Dec 19, 2017 - Japanese-listed Itoham Yonekyu Holdings has received Overseas Investment Office approval to increase its shareholding of Anzco Foods to 100 percent, from the 65 percent it already owned.
Anzco was New Zealand's second-largest meat company and fifth-largest exporter in 2016, with turnover of $1.5 billion and 3,000 employees. It was already 83.3 percent overseas owned, with 16.8 percent of the company held by Japanese marine products company Nippon Suisan Kaisha, known as Nissui, and the remaining 18.2 percent owned by the company's chair Graeme Harrison and management. Harrison will step down at the company's next annual meeting in March, having signalled his plans for retirement in 2015.
Itoham Yonekyu has said it won't make any significant changes to Anzco's business operations in the foreseeable future, Anzco said. Itoham, a listed company, is 39 percent owned by Mitsubishi Corp.
Anzco is part of two primary growth partnerships, the $58 million FoodPlus red meat project and the Red Meat Profit Partnership. The new government has said the future funding of the PGP programme, which is funded by government and industry, is under review.
The company said the buyout was "a strong vote of confidence in the New Zealand meat sector" and is an important part of Itoham Yonekyu's plan to grow its business internationally, especially in Asian markets outside Japan. Anzco will be able to "capitalise on synergy benefits and efficiencies from the considerable experience and networks of Itoham Yonekyu and Mitsubishi Corp", it said.
| Source ShareChat || december 19, 2017 |||
Dec 19, 2017 - The Reserve Bank today released a Bulletin article by Dr Chris Hunt, ‘Independence with accountability: financial system regulation and the Reserve Bank’. This article discusses the main reasons for delegating certain financial system-related functions and objectives to an agency that sits at arm’s length from government. The article outlines the Reserve Bank’s role as New Zealand’s single integrated prudential regulator and supervisor, and the important accountability arrangements that sit alongside the tasks delegated by Parliament to the Reserve Bank. Read the article: Independence with accountability: financial system regulation and the Reserve Bank.
| A RBNZ release || December 19, 2017 |||
Dec 19, 2017 - Bartercard NZ chief executive John Scott has just been appointed CEO across both New Zealand and Australia. He takes up his new dual role immediately and will split his time across both countries, while retaining Auckland as his home base.
"Bartercard International undertook a detailed review of its operations earlier this year and made the logical decision to combine the trans-Tasman operations into one business unit", says Scott, who has been with the company five years after a long career in business finance and data.
Scott joined Bartercard New Zealand as CEO five years ago and, in that time, has refocused the business with a vision and values that aim to build sales growth for members, empower Bartercard employees; and set in place a strategy to guide all decision-making and investment. New Zealand has embarked on a journey of digital transformation and is leading the way when it comes to technological advances and investment - this will remain a key focus over the next few years.
"With this foundation, we have implemented more than 100 new initiatives and developed key technology platforms to help simplify and expand trading across our network", he says. "This has led to revenue doubling in the online distribution of products and services in New Zealand in the past 12 months and we will be introducing the same systems into Australia in April next year".
Bartercard New Zealand recently celebrated 25 years in New Zealand and more than $4 billion worth of trading. The company now has 15,000 cardholders nationwide and more than 6,000 active member businesses.
For more information, or to arrange an interview with John Scott, please contact: Tina Burns, National Marketing and Communications Manager, Tel: 09 414 6809, Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Anna Herd, Senior Communications Advisor, Tel: 021 187 7090, Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
About Bartercard: Following Bartercard’s creation in Australia in 1991, Bartercard New Zealand became the first international licensee a year later. Since its inception, the Bartercard Trade Exchange has grown to more than 6,000 member businesses across New Zealand trading around $150 million worth of goods and services outside the cash economy each year. The top five sectors most active in Bartercard NZ are professional services, hospitality, automotive, construction and building, and food and drink.
Bartercard operates in New Zealand, Australia, United States, United Kingdom, France, India, South Africa and Thailand and plans to expand into Israel next. Last year, parent company BPS Technology Ltd also bought Entertainment Publications Australia and New Zealand, which produces the very popular Entertainment™ Book.
| A Bartercard release || December 2017 |||
Dec 19, 2017 - Fonterra welcomes the Government’s latest move to address climate change, including its plans to establish a Climate Commission. The dairy Co-operative echoes Minister James Shaw’s belief in the importance of ensuring both a sustainable economy and stable climate for future generations. Carolyn Mortland, Fonterra’s Director of Sustainability said the Co-operative is committed to engaging with the Government on the development of a robust Zero Carbon Act, which represents the interests of all stakeholders. “Climate change is an important issue for all Kiwis and we support the Government’s efforts to transition New Zealand to a low carbon economy. Just last month we announced our own target of achieving net zero emissions from our manufacturing operations by 2050. “It’s vital the Government adopts an evidence based approach to developing any new policy to address agricultural emissions. The introduction of new climate change legislation is an ambitious step, and should be done in a way that considers the impact on New Zealand communities. “As one of the members of Biological Emissions Reference Group, alongside the likes of Federated Farmers, The Ministry for Primary Industries and the Ministry for the Environment, we welcome the opportunity to share our insights with the Climate Change Commission,” Mrs Mortland concluded.
