Banking & Finance Australia’s central bank says hikes could slow at some point Australia’s central bank is set on raising interest rates again as it battles to contain red-hot inflation, but sees a case for slowing the pace of hikes as policy settings approached more normal levels. Minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) September Board meeting out on Tuesday reiterated that policy was not on a […] September 20, 2022
Opinion Business of Sport Bad boys of sport can be a good investment for brands Tennis star Nick Kyrgios attracts sponsors and Instagram followers by being maverick August 29, 2022
Banking & Finance New Zealand wants rates above ‘neutral’ to tame inflation Reserve Bank of New Zealand Deputy Governor Christian Hawkesby said on Monday that policymakers want rates to be “comfortably above neutral” to help lower core inflation. Hawkesby told Reuters in a phone interview the RBNZ had “certainly considered 25 or 75” basis point increases last week before ultimately deciding to raise the cash rate by […] August 22, 2022
Economy New Zealand aims to attract 12,000 overseas workers New Zealand will make temporary changes to immigration rules, a minister said on Sunday, aiming to lure 12,000 workers over the next year with a working holiday scheme designed to fill labour gaps as businesses scramble to find staff. The jostling for workers is part of a global trend that has helped push up wages […] August 21, 2022
Banking & Finance New Zealand central bank does not expect recession Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Adrian Orr said on Wednesday that while growth would slow he did not expect a recession, adding that the central bank believed it was on top of inflation, which has hit three-decade highs. “Through our projection period ahead, while we do not forecast a recession … we do forecast […] August 17, 2022
Environment Australia’s Great Barrier Reef coral at record level in some parts Two-thirds of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef showed the largest amount of coral cover in 36 years, but the reef remains vulnerable to increasingly frequent mass bleaching, an official long term monitoring programme reported on Thursday. The recovery in the central and northern stretches of the UNESCO world heritage-listed reef contrasted with the southern region, where […] August 4, 2022
Economy As New Zealand reopens, exodus worsens labour crunch New Zealand’s easing of its strict border curbs has triggered a rush of new departures among locals seeking fresh opportunities abroad, adding further pressure to the country’s already tight employment market. A net 10,674 people left the country over the 12 months to May, according to government data released on Tuesday, extending a drain that […] July 12, 2022
Development Russia attends G20 meeting set to be dominated by Ukraine conflict Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has flown into Indonesia’s resort island of Bali for a meeting of G20 foreign ministers, which is set to be overshadowed by tensions triggered by the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The G20 gathering runs until Friday in host country Indonesia, which this year has grappled with the balancing act of running a […] July 7, 2022
Environment Sydney braces for more floods as thousands flee homes Fresh evacuation orders were issued for thousands of Sydney residents on Monday after relentless rains flooded several suburbs in Australia’s largest city, with officials warning of more wild weather over the next 12 hours. An intense low-pressure system off Australia’s east coast is forecast to bring more heavy rain through Monday across the southern regions […] July 4, 2022
Biden administration supports potential F-16 jet sale to Turkey The Biden administration threw its support on Wednesday behind the potential sale of US F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, a day after Ankara lifted a veto of NATO membership for Finland and Sweden. Celeste Wallander, Assistant Secretary for Defense for International Security Affairs at Pentagon, told reporters on a call that strong Turkish defense capabilities […] June 30, 2022
Banking & Finance Volt, Australia’s first online-only bank, shuts down Volt Bank Ltd, the first exclusively online bank to gain an Australian banking licence, said on Tuesday it would shut down, returning deposits and selling its mortgage book after failing to raise sufficient funds to support the business. Its collapse is a further blow to a business model that the Australian government and regulators promoted […] June 29, 2022
Media Samsung fined over ‘water-resistant’ smartphone ad Australia’s competition regulator said on Thursday a court has ordered the local unit of Samsung Electronics to pay a penalty of A$14 million ($9.65 million) over misleading claims about a water-resistance feature in some of its smartphones. Samsung Australia admitted to misleading buyers of some of its ‘Galaxy’ phones about the water-resistance level, the Australian […] June 23, 2022
Travel & Hospitality Return of the superjumbo: A380 set for a dramatic comeback? Two years ago, dozens of Airbus A380s set course for storage sites in rural France from the Gulf as the outbreak of COVID-19 accelerated the demise of the world’s largest jets. Now, the iconic European double-decker is gaining a new lease on life as airlines scramble to cope with rising demand and shortages of newer […] June 21, 2022
Travel & Hospitality Air New Zealand ramps up capacity as demand recovers Air New Zealand Ltd expects to reach 75 percent of its pre-COVID-19 international capacity and more than 100 percent of pre-pandemic domestic capacity by the end of 2022, as travel demand recovers, its Chief Executive Officer Greg Foran said on Monday. The New Zealand national carrier is operating at 50 percent of international and nearly […] June 20, 2022
Business of Sport Formula One appoints Shaila-Ann Rao as new interim head Shaila-Ann Rao, who was previously a special advisor to Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff, took over as interim head of Formula One at the governing FIA on Wednesday in place of departed Peter Bayer. The Paris-based FIA, which voted in Emirati Mohammed Ben Sulayem as president last December to succeed departing Frenchman Jean Todt, thanked […] June 2, 2022
Travel & Hospitality Air travellers ‘still risk Covid infection,’ study warns Passengers are still at risk of coronavirus infection while travelling on aeroplanes and in airports, researchers have warned. A study in the Journal of Travel Medicine reported that two Covid-positive passengers infected 15 other people during a 10-hour flight from Dubai to Australia in July 2020 – despite mandatory face masks for passengers, the use […] May 10, 2022
Health & Wellness Actual COVID death toll near 15 million The official death toll from the first two years of the coronavirus pandemic is about 5.4 million. But according to a new World Health Organization report, the actual number is around three times higher than that. The U.N. body said on Thursday there were 14.9 million excess deaths associated with COVID-19 by the end of […] April 29, 2022
