Donald Trump has floated the idea of the US guiding neutral ships out through the Strait of Hormuz, and it's made an impact on the oil markets.

The Brent oil price was little changed above $108 a barrel, after falling as much as 2.4 percent at the open - below last week's $118 high.

Harbour Asset Management expert Shane Solly explained further.

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I have good news and bad news for you this morning.

The good news, I was out shopping on the weekend, which means I didn't actually buy anything but drove halfway across town looking for a bed-head, couldn't find one that fit, and went home empty-handed.

But the good news is the shops I visited were full of people spending money. Hardware store, full. Furniture store, less full but still busy. The Devil Wears Prada on Saturday night was 100% booked out for sessions running almost on the hour.

I've never rated Anne Hathaway's acting chops, but literally thousands of middle-aged women, glass of Savvy B in hand, clearly did.

A survey out today says retailers are worried about the fuel shock, but I didn't see much reason to be freaking out on the weekend.

Now the bad news, all the stuff we buy in this country comes by sea.

All the trinkets and furniture and non-perishables come over the ocean, because we're, yah know, an island.

More than 80% of our trade is done on a ship, by value and weight.

Half of that trade - imports and exports - is done by the shipping giant Maersk.

In a little-reported note to customers Friday, Maersk is slapping an almost 30% fuel surcharge on to inland transport.

The fuel bill for imports is increasing 27%. The Aussies' is going up 18%.

This cost gets added to all the stuff we buy. So anything in country right now will be cheaper than anything that's about to be sent here.

They started the new charging rate on Friday.

Which does make my weekend in busy shops and gay old time at the pictures on Saturday night feel somewhat like, to use another movie analogy, a dinner party aboard the Titanic as it listed into the Atlantic ocean.

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No-one knows what the future of AI has in store for us, and one journalist has raised concerns about the impact of the technology.

When investigative journalist Karen Hao started looking into Sam Altman’s OpenAI, she had hopes for the technology, but extensive research and unparalleled access to those closest to the AI arms race left her with a different view.

Her work in this space has made her one of the foremost tech journos covering AI. She’s been listed in Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People.

She's heading to New Zealand for the Auckland Writers Festival with her book EMPIRE OF AI: Inside the Reckless Race for Total Domination.

"My criticism of companies that use this kind of rhetoric is that they are essentially just leveraging the lack of a shared definition as a way to just hype up their technologies."

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The world's leading tech giants - Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet and Meta - all recently reported their latest earnings.

All of these companies surpassed investor expectations, but one clearly came out on top.

Fisher Funds expert Sam Dickie explained further.

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A former senior economist at the Reserve Bank is calling releasing details of who voted which way on the Official Cash Rate a 'baby step'.

It's been agreed by the Minister of Finance and the Monetary Policy Committee that vote details will be released publicly if committee members are unable to come to consensus on the OCR.

The charter comes into effect today.

Michael Reddell says it's fairly rare for the committee not to come to a consensus, but it's a good step.

"So I'm not criticising it, it's just that it's not a particularly bold move."

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Hopes some relief for businesses will be on the cards in a public meeting to discuss the future of Mount Maunganui this evening.

Mauao has been closed to the public ever since a landslide killed six holiday-makers almost 100 days ago.

The Mt Maunganui Ratepayers, Residents and Retailers Association expects discussions tonight about allowing one route to the top of the mount.

President Michael O'Neill says businesses rely on the patronage of people using the mount.

He explained the same goes for people using the campground, hot pools, and boat ramp - all of which are closed.

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Confidence for small business owners, with sales continuing to grow.

New Xero small business data shows business sales rose 3.9% in the March quarter – March alone rising 5.5%.

ABC Business Sales Managing Director Chris Small told Mike Hosking it's been a tough 12 months, with many weaker businesses weeded out, leaving high quality small businesses in the market.

He says data doesn't reflect the current climate, given two out of three months were not impacted by the war in Iran.

Small says volume of transactions were up 10% and dollars invested in small business were up 16% – all with a positive mindset until March kicked in.

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The recent burst of bad weather and growing concerns about inflation have prompted Kiwis to worry about their insurance premiums going up.

Insurance premiums have dropped back down and more buffers have been built since Cyclone Gabrielle, but concerns have been raised.

NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny explained further.

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