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The Woolworths Disney cards were popular giveaways. Photo: Supplied / Woolworths Little Garden seedlings, Smeg knives, Wiltshire cutlery, Lego-style bricks and now Disney collector cards ... all marketing ploys from our biggest supermarkets to get more customers, with or without their children, through the door. But at what cost? And are the 'free' products really 'free'? On Sunday, Woolworths wrapped up its two-month Disney 'Worlds of Wonder' collectibles programme. There were 108 character cards of Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars characters, a rare holographic card and an album to put them all in. But you had to spend $30 or buy specific 'bonus card' products to get each potluck pack of three cards. One shopper told First Up her children enjoyed collecting them but she would hav...

About 45,000 port workers in the US are poised to strike, which may affect import and export trade. Photo: RNZ / Kymberlee Fernandes Port strikes in the United States could cause major disruption for importers and exporters in New Zealand. About 45,000 dockworkers at all the major US ports on the eastern coast and the Gulf of Mexico are threatening to strike on 1 October with pay talks at a stalemate. This comes as New Zealand exporters report feeling more optimistic about the coming year with new free trade deals potentially helping growth. Freight company C. H. Robinson's Oceania Vice President Andrew Coldrey said the industrial action could make global shipping schedules unreliable and increase costs. He said that will flow through to New Zealand trade businesses. "For those trading ...

Residential building had fallen 14 percent since its peak in 2021. Photo: 123RF Building costs and falling house prices continue to put pressure on the residential construction sector but a turnaround might not be far away. BNZ economic data shows construction is still in the throes of a deep downturn with activity having fallen 14 percent since its peak in 2021. Chief economist Mike Jones said low levels of new building consents and costs rising 30 to 40 percent in the last three years contributed to the downturn. Now that interest rates have started to fall there could be improvements, he said. "The factors that are still holding the sector back are firstly that construction cost inflation that's elevated and secondly the difference between the cost of building a new home to buying an...

Ruapehu officials are hoping a new dining experience on the Northern Express will help boost tourism in the region. The scenic train which runs between Wellington and Auckland has introduced a commercial kitchen and three premium carriages which have been in the works since 2019. For the first time, it's offering meals as well as beautiful views. Leigh and Elizabeth Knottingham from Brisbane are a few of those tourists excited to try it out. "The food and the dining and the view," Leigh said. "I think it will be lovely rather than driving and a different experience to flying which is what we'd normally do between them. And having people explain what's going on and where we're going, it'll be lovely," Elizabeth said. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone They were also looking forward to hea...

Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon Meridian Energy has confirmed it is proposing to cut retail jobs across its Powershop and Meridian brands. The energy company says the proposed restructure would see a number of roles disestablished, along with new ones being introduced. It would reduce the number of retail workers at the company by eight percent. Chief customer officer Lisa Hannifin said the company needed to adapt if it wanted to continue to succeed. "Customers expect more and have an increasing range of options for how and when they use energy. We need to relentlessly find ways to deliver value back to customers, saving them time and money. We need to understand customer needs and quickly turn ideas and concepts into products and experiences that customers love. "All of this requires a reset...

Northlanders affected by the "entirely avoidable" toppling of a power pylon earlier this year have welcomed Wednesday's report into the debacle - but say it fails to address the issue of compensation. The report, ordered by Energy Minister Simeon Brown a day after the pylon fell on 20 June, reiterates previous findings that contractors unbolted three of its four legs at once during routine maintenance. What is new in today's Electricity Authority report, however, is that it exposes failings at national grid operator Transpower that allowed the accident to occur. It also reveals a senior engineer warned Transpower in 2021 about a "knowledge gap" among maintenance crews working on pylon foundations - but nothing was done about it. The report states the error that led to the collapse was not ...

The Prime Minister says as a former chief executive he understands what Antonia Watson is doing. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone The coalition government has put the boot into ANZ's boss after she threw her weight behind a capital gains tax. Speaking on RNZ's interview show 30' with Guyon Espiner, ANZ chief executive Antonia Watson said she believed taxing investment properties at the point of sale was fair. "People are investing in housing for the purpose of getting a capital gain on it. And if that's the purpose of it, why not have that as part of the tax take?" Asked for his response on Wednesday afternoon, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon laughed. "I love it that the CEO of a big bank from Australia wants to take more money off New Zealanders," Luxon said. "You don't tax your way out ...

Arvida is to be sold to Stonepeak for $1.2b. File photo. Photo: Kzenon Foreign investors have scooped up another local company, with retirement village operator Arvida to be sold to US private equity firm Stonepeak. Shareholders have voted overwhelmingly to approve the $1.2 billion dollar takeover offer. The offer accepted this year was similar in price and content to one which the Arvida board rejected in December last year, because it undervalued the company. But pressure exerted by some big shareholders saw the board do an about face. Arvida chair Anthony Beverley told the meeting that weakening business conditions and economic headwinds led to the rethink. "The continued decline and under performance of our share price was a key consideration for the Board. We considered it material...