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The construction, hospitality and transport sectors are twice as likely to be placed in liquidation. File photo. Photo: 123rf The number of company liquidations has soared, as businesses struggle to stay afloat in a slowing economy. The latest monthly report from credit bureau Centrix shows liquidations are up 19 percent year-on-year, and business credit defaults up 5 percent. Construction, hospitality and transport businesses appear to be the hardest hit, as consumers and businesses pull back on spending. That is despite an improvement in business and consumer sentiment in recent months. Centrix managing director Keith McLaughlin said the trend of difficulty for businesses often followed that of consumers. "The cost of running a business has gone up and to counter that, consumers haven...

The number of people withdrawing money from KiwiSaver for financial hardship reasons has almost doubled in a year. File photo. Photo: 123rf Large numbers of New Zealanders continue to withdraw money from KiwiSaver for financial hardship reasons. More than 4200 members withdrew money for this reason in August, up from 2760 in August last year. But how do you make a financial hardship withdrawal, how long does it take, and what might get you turned down? What can you claim for? KiwiSaver members can apply for withdrawal for hardship reasons in fairly limited circumstances. You can apply if you cannot pay your minimum living expenses - such as power, water and food bills, if you can't keep up with your mortgage or rent, if you need to modify your home to meet special needs, or if you need ...

A Boeing Dreamliner 787-9, from the Air New Zealand fleet. Photo: Supplied/ Air NZ Air New Zealand has confirmed it is canning direct flights from Invercargill to Wellington from January next year, with people travelling from the deep south having to go through Christchurch. It said tough economic times meant domestic demand had softened, particularly in the regions, and combined with having an aircraft out of service due to global engine maintenance issues, it had to make the tough decision to cancel the direct Invercargill to Wellington service. Invercargill Licensing Trust chief executive Chris Ramsay runs 23 different establishments, and is expecting to host thousands of visitors to Invercargill next year. He told Checkpoint Air New Zealand is putting profit ahead of its social resp...

Alliance Group's Smithfield meat processing plant, Timaru. Photo: RNZ / Tim Brown A group that represents the owners of New Zealand's commercial plantation forests disputes that forestry is one the reasons behind the proposed closure of the Smithfield meatworks. Alliance Group told staff on Friday it planned to fully close its meat processing plant in Timaru, with Federated Farmers saying land use change was to blame, with farms being converted into carbon forests at alarming rates. The New Zealand Forest Owners Association said the area of production forestry across the country had decreased in the last 20 years, but Beef + Lamb New Zealand said focusing on total forestry area overlooked the impact of recent land-use change on the sector. Statistics from Te Uru Rākau - New Zealand Fore...

Photo: 123rf.com Advertised salaries are growing at a slower pace due to strong competition for a limited number of jobs, new data shows. Employment website SEEK has found average advertised salaries grew 3.7 percent in the year ended August, down from 4.4 percent in the previous quarter. SEEK country manager Rob Clark said with more people applying for fewer jobs, the rule of supply and demand was holding back salary increases. "If you're an employer you've got more choice and therefore that allows you to have more flexibility on salary rates. And if you're an employee and you're looking for work, it's more competitive out there, so you might be prepared to forego the salary that you may have hoped [for] previously." The education and healthcare sectors recorded the greatest growth yea...