A Bulletin article published today provides a short history of the Reserve Bank’s prudential supervisory role, identifying a number of distinct shifts in the prudential supervision regime during the Reserve Bank’s history.
The article pays particular attention to the establishment of New Zealand’s first prudential supervision regime in 1986, which laid the foundations for a number of key features that have endured over time, including: a systemic focus; emphasis on failure management; absence of objectives tied to depositor protection; and three pillars of market discipline, self-discipline, and regulatory discipline.
The article also reflects the Reserve Bank’s continued evolution and use of regulations to recognise the limitations of self- and market discipline. The article looks at how the global financial crisis (GFC) prompted action from regulators both globally and in New Zealand. Regulators introduced policies to make the financial system more resilient and for regulated entities to bear the brunt of any poor decisions they might make.
The article concludes that the Reserve Bank continues to place a high degree of importance on pursuing its prudential functions in a way that contributes to a dynamic and efficient financial system.
Bulletin: A short history of prudential regulation and supervision at the Reserve Bank
The automated material handling equipment market is expected to reach $44.68 billion by 2022, at a CAGR of 7.9% between 2016 and 2022.
These are among the findings of a recent report by Research and Markets titled “Material Handling Equipment Market - Global Forecast to 2022.”
According to the report, the growth of this market is propelled by the increasing demand for automated solutions, advancements in technology, the need to ensure a safe working environment, and reduction in labor cost through advanced robotics.
PETALUMA, CA--(Marketwired - August 30, 2016) -
Enphase Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENPH), a global energy technology company, announced today that it is now shipping AC batteries to its customers in Australia and New Zealand.
Demand for Enphase AC batteries continues to exceed expectations, with the company having revised production plans up based on volume projections provided by distributors totalling 70,000 batteries in Australia and New Zealand over the next 12 months.
Enphase's authorised distributors and installer partners in Australia have also cited strong demand from homeowners.
"The demand from both installers and homeowners for the Enphase AC Battery in the lead up to its debut in Australia and New Zealand has exceeded our expectations," said Nathan Dunn, managing director of Enphase Asia-Pacific. "Installers are telling us the Enphase Storage System offers the simplest installation on the market, and their customers are just as excited, with many paying for the system without even seeing it."
The modular size of each 1.2kWh Enphase AC Battery enables installers to right-size each installation to match a homeowner's unique energy needs, and gives them the flexibility to easily add more batteries in the future as energy usage changes over time. The Enphase AC Battery is a key component of the Enphase Home Energy Solution, the industry's first and only truly integrated offering that combines solar generation, energy control, and storage, and provides homeowners the unique ability to manage their solar and storage together in an integrated fashion. Homeowners can maximize the value of their solar photovoltaic (PV) system, taking advantage of self-consumption and time-of-use tariff management opportunities now, with an expandable platform for evolving uses for energy storage such as residential peak shaving and grid services.
Peter Thorne, co-founder and director at Solaray, said, "We worked with other brands of solar battery storage before the Enphase AC Battery arrived. Simply through word of mouth, we've seen the demand for Enphase products surge, and our installation team is booked out for the next three months for both new solar plus storage installations and the retrofitting of existing solar systems with Enphase AC Batteries."
"Enphase AC Batteries are simple to install, safe and provide a high value add sale for both new solar customers and retrofit customers," said Darien Spencer, vice president of manufacturing and operations at Enphase. "We have partnerships with some of the best suppliers and manufacturers in the world, and we're confident that we can meet the demand for our products in the Australian and New Zealand markets."
For further information about the Enphase Home Energy Solution, visit https://enphase.com/en-au/products-and-services
It's now more than two months on from Brexit - or the date Nigel Farage hoped would be known as "United Kingdom Independence Day" - writes James Penn in today's NZHerald and we have little more knowledge about what a post-European Union Britain will look like.
This British free-trade-agreement opportunity is one that should not be missed, and negotiations should begin now. Importantly, the deal New Zealand requires to maintain or even grow exports in the wake of Brexit is itself dependent on how the relationship between Britain and the EU plays out.
European experience points to need for suppliers to add value, diversify
The blockade by angry French dairy farmers of the Lactalis HQ at Laval carries a strong message for their New Zealand counterparts similarly dismayed by their returns, though not possessed of the Latin temperament required to man the barricades.
The lesson centres on the wisdom of signing up for a fixed volume and price contract which is the issue underpinning the Lactalis ructions, writes our European Correspondent.
The problem is that the dairy farmer cannot recover fixed costs by supplying milk at any price. In contrast a cooperative, Fonterra is the obvious example, is required to take all the milk that their members can supply.
The Lactalis blockade also brings into focus several other issues that are central to any business at all. First among them is the wisdom of having just the one outlet, in this case Lactalis. The other is the absence of any added value or diversification among the aggrieved suppliers.
