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Southern Cross paid out $42 million in claims for cancer treatment in the 2023 year. File photo. Photo: 123RF The increase in the amount of chemotherapy being done by the private sector had been "exponential" in recent years, with New Zealand's largest health insurer paying tens of millions for cancer treatment every year. New Zealanders are increasingly turning to private healthcare to provide chemotherapy due to concerns about wait times in the public system. Medical oncologist and professor cancer medicine Professor Christopher Jackson said the growth has been "exponential". "There has been rapid growth in chemotherapy and radiation services [in the private sector]," he said. He said that was partly driven by the wait times in the public health system, and the availability of drugs t...

Apartments that made a loss were held for a median 4.2 years compared to 2.7 years across all sales that lost money. File photo. Photo: 123rf Auckland apartment owners are taking losses in increasing numbers, new data shows - even when they've owned their units for a while. Corelogic has released its latest Pain and Gain report, which shows the proportion of all properties being sold for more than they were bought for has dropped from 93.3 percent in the first quarter of this year to 92.1 percent in the second quarter. That is the lowest figure since the third quarter of 2015. Of apartments, 35 percent were sold for less than they were bought for, the highest proportion since 2012. In Auckland, 44 percent of apartment sales were for a loss. Corelogic chief property economist Kelvin Davi...

The unemployment rate lifted to 4.6 percent in June. File photo. Photo: 123RF New Zealand's unemployment rate is rising - and there is a warning that job loss could have a lasting impact on workers via "wage scarring". Data on Wednesday showed the unemployment rate lifted to 4.6 percent in June. While that was slightly less than economists had been expecting, it was the highest level in three years. ASB economists said it was likely that the rate would continue to rise to 5 percent by the end of the year and potentially higher next year. "There is the risk that the labour market could weaken significantly from here and this could cause longer-term economic damage if the Reserve Bank keeps as much pressure on the monetary policy brakes." Economist Shamubeel Eaqub said workers could lose ...

Matahina Power Station. Photo: Manawa Energy / supplied Manawa Energy's shares are in a trading halt pending a review of its earnings outlook which was expected to be less than the guidance it provided in May. The renewable power generator was expecting underlying, for the year ending March 2025, to be in the range of $130m and $150 million. However, it said earnings were likely to be down on guidance amid uncertainty about the recovery of money owed by a customer, as well as adverse market conditions. The trading halt was expected to be lifted no later than the NZX market opening on Friday morning. Source link

Photo: 123RF Unemployment has risen slightly while wage growth appears to be slowing in the private sector, although public sector wage growth remains strong. Stats NZ data showed the annual unemployment rate rose to 4.6 percent in the three months ended June, from a revised 4.4 percent in the previous quarter. The rate was the highest since March 2021 and broadly in line with economists' and the Reserve Bank's expectations. The increase in unemployment has been fuelled by cooling demand for workers and as migration surged to fill previous shortages in the labour market. The level of underutilisation, a measure of slack in the jobs market, rose to 11.8 percent from 11.2 percent. Private sector wages rose 3.6 percent annually, after the previous quarter's 3.8 percent rise, indicating wage...