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Contact Energy's Te Mihi power station (file photo). Photo: Contact Energy Two large power companies are proposing a near $2 billion merger. Contact Energy, a full power generator and retailer, said it reached an agreement to take over electricity generator Manawa Energy. Contact would pay a combination of cash and its own shares to the equivalent of $5.95 for each Manawa share, which last traded just over $4.00, valuing the deal at just under $1.9b. It would also pay off Manawa's debt which was reported as $81m in bank loans and $372.7m in bonds as at 31 March 2024. Contact's chief executive Mike Fuge said the merger would make Contact more resilient and diversify its generating portfolio. "Our hydro assets are complementary, with different seasonal generation profiles, which will help...

The Financial Markets Authority surveyed banks, financial advisors and insurance companies to find out how AI was being used. Photo: RNZ / 123rf The Financial Markets Authority will not set rules around the use of artificial intelligence by financial service providers just yet. The regulator surveyed banks, financial advisors and insurance companies to determine how AI is being used in the sector. It found AI is used to cut business costs, detect fraud and manage risk but firms are also working towards applying AI to customer communication such as online chat bots. Chief economist Stuart Johnson said technology was developing so quickly it was unclear how AI would be used in the future so it was important to keep talking with businesses. "What it's absolutely not time for is FMA guidanc...

Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly has been looking at ways KiwiSaver funds could be better used to grow the economy. Photo: RNZ / REECE BAKER Fancy a slice of an infrastructure investment, or a business that isn't listed on a stockmarket, in your KiwiSaver scheme? The Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister would like to make it happen. Minister Andrew Bayly says he has been meeting KiwiSaver providers to understand the barriers they face when investing in unlisted New Zealand businesses and infrastructure projects. Before the election, National had campaigned on a number of proposed changes to the retirement savings scheme, including allowing people to have an account with more than one provider. Bayly said that work was still in the policy development stage. His main ...

ACC's motor vehicle fund, work fund, and earners' account are in line for levy rises. Photo: 123rf The Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) has revealed a nearly $1 billion hole in revenue will need to be covered when levies are raised next year. ACC says it will need to collect $4.7 billion in levies in the 2025/26 financial year, to fund support for about 930,000 claims on three levy schemes - the motor vehicle fund, the work fund, and the earners' account. In the 2022/23 financial year, ACC brought in just under $3.8 billion in levies from those accounts, and it didn't cover the claims being made. It has signalled levies will need to take a significant jump over coming years in order to cover increasing costs, likely by up to about 20 percent. Consultation is beginning on proposed...

Photo: RNZ / Michelle Tiang Ever wondered how your household income compares to what your parents had, when you were growing up? Inflation has pushed up the cost of many things over recent decades, and in many cases, wage growth has helped soften the blow - with the notable exception of housing. Here's how the numbers compare. If you had a household income of $80,000 in the 1990s, you would need to be earning more than $200,000 now to have the same sort of purchasing power. In 1994, 113,500 New Zealand households earned more than $76,500, so a household income of $80,000 would have been relatively high. Now, the top decile of household income earners is about $235,000. In 1994, that $80,000 household would have after-tax income per person of $29,579 if the income was evenly split, an ann...