Welcome to Today in Business - Powered by Spark for Business, an experimental AI podcast by the New Zealand Herald. Each weekday, we bring you five stories, the best of the New Zealand Herald business journalism, summarised and delivered by an AI voice as an easily digestible recap. It's Wednesday, November 5, 2025, and here are five stories you should know about. New Zealand's unemployment rate rose to 5.3% in the September quarter, up from 5.2% in June, marking the highest level in nearly nine years. The figure represents about 160,000 people, the most since 1994. Youth unemployment reached 15.2%, while 138,000 people were underemployed. Regional rates ranged from 6.3% in Northland to 2.5% in Otago. Wage growth slowed, with the private sector Labour Cost Index up 0.4% quarterly and 2.1% annually, below inflation. Economists from ASB, BNZ, ANZ, and Kiwibank agree the labour market is stabilising, and Reserve Bank rate increases have created disinflationary spare capacity across the workforce. Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank's latest Financial Stability Report highlights stress across retail, hospitality, construction, and manufacturing. It says falling business profits mirror levels from the 2008-09 crisis, though banks now hold stronger capital buffers. The bank notes house prices remain around 12% below their 2021 peak and considers them broadly sustainable. It also observes higher US government bond yields have increased New Zealand's borrowing costs. Health insurance premiums rose 19% over the year, and the Reserve Bank said that while insurers' solvency positions are above requirements, rising claims costs could create financial stress. In a separate development, former Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr has taken legal action over an article about his resignation. His lawyer, Michael Heron KC, demanded London-based Central Banking remove the story written by ex-RBNZ staffer Michael Reddell, claiming it was defamatory. Both Central Banking and Reddell deleted the article, though neither issued apologies. The publication cited editorial standards in its removal notice. Reddell, also a director of the Bank of Papua New Guinea, had previously written extensively on Orr's March departure, which followed a board letter of concerns later confirmed publicly after an Ombudsman inquiry in August. In other news, Forsyth Barr downgraded Spark to underperform and upgraded Infratil to outperform, citing shifting dynamics in the mobile market. Analysts Ben Crozier and Aaron Ibbotson cut Spark's 12-month target price from $2.65 to $2.40 and lifted Infratil's from $13.25 to $14.60, raising their valuation of One NZ from $1.9 to $2.9 billion. Spark shares were trading at $2.38, down 21% this year, while Infratil was at $12.13, down 4%. The analysts say One NZ is outperforming Spark in mobile, where services account for up to 65% of profits. Turning to commodities, prices fell across the board at the latest Global Dairy Trade auction, marking a sixth straight decline. Overall, prices dropped 2.4%, led by a 6.6% fall in cheddar to US$4449 per metric tonne. Whole milk powder, Fonterra's key product, fell 2.7%, and butter slipped 4.3%. Skim milk powder was steady at US$2559, while anhydrous milk fat fell 1.9%. Butter milk powder rose 1%, and mozzarella gained 1.6%. A total of 39,508 tonnes were sold to 112 winning bidders. In September, Fonterra confirmed a final 2024-25 Farmgate Milk Price of $10.16 per kilogram of milk solids. That was Today in Business - Powered by Spark for Business - your NZ Herald daily business summary. For the best in business, subscribe to Herald Premium at nzherald.co.nz.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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