| A Fonterra release || december 19, 2017 |||
Dec 19, 2017 - Minister Responsible for Pike River Re-entry Andrew Little has announced the appointment of Rob Fyfe as an independent advisor who will provide impartial advice on plans for the re-entry of the Pike River drift. “The new role will provide crucial independent advice to me so I can be sure of the quality and thoroughness of the information I receive from the Pike River Recovery Agency. The role provides another safeguard for the families and the public.
“Appointing an independent advisor will ensure I have access to a third-party perspective and independent assurance about the adequacy of the Agency’s processes.
“Mr Fyfe’s background as former CEO of Air New Zealand means he is well equipped to advise on safety sensitive activities and workplace environments needing best practice risk assessment and management.
“Mr Fyfe’s other great quality as CEO of Air New Zealand was a real empathy for those who had suffered tragedy which he shared in the aftermath of the 2008 A320 crash in France.
“He also sent 30 airline personnel to assist the Pike families immediately following the disaster in 2010. The members of the Pike River Families Reference Group have expressed their support for this role and the appointee.
“I look forward to working with Mr Fyfe who takes up the role from 31 January 2018, when Te Kāhui Whakamana Rua Te Kau mā Iwa-Pike River Recovery Agency will also be formally established,” says Andrew Little.
| A Beehive release || December 19, 2017 |||
Dec 19, 2017 - Bitcoin: Flipping the Coin - You must be familiar with the above quote if you’ve watched the Christian Bale movie The Big Short. Does that mean the Bitcoin is a bubble waiting to burst? Maybe. The truth is no one knows just yet. It’s difficult to assess whether something is a bubble by simply reading the news or following the market. So, let’s begin by understanding what is a Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is a decentralized, digital cryptocurrency. Confused? Let’s take an example. Let’s say that you are ordering headphones from Amazon via a seller and you want to know exactly where they’ve been before they were shipped to you. How do you find out? The answer is, you cannot. You can’t know the exact source of the product and you definitely cannot find out all the transactions related to those specific headphones.
Imagine if there was some sort of a digital ledger that could tell you all that and more? There is. Blockchain is a distributed digital ledger that stores all transactions related to a specific product or asset. But then what is a Bitcoin? Blockchain technology is what makes the Bitcoin possible.
Bitcoin is a peer to peer decentralized digital currency that is used to buy and sell products online. Decentralized means that the Bitcoin is not managed or issued by a company, government or financial institution. Bitcoin uses blockchain to store all transactions in a digital ledger which is then accessible to everyone globally using their computers. Now that you understand the basics, let’s understand why there is so much hype surrounding the Bitcoin.
1 Bitcoin costs $10,886.85 at the time of writing this article. Crazy, right? Bitcoin was worth $1 in April 2011 and now, 6 years down the line, it’s worth more than 10,000 times its original value. But, why is the price of the Bitcoin so high? Bitcoin’s growing demand and the awareness amongst the public about cryptocurrencies is causing the price of the Bitcoin to rise.
The price of the Bitcoin has been fluctuating a lot recently but some are betting that the price of the Bitcoin will rise to $40,000 by the end of 2018. People are even purchasing 5% of 1 Bitcoin so that they can sell it off and earn a profit when the price rises again. Various Bitcoin exchanges like Coinome, Zebpay, Unocoin and several others in India are currently allowing the public to purchase and sell Bitcoin also known as BTC. So, should you invest in Bitcoin? I hope I can help you answer that question by the end of this article.
Warren Buffett, one of the world’s wealthiest individuals and a person who is widely regarded as one of the best investors of his time had this to say about the Bitcoin: “It’s a mirage.”
Several others share his thoughts but does that mean that they are right? Well, they could be but it’s quite difficult to assess something like this and who knows what could happen in the future. Let’s take a look at some important points:
Hopefully, some of these points helped you make a decision whether you should or should not currently invest in Bitcoin. Invest wisely and only invest in something you truly understand and believe in.
Source: FreeCodeCamp || December 2, 2017 |||
Dec 19, 2017 - The High Court has rejected NZME and Fairfax New Zealand's attempt to overturn a Commerce Commission ruling against a proposed merger of the country's dominant newspaper publishers and upheld the regulator's right to rely on the shrinking number of voices in the market.
