OCR drop brings relief, cuts at NZME and new deal between Spark and Microsoft

Plus: X in talks for major raise in turn of fortunes and new AI company from former OpenAI CTO.

Happy Thursday!

Current and potential homeowners will likely be breathing a sigh of relief today following some welcome good news from Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr. The projections aren’t exactly rosy but it feels at least from the macro monetary level, we’re starting to turn a corner. We’ll kick into our Daily Shot with a break down of what you need to know after yesterday’s announcement and then get into our usual wrap of around the world stories worth paying attention to.

Here’s the Daily Shot of news you don’t want to miss:

• 50 basis point cut to OCR with further cuts signaled

• Banks slash rates after OCR cut, MPs squabble over economic blame and credit

• NZME axe 30 jobs, high profile journalists leaving Herald

• Spark and Microsoft tout new AI deal

• Veteran of Trade Me, Xero and more spills secrets on NZ Tech Podcast

• X in talks for raise at $44b valuation

• Trump calls Zelensky a ‘dictator’ as words stop meaning things

• OpenAI former CTO launches her own AI startup

As always, thank you to everyone who has upgraded to a paid subscription or simply recommended Caffeine to friends and whānau. We couldn’t do any of this without you.

Finn and the CAFFEINE team

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