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Photo: Cristian Tarzi / Unsplash Working from home - at least some of the time - is just part of the job for many New Zealand office workers. But with the government cracking down on remote work, and international organisations such as Amazon and Tesla taking a harder line, more questions are being asked about the future of the home office. Here are reasons for and against the WFH life. For... Productivity Despite what some pundits might have you believe, there's limited evidence that whether you work from home has any impact on your productivity. Jarrod Haar, a professor at Massey University, said his research had consistently shown that hybrid workers - those going into the office and working from home - were most productive. Second and third would switch between full-time office work...

Photo: 123rf A small New Zealand biotech company alleges it has had its intellectual property hijacked by an overseas customer. Blis Technologies said it has found that the key customer has filed a patent for two of its processes in the USA, Europe, and China, which was expected to cut its revenue and add to its costs. Blis has developed probiotic products for mouth, throat, and skin healthcare, and disclosed trade secrets, with a non-disclosure agreement, to the European manufacturer as it worked on fermentation processes. It said a patent named two employees from the manufacturer as the inventors of the processes, and the wording in some parts of the application was identical or nearly identical to the information Blis disclosed. "Blis is concerned by the release of its confidential in...

By Jonathan Milne of Watercare's Taukau treatment plant (file image). Photo: Supplied via LDR When Auckland Council's performance and appointments committee made the decision on a new chair for its giant subsidiary Watercare, it was behind closed doors. The vote was taken with the mayor, his deputy and another councillor absent. A procedural amendment by councillor Maurice Williamson was passed, that the council's independent Māori advisory panel Houkura says breached standing orders - but that rule change enabled engineer Geoff Hunt to win the role. Hunt took up the chair of council-owned Watercare, New Zealand's biggest water company, on 4 July. Now, on application from the council's own advisory board Houkura, the High Court has set aside Hunt's appointment. And ...

Gisborne. Photo: CC BY 2/ Richard Grevers Forget Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch - Gisborne is where the most economic growth was happening in the June quarter, according to new data. ASB has released its latest Regional Economic Scoreboard, which ranks regions based on their annual growth in employment, building consents and retail sales. The three months to June were relatively bleak across the board, ASB said, but senior economist Chris Tennent-Brown said easing inflation pressure by the end of the year should mean a brighter 2025. He said he expected unemployment to hit 5 percent by the end of the year and the construction outlook was likely to remain weak, "However, we're seeing some positive signs in the housing market with house sales increasing by 6.8 percent and prices ris...

The administrators said the company and associated businesse were facing cashflow difficulties and could not continue to operate in their current form. Photo: RNZ / Richard Tindiller Wellington Combined Taxis is in voluntary administration due to cashflow problems, and could be sold. The company is the largest taxi firm in the capital and one of the largest in the country, with 330 cabs operating as either owner-drivers or lease operators. Iain Bruce Shephard and Jessica Jane Kellow of BDO Wellington have been appointed as joint administrators of the taxi company, as well as the associated businesses Wellington Combined Properties and Combined Finance Limited. In mid-2023, Wellington Combined faced legal action from several drivers which BDO said had led to internal disruption and a lar...

Woolworths (file photo). Photo: Ziming Li The outcome of an investigation into supermarket pricing practices is expected by the end of this year, the Commerce Commission says. Australia's Competition and Consumer Commission on Tuesday launched legal action against Woolworths and Coles, alleging they breached consumer law by misleading customers through discount pricing claims on hundreds of products, local media report. A spokesperson for the Commerce Commission said it would be "watching with interest" to see what lessons could be applied to the New Zealand market. "The Commerce Commission is investigating Woolworths NZ, Foodstuffs South Island, and Foodstuffs North Island in relation to their pricing and promotional practices, with an outcome expected by the end of this year." Consume...

Photo: LDR/SUPPLIED New Zealand King Salmon's half-year profit is down as a result of more fish dying and variability in fish size hitting consumer confidence. Key numbers for the six months ended July compared with a year ago: Net profit $6m vs $10.6m Revenue $101.7m vs $91.6m Mortality cost $8.5m vs $7.8m No dividend vs no dividend Chair Mark Dewdney said the solid first-half result was underpinned by the steady performance of the company's new fish farming approach. "This gives us further confidence that we will be able to deliver strong aquaculture outcomes again this summer. Sales have held up well across all markets and channels, despite global cost-of-living pressures. We are happy with our solid first half result." Chief executive Carl Carrington said salmon losses caused by fi...