These directly relate to the New Zealand situation. There is the dependence on the single client, and the absence of any value added alternatives in product diversification of which cheese is the obvious example.
Nobody can deny that the New Zealand single-desk procurement tradition has made it difficult for farmers to diversify their products and thus their source of income.
Lactalis (the “s” is sounded) is best known in New Zealand for its control of Parmalat. It is here that the roots of the current imbroglio started. During the acquisition of the Italian company Lactalis was required to supply details of its balance sheet.
Coordinates from these reluctantly provided figures indicated that the French company operated on a ratio principal of a 10 percent margin on anything it sold.
The company has not gone out of its way to cultivate its suppliers. It is owned and controlled by the Besnier family. It is now into its third generation in the form of Emmanuel Besnier, a man who makes the late Howard Hughes appear in comparison like a publicity hound.
In a country which specialises in recording the activities of the super rich there are just four photographs of Emmanuel in existence (above.)
He does not attend cocktail parties, show up at flashy restaurants or make appearances at any of France’s numerous business forums.
He “just works” we are told.
The company is responsible in 43 countries for the employment of 75,000 people. It rivals Nestle the other privately held milk European conglomerate.
The direct blockade of the Lactalis HQ and factory at Laval also draws attention to the shift in strategy by the dairy farmers or “raisers” as they are known.
A year ago their focus was on making trouble for the main hypermarkets which are known as the “big surfaces.”
Now the same farmers are content to wander through these big surfaces applying stand over tactics with the purpose of dissuading shoppers from buying the products of targeted processors, in this case Lactalis. They are free to do all this as and when they please.
The main thrust, the dumping of manure, and the rings of tractors and the road fires are now directed at the processor or “transformer” source, Lactalis.
President Francois Hollande’s socialist government can only let this state of affairs continue while trying to be seen to be inducing Lactalis and its belligerent suppliers to work something out.
From the MSCNewsWire reporters' desk - Wednesday 31 August 2016
Out of the Staes comes this article published on Fast Company about a company who reduced their working week to 5 hours a day and introduced a profit share scheme. Would it work for your business?
In every office, I've often felt, there are just a few people who do three times the work of everyone else, yet their reward is only marginally higher. As an entrepreneur, I've been managing my own productivity time—not on-the-clock-time—pretty effectively for over 15 years, and I've largely been able to work fewer hours than my friends in the corporate world. So when I started Tower, my company that sells stand-up paddle boards, I figured (or at least hoped) that I could hire just these types and give them a better deal in the process.
Two Napier Port workers were tested for exposure to methyl bromide after the second accidental venting of the powerful fumigant at the port in less than a year.
The New Zealand wine industry must be ready to take full advantage of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union, says a visiting wine trader from the UK. UK Wine and Spirits Trade Association chief executive Miles Beale has been in this country for the wine industry's annual conference which was held in Blenheim. Mr Beale said the United Kingdom's planned exit from the EU will open up opportunities for New Zealand as the UK starts doing its own trade deals. He suggests exporters move early and start discussions with the UK.
One of New Zealand’s leading unions confirmed today that it has ratified a new collective agreement for workers in the metal and manufacturing industry.
E tū members accepted the two-year Metal and Manufacturing Industries Collective Agreement – also known as ‘Metals’ – following talks in June and July.
Anita Rosentreter – E tū’s industry co-ordinator for manufacturing – said says there is no loss of conditions and a number of minor improvements have been made, including amendments to health and safety.
The agreement – which has long set the pace for other pay deals in manufacturing, and for other industries and unions – promises a two per cent pay rise this year and another two per cent rise in 2017.
Auckland-based Rosentreter said the deal has been ratified by the seven original parties to the agreement but noted that related industries were following suit.
“Dozens of other companies in manufacturing and related industries have now begun work to ratify the settlement for their workers,” she said.
“With the Consumer Price Index at a mere 0.4 per cent for the past year, the settlement provides real wage growth for these workers”, she added.
Metals is E tū’s oldest and biggest manufacturing industry agreement, covering more than 600 workers across more than 80 employers.
A United States based product developer, who is an MSC NewsWire subscriber, is looking for a company to manufacture a product, namely a doorstop that they have designed.
Interested parties should contact us here at MSCNewsWire on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. before Friday 9 September 2016.
Palace of the Alhambra, Spain
By: Charles Nathaniel Worsley (1862-1923)
From the collection of Sir Heaton Rhodes
Oil on canvas - 118cm x 162cm
Valued $12,000 - $18,000
Offers invited over $9,000
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242
Mount Egmont with Lake
By: John Philemon Backhouse (1845-1908)
Oil on Sea Shell - 13cm x 14cm
Valued $2,000-$3,000
Offers invited over $1,500
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242