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Photo: 123RF The head of an Auckland babysitting agency says the price rise for the service is due to the change in role - as people are requiring more of babysitters. In February, app Pay the Nanny estimated the nationwide hourly rate was $29.40 and in Auckland, just over $30. The maximum hourly rate was $50. Caresies, another app linking babysitters and families, estimated an average hourly rate of $30 to $35. Tanya Pease from the agency Auckland Babysitters told Checkpoint people were now looking at babysitters in a different light. "They used to be your 15-year-old next door who would come over and look after the kids while the parents went for dinner," she said. "Now, the babysitters are helping with housework, they are helping with teaching, they are helping with pick-ups and drop-...

The money was a $5000 donation to a charity, but was put in the wrong account. Photo: 123RF A woman who received thousands of dollars in an accidental transfer to her bank account says it was more difficult to return the money than expected. The money was a $5000 donation to a charity, but one wrong digit meant it had turned up in a Kiwibank account she managed. When she noticed the money last month, she got on the phone to her bank to have the funds returned, but said the process was far from clear. "Our first move was to actually phone Kiwibank and go, 'How do we give some money back'?" the woman, who wished to remain anonymous, said. "I was quite surprised. I thought they might have been, 'Hey, thanks for bringing this to our attention well, here's the process,' but the focus was mor...

Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly Retailer members of her organisation are closing their businesses every week, chief executive of Retail NZ Carolyn Young says. "It's incredibly tough," she said. "Part of it is like the culminating factor - businesses hang on, hang on, hang on - April through to September are quieter months in retail. "We've come off eight quarters in a row of negative growth, at some point businesses are going to run out of cash. They've used all their lines of credit, they can't stay open any more. Sometimes it's their choice, sometimes it's forced on them." Data from Centrix shows the number of retail businesses being liquidated was up 36 percent in July, compared to the same time a year earlier. Hospitality liquidations were up 27 percent and were 2.2 times more lik...

More respondents met their revenue and profit targets than had fallen short. Photo: 123rf.com The improving mood flowing through the business sector is showing itself among the financial heads of companies. A new survey of chief financial officers (CFOs) by recruitment firm Hunter Campbell, tax advisors Tax Traders and economics consultancy Infometrics showed a net 30 percent of the 173 surveyed were upbeat about their growth outlook for the year ahead. Infometrics chief executive and principal economist Brad Olsen said there were economic challenges ahead, but a fair portion of CFOs expected modest to strong growth. "The bulk of CFOs, at 42 percent, expecting challenging conditions but still with opportunities for growth, 12 percent expect similar results as they're currently experienc...