Two Cents' Worth

Two Cents' Worth

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A new series by Newsroom and RNZ, discussing the world of business in Aotearoa.

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    • Aug 14, 2020 LATEST EPISODE
    • weekly NEW EPISODES
    • 24m AVG DURATION
    • 85 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from Two Cents' Worth

    Episode 85 - The effort to change our wasteful food habits

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 14, 2020 27:28


    We waste $1.6 billion worth of food every year. Nearly 160,000 tonnes. With more and more people needing help putting meals on tables in the wake of the coronavirus, Two Cents' Worth looks at a waste minimisation campaign backed by 60 councils.

    Episode 84 - The suburban solar conundrum

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 7, 2020 29:39


    The combination of solar panels, electricity storage batteries, smart household gadgets, and a boring looking black box is set to change forever how our electricity system works.

    Episode 83 - Turning tripe into wound-healing 'crumpet'

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 31, 2020 28:02


    This week on Two Cents' Worth: how tripe got the markets buzzing and what that can tell us about New Zealand's investment ecosystem.

    Episode 82 - Closed borders: Is the cure worse than the disease?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 24, 2020 23:38


    The closed borders protecting us from Covid-19 is keeping us healthy, but having unexpected consequences for our economy.

    Episode 81 - What becomes of the housing market?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 17, 2020 23:14


    In April, economists were predicting Covid could cause a 10-20 percent fall in house prices. In June, prices rose more than 9 percent - much more in some places. What is going on - and will it last?

    Episode 80 - Roundup: the landmark case and what it means for our economy and our health

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 10, 2020 29:08


    Glyphosate is one of the most commonly used weedkillers in the world, but there’s huge pressure to phase it out. Find out why and what that might mean for our billion dollar agricultural sector. 

    Episode 79 - The little ventilator that could - during Covid

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 3, 2020 30:43


    How two multi-millionaires, two pandemic futurists, Air NZ’s former boss, a dairy executive on a break, a retired anaesthetist (and a few others) nearly saved New Zealand.

    Episode 78 - Worth a shot? The economics of the race for a vaccine

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 26, 2020 31:20


    The race is on. Two Cents Worth investigates the economics of finding a vaccine for coronavirus.

    Episode 77 - The case for a modern debt jubilee

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 18, 2020 21:24


    As the global economy spirals post-coronavirus and many people can no longer pay their debts or are being forced to take out new ones, is it time to wipe the slate clean?

    Episode 76 - Losing it all: a personal story of bankruptcy

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 11, 2020 24:09


    Bankruptcy is something to be avoided - but maybe not at all costs. Two Cents' Worth follows a woman's journey into insolvency.

    Episode 75 - A Side Hustle Story

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 4, 2020 22:12


    Forty percent of Millennials have one and increasing numbers of GenXers and Baby Boomers are getting in on the act too. Two Cents' Worth finds delves into the world of side hustles.

    Episode 74 - Rugby’s fight for survival

    Play Episode Listen Later May 28, 2020 23:18


    With million dollar losses and huge staff cutbacks, there are concerns that rugby is in its death throes. Two Cents Worth looks at the economics of our national sport.

    Episode 73 - The last mile

    Play Episode Listen Later May 21, 2020 24:17


    In our new germ-wary world online shopping has become more important than ever, but the road for reliable home delivery has always been a bit bumpy. Andrew Patterson considers how we might improve getting goods into the hands of customers.

    Episode 72 - Two Cents on "Once in a Generation" Budget

    Play Episode Listen Later May 15, 2020 20:56


    We're bracing for a major, global economic downturn. Will the government's historic 'once in a generation' budget be enough to insulate us from it.

    Episode 71 - Ready for the robot takeover?

    Play Episode Listen Later May 7, 2020 24:00


    Meet Bella, Jamie and Yumi. Just some of the robots taking over our jobs. But does this have to be as scary as it sounds? Peter Griffin finds out.

