Author: Press Room
A “dramatic” shift of KiwiSaver investments into riskier funds should make New Zealanders better off in the long run, if past trends hold true.The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) released research this week noting the significant shift in risk of KiwiSaver investments.The proportion of KiwiSaver in funds that are risk category five, with high volatility, has quadrupled from 10% in 2021 to more than 40% in 2024.Riskier funds can be expected to be more volatile, but over the long term should produce better results. They are generally recommended for investors who still have a significant period of time until they need…
DOC is seeking information after two separate incidents of concerning behaviour towards marine mammals were reported in Auckland.In early June, members of the public discovered two dead kekeno/NZ fur seals on Muriwai Beach in West Auckland with their heads removed. Investigator with DOC’s national compliance team Eva Obushenkova said that “DOC science staff who’ve seen the images say the decapitations are the result of human actions, and not predation by another species”. “It’s not acceptable for people to tamper with protected wildlife, and it’s illegal to remove a protected species’ head,” Obushenkova said, according to the Marine Mammals Protection Act.…
A Lower Hutt sushi restaurant has been ordered by the Employment Relations Authority to pay $30,000 in penalties after multiple breaches of employment standards in relation to an “inherently vulnerable” migrant worker. The restaurant, Well Sushi, was previously ordered to pay the former employee, who was in New Zealand on a work visa, $53,940.03 in wage arrears, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) said. The arrears have since been paid to the worker, who is now a permanent resident of New Zealand.The breaches, which Well Sushi acknowledged, included: failing to keep accurate wage and time records; not paying…
ADVERTISEMENT Ukraine’s new government has approved plans to expand domestic arms production to meet half the country’s weapons needs within six months as it tries to push back Russian forces, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday. “We are transforming the management of the defence sector and weapons production so that within six months, the share of Ukrainian-made weapons available to our warriors will noticeably increase,” Zelenskyy said in a speech to parliament in Kyiv. “Currently, about 40% of the weapons in the hands of our warriors are made in Ukraine. In six months, it should be no less than 50%.” Ukraine…
Pacific Edge has opened its share purchase plan to raise $5 million as part of a $20m raise announced in late May. Last month, the cancer diagnostics company raised $16m in new equity in a placement of new ordinary shares — $1m more than it sought — after accepting oversubscriptions. The capital raise also included an offer of $5m of new shares to retail investors, by way of a share purchase plan. Eligible shareholders were able to apply for up to a maximum of $50,000 of new shares per shareholder at 10c per share, the same price per share offered…
Food prices continue to increase, with milk, butter and beef mince and steak contributing to the rise, according to new numbers from Stats NZ. Food prices increased 4.6% in the 12 months to June 2025. It followed a 4.4% increase in the 12 months to May. Higher prices for grocery items (up 4.7%) and meat, poultry, and fish products (up 6.4%) contributed most to the increase. The increase in grocery prices was driven by higher prices for milk, butter and cheese. “Dairy products continue to drive the higher cost in food prices,” Stats NZ prices and deflators spokesperson Nicola Growden…
ADVERTISEMENT Calls from the European Union and NATO for increased military spending aren’t exactly resonating among the EU public. A recent Eurobarometer poll showed EU citizens are not exactly eager to spend money on defence, despite growing warnings from NATO and the EU about the risk of future conflicts. Fewer than one in four people (23%) want the EU to use its funds for military purposes. Which countries show the least support for military spending? A recent joint report by Bruegel and the Kiel Institute claimed that a new Russian aggression is “conceivable”, citing NATO claims that Moscow might be…
A woman from Lower Hutt who won $1 million from a bonus ticket has become the 30th millionaire of 2025. The MyLotto player “couldn’t believe her eyes” on Sunday morning after receiving an email from Lotto NZ informing her of what she had won. “My first thought was ‘this can’t be real’, you don’t want to get your hopes up because you never expect things like this to happen to you,” said the woman, who wanted to remain anonymous. She had to ask a family member to double-check for her and said she “wasn’t sure what I was seeing was…
By Euronews Published on 17/07/2025 – 16:26 GMT+2 ADVERTISEMENT The arrest of Varna’s Mayor Blagomir Kotsev has escalated from a local courtroom drama into a regional diplomatic flashpoint, as protests sweep Bulgaria and extend to Brussels, Germany and the UK. Kotsev, a prominent figure from the opposition “We Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria” party, was detained on 8 July on allegations of embezzling public procurement funds through a catering contract. He has firmly denied all charges, describing the case as politically motivated. The controversy deepened when a key witness later admitted their testimony had been coerced. On Thursday, during a…
The Commerce Commission has moved to lower interchange fees paid by businesses to accept Visa and Mastercard payments.The regulator has issued a final decision, saying the cost was too high, and their decision would save businesses around $90 million a year.It said the average business would save around $500 each year in lower fees, but individual businesses could save more or less, depending on the mix of transactions they accept.The Commission put the overall cost of interchange fees at around $1 billion for businesses, which were often passed onto customers through surcharges and higher product costs.”This is an important step…