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1 week ago | 
businessdesk.co.nz | Greg Hurrell |Oliver Lewis
New Zealand’s gross emissions fell by 2% between 2022 and 2023, marking the fourth consecutive year-on-year decrease. As in 2022, strong hydro generation helped bring down emissions, along with lower livestock numbers, the end of domestic oil refining, fewer discarded heat pumps and less forest harvesting.Gross emissions in 2023 were 76.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2-e).The Ministry for the Environment’s (MfE) latest annual greenhouse gas inventory was released on April 15.
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1 week ago | 
businessdesk.co.nz | Greg Hurrell |Peter Griffin
By Alex PigmanLaunched under both the Trump and Biden administrations, five major antitrust cases from the Federal Trade Commission and the US Department of Justice are proceeding against major American technology companies.These cases represent a significant shift in antitrust enforcement in the United States, with regulators taking a more aggressive approach toward big tech companies after a relatively quiet period in antitrust prosecution since the Microsoft case in the late 1990s.Google...
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2 weeks ago | 
businessdesk.co.nz | Greg Hurrell |Dileepa Fonseka |Denise McNabb
Pacific Channel sees a viable future for New Zealand’s existing agriculture system, as it invests around a third of its funds into the future of food production.Although focused on the long-term, the company prefers to stay out of transformative technologies such as lab-produced food. That comes from a need to generate returns for its investors in a reasonable timeframe.The Auckland-based venture capital firm wants to drive better on-farm productivity and profitability.
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2 weeks ago | 
businessdesk.co.nz | Riley Kennedy |Greg Hurrell
The departure of Bremworth’s chief executive Greg Smith was a mutual decision, its new chair says.The wool carpet and rug manufacturer announced on Thursday that Smith would leave the top job on Friday after nearly four years, to be replaced on an interim basis by Craig Woolford.It comes less than a month after the board was replaced in an effective coup that saw Rob Hewett replace George Adams as chair.During his tenure, Smith, the former chief executive of Icebreaker and before that a...
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2 weeks ago | 
businessdesk.co.nz | Riley Kennedy |Greg Hurrell
Industry good organisation DairyNZ will raise its levy for the first time in 16 years.Having been held at 3.6c per kilogram of milksolids since 2006 it will move to 4.5c from the start of the new dairy season on June 1.It will be held at that rate for a minimum of three years and the move comes after a consultation round with farmers with more than 1500 formal feedback submissions.Under the levy Commodity Levies (Milksolids) Order, which is subject to a vote every six years - the last being...
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2 weeks ago | 
businessdesk.co.nz | Riley Kennedy |Greg Hurrell
The wood industry wants in on the Government’s plan to prioritise wool fibres, saying it is disappointed to be overlooked.Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis and Wool Minister Mark Patterson confirmed on Wednesday that from the start of July, government agencies will be directed to use woollen fibre products in the construction and refurbishment of government buildings, “where practical and appropriate”.The requirements will apply to the construction of Government-owned buildings that cost...
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3 weeks ago | 
businessdesk.co.nz | Oliver Lewis |Peter Griffin |Ben Moore |Greg Hurrell
By Saritha Rai and Yazhou Sun,with assistance from Claire Che, Luz Ding and Amy ThomsonSince DeepSeek upstaged OpenAI in January with a powerful model that purportedly cost just several million dollars to build, China’s tech leaders have flooded the market with a rapid succession of low-cost AI services, undercutting premium offerings from the likes of OpenAI and Google.
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4 weeks ago | 
businessdesk.co.nz | Victoria Young |Greg Hurrell |Ian Llewellyn |Ben Moore
A senior lawyer who grabbed a junior colleague’s penis while drunk at a Christmas party and made multiple lewd comments has been described as “deplorable” by a tribunal.The man, who has interim name suppression, worked at one of the largest law firms in the country and was known for his somewhat outlandish behaviour.However, at two Christmas parties several years ago, he was drunk and took his jokes too far when he made comments about employees’ genitalia and sex lives and touched staff...
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4 weeks ago | 
businessdesk.co.nz | Greg Hurrell |Ian Llewellyn |Ben Moore |Maria Slade
Supporters of the Gene Technology Bill are urging the Government to take more care around contamination risks and aligning rules with New Zealand’s markets.The bill passed its first reading in Parliament in December and is now before the health select committee, which is considering public submissions.The Government’s position is that updated rules on genetic technology will drive more progress in healthcare, lift agricultural productivity and increase exports.No application for an...
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4 weeks ago | 
businessdesk.co.nz | Riley Kennedy |Greg Hurrell
The founders of Invivo Wines are not ruling out another capital raise as the beverage outfit looks to grow.Founded in 2008 by Rob Cameron and Tim Lightbourne, Invivo has grown in popularity. It has the backing of UK comedian and broadcaster Graham Norton and American actor Sarah Jessica Parker.Norton’s relationship with the New Zealand company, in which he has a 1.6% stake, began in 2014 with a single bottle of sauvignon blanc.