Justice Robert Dobson and lay member Professor Martin Richardson yesterday dismissed the appeal, finding the regulator was entitled to place significant weight on the loss of media plurality if the merger went ahead, a key point of contention raised by the publishers. The court issued a media release today summarising the decision with the full judgment to follow once commercially sensitive information has been redacted.
The statement includes a comment from Justice Dobson on the issue of plurality, saying "we consider it is appropriate to attribute material importance to maintaining medial plurality" and that the risk of losing a wider voice "is clearly a meaningful one, and if it occurred, it would have major ramifications for the quality of New Zealand democracy."
The media companies appealed the decision at a hearing in October, claiming the regulator took too narrow a view in deciding a merger would create a monopoly and that the unquantified detriments were substantially outweighed by the net gains of a tie-up.
The court found the merger would restrict competition in four of the six markets tested, being the reader markets for online national news and Sunday newspapers, and in both the readers' and advertisers' markets for community newspapers in the North Island. It didn't uphold the commission's view that the advertisers' markets for Sunday newspapers faced reduced competition and dismissed the prospect of a paywall being introduced.
The court indicated the commission was entitled to costs.
NZME chief executive Michael Boggs said he was disappointed with the decision and that the company is reviewing the judgment, including the option to appeal.
Source: (BusinessDesk) and ShareChat || December 19, 2017 |||
Dec 19, 2017 - The world’s steepest funicular line - which can climb a 110% gradient - has opened to the public at the Alpine resort of Stoos in central Switzerland. Swiss President Doris Leuthard officially opened CHF52 million ($53 million) project running from Schywz to the mountain village of Stoosexternal link, which lies 1,300 meters above sea level, on Friday evening. The public got their first taste on Sunday. Saturday was reserved for the locals.
Continue here for a look at what can be seen when in the funicular.
The funicular opened two years later than planned due to engineering and money problems. But this was forgotten as Leuthard cut the red ribbon. In her speech, she praised the project’s organisers for their courage. Many funiculars are not profitable. “But the board, canton and the region believe in the future. I am convinced that this will pay off,” she said.
Leuthard, who also head the transport ministry, said that the funicular would also serve locals as well as tourists. “This is what characterises Switzerland, that we offer a service that everyone can use.”
Flexible carriages
The barrel-shaped carriages adjust their floors so passengers can still stand upright while they climb towards the Alpine plateau at inclines of up to 110%.
The train follows a 1,720-metre track, climbing or descending 743 metres. It reaches speeds of up to ten metres per second. The whole trip lasts around four minutes.
The railway replaces an older one that has been in operation since 1933. “After 14 years of planning and building, everyone is very proud of this train,” said Ivan Steiner, spokesman for the railway.
+ Find out more about the different types of mountain railways in Switzerland here
| A SwissInfo release || December 19, 2017 |||
Dec 19, 2017 - In the world of aerospace engineering the race to build the first new civilian supersonic aircraft is certainly heating up. With several major players currently working on supersonic passenger jets, Aerion and Lockheed Martin are targeting those for whom even first class commercial air travel is substandard. The pair has just announced a partnership to develop the world's first supersonic business jet.
Aerion has been chugging away developing its AS2 supersonic business jet for several years now, first collaborating with Airbus on the aerodynamics and structural design before working with GE Aviation on the development of a supersonic engine. This latest announcement is a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Lockheed Martin to work together on all the future phases of development on the supersonic business jet from engineering to production.
"Following our initial review of Aerion's aerodynamic technology, our conclusion is that the Aerion AS2 concept warrants the further investment of our time and resources," says Orlando Carvalho, Executive Vice President for Lockheed Martin. "We are committed to remaining on the cutting edge of aerospace technology and are excited to examine the contribution we might make to working with Aerion on making aviation history."
Aerion has been subtly improving its supersonic jet engine design over the years after announcing a new three-engine configuration back in 2014. The latest design pulls the two outboard engines forward, under the wings, while leaving the third engine in the tail.
Aerion currently estimates the AS2 will be ready for its first flight by 2023 but several other companies are racing to be the first supersonic player in the new millennium. Earlier this year, Spike Aerospace took to the skies with a flight test of an unmanned SX-1.2 prototype demonstrator that is a subscale version of its planned S-512 supersonic passenger plane. The successful tests come ahead of a projected flight date for a full-scale S-512 in 2021.The new three-engine configuration
NASA is also working on its own designs for a a supersonic passenger plane, which is also aiming for first flight tests in 2021, with Lockheed Martin again helping with the engineering and design challenges.
Lockheed Martin's skill and experience with supersonic engineering seems to be a strong validation of Aerion's designs. The company is known for its supersonic combat aircraft so if any company has the know-how to move the technology into a civil or commercial application then it is Lockheed Martin.
The next few years promise to be exciting for fans of supersonic aviation.
Source: Lockheed Martin and New Atlas || December 19, 2017 |||
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