Alphabet, the parent company of Google, has reported its latest financial earnings - and the investors aren't thrilled.

Shares reportedly dropped 7 percent after the company posted a slight miss in expected revenue.

Milford Asset Management's Stephanie Batchelor unpacked the market factors behind this drop.

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Air New Zealand has confirmed it is looking into developing a new luxury lounge for frequent flyers.

The airline is staying tight-lipped about what these plans entail - but the idea was floated during a presentation for investors during their Investor Day late last year.

Aviation commentator Irene King says Air New Zealand's existing lounges tend to crowd out during peak times - and the airline might be looking to address that.

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The Government is talking up the fact it’s exploring ways of making the tax system more business-friendly, with details of potential changes to be unveiled at the May 22 Budget.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis is wary that at 28 percent, New Zealand’s corporate tax rate is above the OECD average of 24 percent.

NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny speculates what the Government might be planning ahead of this year's Budget.

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DeepSeek, the new Chinese AI-powered chatbot platform that made headlines all over the world, will be banned from Australian Government devices after it was found to pose an 'unacceptable' security risk.

The ChatGPT competitor has seen a surge in downloads worldwide after it attracted international attention for wiping billions from Wall Street and causing a frenzy.

AI commentator and psychologist Paul Duignan says there's a real risk of public servants feeding the platform sensitive information - and caution needs to be applied.

"As soon as you know all the different things someone may ask a chatbot, it can get a personality profile of you. So I think you'd need to be very careful about the ones that you use."

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Kiwibank says the latest unemployment figures are ugly, but in line with expectations.

The unemployment rate rose to 5.1 percent in the December quarter - the highest it's been since September 2020.

It's being blamed on a slow economy reducing demand and making employers trim jobs.

Chief economist Jarrod Kerr says the Reserve Bank needs to do more to put New Zealand into recovery mode.

"Interest rates are still restrictive - they're restraining households, they're restraining businesses, we're seeing it in the labour market, it's time to take some of that pressure off."

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Australia has kept their official cash rate on hold for an entire year - but one expert believes that's likely to change.

The nation has been committed to bringing down inflation, but HSBC's Paul Bloxham predicts a rate cut will come this February.

He explained the factors contributing to this choice, and outlined his predictions for the rest of 2025.

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Experts are hoping for a good result ahead of tonight's GDT auction.

Jarden economists are expecting a 4 to 5 percent lift - off the back of a solid auction in January.

The Country's Jamie Mackay explains further.

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Treasury has warned the Government that 'significant reforms' or 'reductions to public services' will be needed in the not-too-distant future if it sticks to its current, restricted spending track.

New reports reveal the Government will not post a surplus under the traditional Obegal measure until 2031 - even with this relatively tight spending.

Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olsen explains the challenges impacting the Government - and how they can potentially turn this around.

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