    Episode 70 - An apple harvest no one will ever forget

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 30, 2020 21:52


    Apple growers have filled our fruit bowls and bolstered our export coffers, while harvesting a bumper crop and maintaining strict social distancing for their workforce. It’s been a nightmare.

    Episode 69 - Our giant 'Green Eggs and Ham' moment

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 23, 2020 21:12


    The Covid-19 lockdown has forced a 'Green Eggs and Ham' moment on many businesses and government departments which could jumpstart our adoption of digital technology and productivity.

    Episode 68 - Coronavirus recovery: Lessons from the Christchurch quakes

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 16, 2020 24:51


    New Zealand could emerge from level-4 lockdown next week and set off down the slow, uncertain road to recovery from the Covid-19 crisis. Peter Griffin looks at what we can learn from Christchurch's recovery from the 2011 earthquakes.

    Episode 67 - Where Covid-19 meets tourism, taps and nanotechnology

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 8, 2020 24:34


    Two Cents Worth answers two listeners’ questions around how Covid-19 might change the world.

    Episode 66 - Riding the share market rollercoaster in the Covid-19 era

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 2, 2020 26:42


    Fortunes can be lost or made in volatile markets. Peter Griffin looks at how amateur investors are navigating these troubled waters. 

    Episode 65 - Business offers a helping hand

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 27, 2020 23:02


    This week on Two Cents' Worth the team look at how Covid-19 has changed the way we work and live and what business might look like after the lock down is lifted.

    Episode 64 - Covid-19’s silver lining

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 19, 2020 20:23


    As we face very uncertain times, the Two Cents' Worth team thought to try to find the economic positives out of the COVID-19 crisis.

    Episode 63 - SPECIAL: Covid19 and the economy

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 12, 2020 20:44


    Fiona Acheson from New Zealand Trade and Enterprise joins the Two Cents' Worth team to discuss the economic ramifications of the coronavirus, covid-19.

    Episode 62 - The evolving e-commerce wars

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 5, 2020 23:48


    Trade Me has been our favourite online marketplace for nearly two decades, but serious competition is on the way. Peter Griffen looks at our e-commerce options.

    Episode 61 - The workplace perk aiming to put payday lenders out of business

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 27, 2020 21:15


    More than a million New Zealanders live paycheck to paycheck. Feeling terror trying to buy something two days before pay day. New technology could be the solution. Nikki Mandow investigates.

    Episode 60 - The Chain Gang: crypto's post-bubble potential

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 20, 2020 28:14


    Peter Griffin looks past the rollercoaster ride that is cryptocurrency to find out its true potential.

    Episode 59 - Think Big: The Sequel?

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 13, 2020 23:15


    In the '80s, "Think Big” became an insult; government spend-ups became a political no-no. Until now. In the light of Jacinda Ardern’s $12 billion infrastructure announcement, Nikki Mandow and Bernard Hickey look at why it has taken 40 years to get over the trauma.

    Episode 58 - Subscription Creep

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 6, 2020 29:48


    There's been a huge upswing in subscription businesses across the world and in New Zealand. Peter Griffen looks at what that means for consumers and the economy.

    Episode 57 - Beetle Mania

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 2, 2020 22:39


    One man’s decades-long fight to deal with New Zealand’s farm effluent problems by bringing dung beetles to New Zealand.

    Episode 56 - The gift of economic knowledge

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 19, 2019 27:20


    In the spirit of giving, the Two Cents' team is answering your economic questions on Kiwisaver, property prices and mortgage rates.

    Episode 55 - Banking on time

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 14, 2019 19:54


    It's banking, yes, but not as we know it.  A new movement is seeing the rejuvenation of an ancient economic model. Claire Crofton looks into the growing trend of time-banking.

    Episode 54 - Why we’re hung up and two-faced on debt

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 8, 2019 22:47


    Debt – it’s deep in the heart of our society and our economy.  But we have an odd relationship with it. Bernard Hickey asks why we both fear debt and love it so much.

