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Kamala Harris: Gen Z-friendly VP, Democratic leader — and first female POTUS?

19Aug

By Raayan ThompsonNo Comments

Life Style

Kamala Harris: Gen Z-friendly VP, Democratic leader — and first female POTUS?

And just like that: a battle between two elderly male politicians just became a race between an almost-assassinated former president and the first-ever female vice president of the United States. “I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party — and unite our nation — to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda,” Kamala Harris, 59, said last month as she confirmed her bid to be the Democrats’ White House nominee after Joe Biden’s dramatic exit from the 2024 election race. She has now secured that title, stepping onto the stage at this week’s Democratic National Convention as the party’s presidential nominee after Joe Biden’s dramatic exit from the 2024 election race. The former California senator will formally accept the nomination in Chicago on Thursday, af...

Auckland Harbour Bridge closures costing millions, economist estimates

19Aug

By Raayan ThompsonNo Comments

Business

Auckland Harbour Bridge closures costing millions, economist estimates

Limited traffic on Auckland Harbour Bridge Photo: NZTA / Twitter Millions of dollars are blowing in the wind - that is the cost of weather-related restrictions on Auckland's Harbour Bridge, according to an economist. Gusty conditions on Monday meant the bridge was reduced to two lanes in each direction, and speed restrictions were in force. Speed limits kick in when winds hit 90 kilometres an hour; when gusts reached 110kmh, the bridge could close all together. In that situation, traffic has to take the long way around on the Western Ring Road via State Highway 16 and SH18. Infometrics principal economist Brad Olsen told Checkpoint the bridge closures were a significant cost to people. Read more: "We estimated ... based on the amount of time the bridge has been closed over the last co...

FSSAI to check microplastic contamination in Indian foods

19Aug

By Raayan ThompsonNo Comments

Health

FSSAI to check microplastic contamination in Indian foods

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on Sunday launched an innovative project to tackle the growing concern of microplastic contamination in food. Microplastics are tiny pieces of plastics that range in size -- from five millimetres to one micrometre. From human blood to testicles, to flora and fauna, these have long been known as a significant environmental and health concern worldwide. FSSAI initiated the new project in March this year to develop and validate analytical methods for detecting micro and nano-plastics in various food products. It is also aimed at assessing the prevalence and exposure levels of microplastics in India. The project will develop standard protocols for micro/nano-plastic analysis, conduct intra- and inter-laboratory comparisons, and gener...

Why the unemployment rate is worse than you think

19Aug

By Raayan ThompsonNo Comments

Business

Why the unemployment rate is worse than you think

A new model suggests NZ's unemployment rate could soon top 5 percent. Photo: 123rf.com New Zealand's unemployment rate may have already reached 4.8 percent, and could hit 5 percent by the end of the year, an economist says. AUT economics professor Tim Maloney has developed a new model that gives more timely information on likely changes in the rate. Stats NZ only updates the rate each quarter, whereas Maloney's model provides a monthly reading. "We collect data from the past to indicate what the unemployment rate is but by the time we look at it, that quarter is already gone. "To make good decisions, we need to know currently what the unemployment rate is, what the state of the aggregate economy is." Read more: Maloney said the UR-Now model estimated the unemployment rate might have hi...

Australian athletes voice safety concerns following death of Lazar Dukic at 2024 CrossFit Games

19Aug

By Raayan ThompsonNo Comments

World News

Australian athletes voice safety concerns following death of Lazar Dukic at 2024 CrossFit Games

By Keely Johnson of the ABC Athletes paid tribute to Lazar Dukic when the CrossFit Games resumed. Photo: Facebook / CrossFit Games Members of the Australian CrossFit community say they are reeling following the death of a competitor during an event at the CrossFit Games in the United States, with athletes starting to question the safety of the competition. Serbian athlete Lazar Dukic, 28, died during the competition, which brings together the top 40 athletes from around the world to determine what organisers call "the fittest man and woman on Earth". Competitors had finished a 5-kilometre run and were doing an 800-metre open-water swim, when the tragedy unfolded. In a live stream of the incident, Dukic can be seen struggling to swim, before disappearing underwater, despite lifeguard...

