BusinessDesk NZ

2 days ago | businessdesk.co.nz | Pattrick Smellie

International credit card issuer Mastercard fears as much as $600 million of foreign tourist spending in New Zealand will be foregone if the Commerce Commission regulates bank interchange fees to sub-commercial levels.ComCom is due to issue its final determination on whether to cap interchange fees at 0.2% of transaction value by mid-July.If foreign tourists in NZ followed the pattern seen when a similar restriction was imposed in Europe, declined transactions on foreign-issued credit cards...

2 days ago | businessdesk.co.nz | Riley Kennedy

Competition among red meat processors for livestock is driving up farmgate prices.A shortage of stock and overcapacity in processing are forcing processors to compete harder on price for animals to put through their plants.While farmers benefit from the pricing tension, the procurement pressure ultimately squeezes processors’ margins.Some in the industry spoken to say farmgate prices aren’t disconnected from market realities, but others believe there are too many hooks and not enough stock to...

3 days ago | businessdesk.co.nz | Duncan Bridgeman

Another key figure in the local financial services sector is stepping back with prominent investment banker Michael Lorimer retiring from Grant Samuel.Lorimer, who founded Grant Samuel’s New Zealand office in 1991, has sold his 80% stake in the corporate advisory firm to the remaining four NZ executives, who have also bought out Grant Samuel Australia’s 20% stake.His departure follows Andrew Barclay’s recent resignation from Goldman Sachs’s New Zealand operations.

3 days ago | businessdesk.co.nz | Riley Kennedy

Clean and green.It’s the brand New Zealand sells to the world – and one we can’t afford to trash.So, is even contemplating pulling out of the Paris Agreement putting that at risk?The debate over whether to stay or go in recent months was sparked after the Government announced NZ’s second international climate target under the agreement, signing us up to reduce emissions by 51 to 55% compared to 2005 levels, by 2035.‘Still a concern’ Climate Change Minister Simon Watts said at the time that...

4 days ago | businessdesk.co.nz | Pattrick Smellie

The only private sector infrastructure on the initial list of 17 top-priority projects from the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission Te Waihanga is one area where we’re already excelling: ultra-fast broadband.The Infrastructure Priorities Programme (IPP) list nominates Chorus’ proposal to take UFB access from 85% of the population at present to 95% in a list that is otherwise heavy with defence base infrastructure replacements and other public infrastructure upgrades.“This proposal is for a...