    Episode 53 - The Pacific's contribution to the NZ Economy

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 28, 2019 21:33


    The work of Pacific people has been noted in a Treasury report, but does it go far enough? And what is the impact of this on our wider economy?

    Episode 52 - A ticker tape tale

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 21, 2019 23:40


    The New Zealand stock exchange (NZX) turns 150 this year. But the number of companies listed on it has been falling in recent times, begging the question - is still as relevant as it once was?

    Episode 51 - The banks, the swaps and the suicide box

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 14, 2019 26:43


    The disastrous impact of banks selling risky financial derivatives to farmers is still being felt in rural communities more than a decade later. How did it happen and how can we stop banks doing it again?

    Episode 50 - Brentry: 48 hours in Luxembourg that changed NZ forever

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 8, 2019 23:38


    New Zealand saw the UK’s ‘Brentry’ into the EEC in 1973 as an existential threat to our nation’s future. It preoccupied New Zealanders for a decade and eventually all hinged on 48 hours of intense trade negotiations.

    Episode 49 - Affordable Housing: A Goldilocks Story

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 1, 2019 26:17


    House prices are on the rise again - but is that a good thing? The Two Cents' Worth team looks at the Goldilocks sweet spot for our housing market - do we want prices to go up, fall down or stay as they are?

    Episode 48 - What is inflation?

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 24, 2019 19:28


    Gyles Beckford looks at why inflation has gone walkabouts, why central banks are still so obsessed about taming it and - hold your hats - is it time to give away inflation targeting?

    Episode 47 - Terrible Tariffs

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 17, 2019 26:59


    Donald Trump’s tariff war is hitting the world economy hard, and there's no sign of a truce. Nikki Mandow looks at how tariffs have played a major part in some serious, and often traumatic historical events.

    Episode 46 - How technology is changing our towns

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 12, 2019 18:02


    Could an online bra fitting service be the final death knell for bricks and mortar stores? Claire Crofton finds out.

    Episode 45 - Banks on notice over 'No Paywave' dysfunction

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 3, 2019 20:45


    New Zealand has fallen behind Australia and Britain in using contactless payments and retailers are revolting.  The Government may have to regulate fees directly.

    Episode 44 - Two Cents' Worth turns 1

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 26, 2019 21:44


    We're going back to where it all began... and finding out how far we've come. Spoiler alert: Not far.

    Episode 43 - The economics of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 19, 2019 19:20


    Come on a hilarious romp with some of New Zealand's best theatrical talents as Justin Gregory looks at the economics of taking a show to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

    Episode 42 - Stink Bugs: Be afraid, be very afraid

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 14, 2019 24:51


    Our most feared pest could be starting its journey to New Zealand.

    Episode 41 - Wringing more than silverware from RWC 2019

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 5, 2019 26:27


    Win or lose, the Rugby World Cup is being seen as a great opportunity to boost our economy.

    Episode 40 - The economic heavyweight bout of the year

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 30, 2019 20:05


    We put Kate Raworth and Arthur Grimes in the ring together to debate the value of growth.

    Episode 39 - What if money really did fall from the sky?

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 22, 2019 26:11


    If the government gave everyone an extra $1000 to spend would we all be better off? Bernard Hickey looks into the theory of helicopter money.

    Episode 38 - Social Procurement: A match made in heaven?

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 15, 2019 28:19


    Nikki Mandow tells us why social procurement is way more exciting than it sounds - and how it might change the world.

    Episode 37 - A conversation with Kris

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 8, 2019 28:53


    The Two Cents' Worth team is joined by the Honourable Kris Fa'afoi to discuss banks, interest rate caps and 5G.

    Episode 36 - Scam Scum: We're All Victims

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 1, 2019 27:47


    New Zealanders lost 33 million dollars so scams last year. Madison Reidy looks at how that's impacting our economy and what we're doing to stop it.

    Episode 35 - Green Gold

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 26, 2019 27:38


    Nikki Mandow looks at avocado economics and how this humble fruit became an underworld currency.

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