. She says securing funding's a challenge. "We want to make sure that we're not taking them off for a short time, that we're able to support them for as long as they need it." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What are councils, local councils, regional councils? It should be a simple question. What is their purpose? I've always believed it's to take away my rubbish, put the street lights on. When I go to the toilet, you can take that away too. That's part of your job. Roads, rubbish, sewerage, swimming pools, maybe a library. Although we've got the internet now, so why do we need libraries? But that's a debate for another day. A big scrap in Rotorua, I was reading this over the weekend, over Gaza. Notices of motion, petitions, meetings, interrupted, staff involved. And I asked myself, what has Rotorua Lakes Council got to do with Gaza? They're calling for a ceasefire, and they're one of dozens of councils across the country who are doing this. A clip from mayor Tanya Tapsell's interaction with Councillor Maxwell, who was trying to get this over the line, has gone viral. "Councillor Maxwell, I rule that that is not an urgent item." Probably the first time anything from a council has gone viral. Don't get me wrong.

New Zealand's medal haul at the Paris Olympics has increased by a rowing trifecta of gold, silver and bronze.  Lucy Spoors and Brooke Francis took the gold in the double sculls, the men’s four of Logan Ullrich, Tom Murray, Matt Macdonald, and Ollie Maclean dipped their oars in the spoils with silver.  And their female counterparts Jackie Gowler, Kerri Williams, Davina Waddy, and Phoebe Spoors completed the podium with bronze.  Kerri Williams told Ryan Bridge it hasn’t really sunk in yet.  She said it was a bit of a sprint at the end as the leading team set a pretty hot pace, but they came out on the right side.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Northland businesses say Transpower needs to take responsibility for a fallen pylon and show face in Northland.  Transpower's found contractor Omexom's team leader was distracted sandblasting, as unsupervised inexperienced workers removed the bolts from three legs at once.   It says residents can contact their retailer for compensation, but they can't do anything for businesses.   North Chamber Chief Executive Darryn Fisher told Ryan Bridge Transpower needs to stop avoiding this conversation.  He's calling for them to put their big pants on, get up to Northland and explain why their negligence is putting their livelihoods at risk.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 17-year-old accused of the fatal Southport stabbings at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class has been named.  Axel Rudakubana has made his first court appearance in the UK.  British newspapers successfully argued the minor should be named, given public interest.  Three children died and five more were critically injured in the attack earlier this week.  UK Correspondent, Vincent McAviney told Ryan Bridge that Rudakubana has been remanded in youth custody.  He says it's a complex operation, with the trial likely to take place early next year.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.