Nine To Noon for Thursday 16 March 2023

 

 

09:05  Savers are being ripped off: veteran banker

As bank profits soar, and calls are made for an inquiry into bank practices, a former banker with 25 years experience says it is savers who are being ripped off. New Zealand's banks' combined annual profit surged by more than $1 billion in the last year , exceeding $7 billion for the first time, according to KPMG's annual Financial Institutions Performance Survey.  The Commerce minister, Duncan Webb, says the government is actively considering a Commerce Commission study into bank profits, and has dismissed National's suggestion of a shorter select committee inquiry, describing it as a "quick and dirty" proposal. David Cunningham is Chief Executive of mortgage broker and lender Squirrel. He has spent nearly 25 years as a banker - with both Westpac and latterly as Chief Executive of The Co-operative bank. He says soaring mortgage interest rates have been in the headlines recently, but he believes borrowers actually get a great deal, and is is is savers who are bearing the brunt and boosting bank profitability

09:20 Financial fears spread from US to Europe

The Swiss Central Bank is moving to shore up globally-influential bank, Credit Suisse, whose shares have fallen as much as a quarter to a new record low.  It's largest investor, the Saudi National Bank, is refusing to offer further bail-outs. Trading of Credit Suisse shares on the Swiss market have been paused, sending shares of other European banks into a downward spiral. Global stock markets fell overnight and gains on Wall Street have reversed. This follows the collapse of  Silicon Valley and Signature Banks in the United States this week. Kathryn speaks with BBC correspondent in Berne, Imogen Foulkes.

09:30 The rush is on to use ChatGPT - but what could it mean for our jobs?

It took the humble telephone 75 years to gain 100 million users. It took Facebook four and a half years. ChatGPT, the AI driven chatbot, reached that figure in just two months. The large language model virtual assistant, developed by OpenAI, scans massive amounts of data in response to a question and generates a realistic (or human) sounding response. On Tuesday an updated version of the tool was released - ChatGPT-4. So which industries have been quick to deploy the technology and what will that mean for workers? Kathryn is joined by Madeline Newman, AIForumNZ executive director, and Frances Valintine, who's the founder of AcademyEX - which runs The Mind Lab and Tech Futures Lab. 

 

09:45 UK: Budget day - pensions and childcare boosted, UK economy to shrink

UK correspondent Harriet Line joins Kathryn to talk about what Chancellor Jeremy Hunt delivered in his Budget, including an expansion of 30-hours free childcare to younger children, an extension to the energy price guarantee and increase in corporate tax from 19% to 25%. 

Harriet Line is Deputy Political Editor of the Daily Mail.

 

10:05  Helping tamariki deal with difficult feelings

Motivated by the isolation many tamariki were feeling during the lockdown, child psychologists Sarika Rona and Lisa Cherrington wanted to write a book to help tamariki with the emotional challenges of separation. Their new picture book The Awhi Warrior is about Teina, a little boy who is upset that he can't visit his Nanny Mihi and give her an awhi, a hug, during lockdown. Together they explore the power of the atua, the gods of te ao Māori, and Teina learns he can connect with his ancestors and the spiritual world to feel supported and loved. Kathryn speaks with Sarika Rona, an educational psychologist and co-author of the book. 

10:35 Book review: Old God's Time by Sebastian Barry

Kim Pittar from Muir's Independent Bookshop in Gisborne reviews Old God's Time by Sebastian Barry, published by Faber and Faber

10:45 Around the motu: Jonathan Leask in Ashburton 

Constant complaints to the council about local roads are looking like they will pay off with an extra $1.5m for roads, meanwhile the major roadworks in Rakaia are costing a bakery in lost business. And Jonathan explains why pigeons are not welcome at the Ashburton Event Centre.

Local Democracy Reporter - Mid Canterbury Jonathan Leask from the Ashburton Guardian

11:05 GDP shrinks in Q4

The economy shrank 0.6 percent in the three months ended December, as key sectors slowed. The annual growth rate eased to 2.2 pct. Business Editor Gyles Beckford discusses the contraction which was more than expected.

11:05 What are the implications of the Silicon Valley Bank collapse for the tech sector?

Technology correspondent Peter Griffin joins Kathryn to look at what the Silicon Valley Bank collapse could mean for the capital-hungry tech industry, the mass layoffs announced by Meta and what the next iteration of ChatGPT could bring.

Peter Griffin is a Wellington-based science and technology journalist.

11:25  Parenting when you are feeling burnt out 
 

As a parent or caregiver when you feel there's not much left in the tank - we're going to look this morning at some strategies to cope with the demands of raising children. Clinical Psychologist Karen Nimmo has some advice on how to parent to the best of your ability when energy is lacking

 

11:45  Screentime: MH370 doco, Ted Lasso, Meet Me in the Bathroom

Film and TV correspondent Chris Schulz joins Kathryn to talk about a new documentary that explores some theories about the disappearance of flight MH370 (Netflix), the new season of Ted Lasso (Apple TV) and Meet Me in the Bathroom (cinemas) - a documentary about music made in New York in the late 90s, early 2000s. 

 

Music played in this show

Track:    Casio
Artist:     Jungle
Time played: 10:46