The New Zealand dollar failed to break above 66 US cents as fears over trade tensions between China and the US were allayed by the prospect of talks later this month

Cooks Global Foods will buy Mojo Coffee Cartel for $19 million and support the well-known Wellington chain's US expansion plans

Establishing an ecosystem that will nurture dynamic start-ups, entrepreneurs, and innovators is critical for Christchurch, and Canterbury to strengthen its standing as a region of opportunity.

Sales at Downer EDI's New Zealand division rose 59 percent, benefitting from last year's purchase of parts of the Hawkins Group

Skellerup Holdings, the rubber goods manufacturer best known throughout rural New Zealand for its iconic 'red band' gumboot, lifted annual profit to a record as both its industrial and agri divisions boosted earnings. The shares hit a new high

"Wage growth was still slow over the last year, and though for some it picked up a little from the year before, it is uneven," says CTU Economist Bill Rosenberg commenting on the Labour Markets (Income) statistics released by Statistics New Zealand this morning.

Average hourly wages grew 3.1% in the year to June, more than the 2.3% growth last year, while the median (middle) hourly wage grew only 2.9%, which is less than the 3.4% growth last year.

"While this period includes a strong increase in the minimum wage on 1 April and the care and support pay equity settlement which took effect from July last year, it is clear that much more is needed to get wages moving upwards faster, particularly for low to middle income earners," he said.

"Employment law changes planned by the Government and more equal pay settlements will all help to lift wages this coming year, and further changes are needed to provide decent living standards. The share of national income that working people receive has fallen since 2009, showing that real wages are falling behind productivity increases. Learning from experience in many countries with higher incomes than New Zealand, Fair Pay Agreements will be an important step towards restoring working people’s share of income and making skilled Kiwi jobs more internationally attractive."

"The trends in wage inequality show the effect of recent law changes," Rosenberg says. "The difference between the median wage and the average wage is an indicator of inequality. The average wage is heavily influence by high incomes, and about two-thirds of wage and salary earners earn below the average hourly wage."

"Wage inequality between women reduced in the year to June, and it is now back to levels it was at in the mid-2000s. Women’s median wage is at 86.6% of their average wage. It is likely that the care and support pay equity settlement and strong rise in the minimum wage helped with wage equality between women. Almost two-thirds of workers on the minimum wage were women before the latest care and support settlement rise, according to MBIE figures."

"However wage inequality between men increased in the year to June, as it did last year, with their median hourly wage falling to 82.2% of their average wage. It is likely that growth in the wages of high income earners is still outstripping those on lower incomes."

"This is likely a factor behind the growing imbalance between male and female average wages. The gender wage imbalance in the average hourly wage still has men being paid 13.9% more than women per hour, up from 13.1% in 2017."

"Last year we published research showing a ‘hollowing out’ of wages because workers earning between the minimum wage and the average wage had been receiving pay rises at about half the rate of the highest wage and salary incomes over the last twenty years. There is clearly more policy improvement by Government needed to ensure the wage system is fairer all around," Rosenberg says.

The Supreme Court has cleared the way for former Feltex shareholders to pursue the directors of the failed carpet maker over whether a false forecast in the prospectus left them out of pocket

Council of Trade Unions Acting President Rachel Mackintosh said that updated figures out today from Statistics New Zealand show that women are still not being paid their worth and employers are not complying with current equal pay law.

Top three mainland developer China Vanke had a busy month in July, spending more than RMB 25.4 billion to add 33 new real estate projects around the country as it pushed to expand its land bank via project acquisitions in Shanghai, Dongguan, Hangzhou and other locations.

Along with the developer’s purchase of land for residential, office and retail development, however, Vanke also expanded its logistics holdings in China by purchasing Swire Cold Chain Logistics from Hong Kong-listed Swire Pacific for just less than RMB 2 billion ($291 million).

With the RMB 1.998 billion acquisition of Swire’s set of refrigerated shipping facilities, Vanke, which had already begun establishing a cold chain division of its logistics business, vaults into the ranks of China’s 10 largest temperature-controlled storage providers.

Vanke Adds Swire Client Lists to New Business

While Swire’s attempt to make some hot profit from providing refrigerated logistics services to companies shipping fresh food, pharmaceuticals and other perishables is understood to have brought disappointing results, Vanke leaders indicated that by combining Swire’s facilities, and the company’s existing client list, with its own logistics holdings, the company is enthusiastic about becoming one of China’s leading cold chain service providers.

Previous announcements by Swire Cold Chain Logistics have highlighted its work handling New Zealand fruit brand Zespri’s shipments of kiwi fruit in China, as well as receiving an award for its services from New Zealand’s Fonterra dairy.

At the event, Vanke officials pointed out that the logistics acquisition will enhance the company’s ability to serve first-tier markets in China, along with core port cities, including delivering one-stop warehousing and distribution service, according to a statement by the company . . . .

Fairfax Media Group more than halved the value of its Kiwi assets, attaching just A$40 million to mastheads that were once the core of a billion dollar investment