19Aug

By Raayan ThompsonNo Comments

Business

A2 Milk increases full-year profit

Photo: Getty Images Specialty dairy company a2 Milk increased its full year profit on the back of an improved Chinese market. Key numbers for the year ended June compared with a year ago: Net profit $167.6m vs $155.6m Revenue $1.67b vs $1.59b Operating earnings $234.3m vs $219.3m Cash position $969m vs $757.2m No dividend a2 Milk benefited from rising sales on its infant milk formula (IMF) in China despite a falling birth rate and tougher economic conditions. Overall revenue was up 5 percent, as the improvement in China offset falls in Australia-New Zealand earnings, continued losses in the US market and for its Southland based company Mataura Valley Milk. Chief executive David Bortolussi said its strategy remained primarily focused on the China market to get positive growth in a chall...

SkyCity warns shareholders of $94.3m writedown

19Aug

By Raayan ThompsonNo Comments

Business

SkyCity warns shareholders of $94.3m writedown

SkyCity Adelaide Photo: 123RF / Andrey Moisseyev Casino operator SkyCity Entertainment has warned shareholders of a $94.3 million writedown on its Adelaide casino. The company said the non-cash charge reflected the costs of the move to electronic gambling cards. It said it had updated cost assumptions about making it mandatory for all players to use e-cards, rather than cash, at its Adelaide casino in 2026. Another driver behind the writedown was the additional legal and compliance costs that came with host responsibility programmes for staff. SkyCity said it was committed to implementing mandatory e-cards across all casinos to better monitor customer play and manage risk. It also expected to record a one-off tax charge of $129.6m in its financial statements for the year ended June. Thi...

19Aug

By Raayan ThompsonNo Comments

Business

ANZ cuts mortgage rates | RNZ News

Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi ANZ bank has cut some of its fixed home loan and term deposit rates again. The country's banks have been slicing interest rate offerings since a dovish statement by the central bank in July pointed to sooner than expected rate cuts. After the Reserve Bank cut the official cash rate to 5.25 percent last week, banks have continued to drop rates. ANZ's latest home loan cuts include a 40 basis point drop on the one year special rate to 6.45 percent, and a 50 basis point drop on the 18 month rate to 5.99 percent. Its one year rate is the best available on the market for that term. ANZ has also cut term deposit rates with all changes effective from 20 August. The bank had previously cut interest rates in July and August. Minutes after the RBNZ cut the OCR last week,...

OCR coming down, how far will home loan rates fall?

19Aug

By Raayan ThompsonNo Comments

Business

OCR coming down, how far will home loan rates fall?

Photo: RNZ The official cash rate (OCR) has been cut and banks have trimmed many of their home loan rates. But, with the OCR forecast to fall through the next couple of years, how far are mortgage interest rates really likely to drop? And how long is it worth hanging out for a better deal? As part of its updated forecasts, the Reserve Bank said in the latest monetary policy statement that it expects the OCR to drop to less than 4 percent by the end of next year, and to 3 percent by mid-2027. Gareth Kiernan, chief forecaster at Infometrics, said he expected a 25 basis point cut at each meeting between now and the middle of next year, and a couple of cuts in the second half of 2025. He said, plugging the bank's OCR track into Infometrics' interest rate model showed that by early 2025, a on...

Contact Energy announces $235m full year profit

19Aug

By Raayan ThompsonNo Comments

Business

Contact Energy announces $235m full year profit

Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon Contact Energy has reported a strong full year profit with revenue growth of 35 percent. New Zealand's second largest energy company has reported a net profit of $235 million in the year ended June, which was 85 percent up on the year earlier. Key numbers for the 12 months ended June compared with a year ago: Net profit $235m vs $127m Revenue $2.86b vs $2.12b Underlying profit $675m vs $573m Full year dividend 37 cents per share vs 35cps "The result has been a demonstration of strength in our underlying performance as we managed through market volatility, while keeping the momentum to deliver existing and new renewable developments," chief executive Mike Fuge said. He said the next 12 months will see Contact operating an additional 200 megawatts of newly cons...