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Photo: No 1 China Restaurant/Facebook The owner of a liquidated Taupō Chinese restaurant has been ordered to pay a former employee $43,000 after he was paid less than the minimum wage and didn't receive public holiday entitlements. The Employment Relations Authority also found New Zealand LJ Food Express Taupō Limited, which traded as No 1 China Restaurant, did not pay the employee his annual leave when he stopped working at the restaurant. The employee worked at the restaurant from March 2019 until May 2021. The business went into liquidation in November 2022. The owner of the company, Xian Zeng, was named as the person liable to pay, the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (Mbie) said in a statement. The Labour Inspectorate investigated following a complaint and found breach...

Photo: RNZ National average asking prices for homes have dropped to a three-year low. The TradeMe Property Price Index indicates asking prices fell 1.1 percent in July to $824,900, which was the lowest since 2021. Trade Me property customer director Gavin Lloyd said nearly $150,000 had been shaved off the average house price since the peak. He said a drop in the official cash rate to 5.25 percent, and forecasts for further interest rate cuts could give would-be buyers more confidence. "For those that have been thinking about buying a property, now could be the perfect opportunity to capitalise on low house prices and interest rates that are expected to fall further," Lloyd said. However, other commentators said rising unemployment, set to peak at 5.4 percent in the new year, would be a d...

Yesterday's cut to the OCR was the first in four years. File photo. Photo: RNZ New Zealanders are being told yesterday's unexpected cut to the Official Cash Rate (OCR) will provide some relief for those struggling with the cost of living crisis. The Reserve Bank dropped the OCR by 25 basis points to 5.25 percent - the first cut in four years. Some banks immediately lowered their lending rates, and Loan Market director Bruce Patten said the rest should follow suit by the weekend. He said while the move to cut the OCR was unexpected, it was the right one. "It's good to see the Reserve Bank has actually taken a bit of advice from the rest of the industry - which is the economy is in some serious strife and they needed to do something to give some relief to both homeowners and business owne...

Inland Revenue are reminding share investors of their obligations, and some commentators say a lot of people may potentially be caught. File photo. Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King If you're buying shares with the intention of selling them for a higher price in future, take note: You might have a tax bill to pay. Inland Revenue (IR) has released draft guidance reminding share investors of their obligations, and some commentators say a lot of people may potentially be caught. Among the points covered by the guidance, it makes clear that even people who only make occasional share sales need to pay tax on their gains if the shares were bought for the purpose of reselling. It also outlines the expectations of people who hold offshore investments to which foreign investment fund (FIF) rules...

Photo: RNZ The Reserve Bank governor is confident inflation is down, and will stay down, but says he's not hitting the accelerator just yet, despite Wednesday's cash rate cut. The central bank cut the official cash rate by 25 basis points to 5.25 percent, the first cut in more than four years. Governor Adrian Orr was accused of a major flip-flop but told RNZ people should expect more cuts, to as low as 3 percent by the end of 2025. "We are confident in both current and the near term outlook for consumer price inflation, we estimate it to be around 2.3 percent for the year ending this September quarter, the quarter we're currently in, and for it to remain near the midpoint our 2 percent target range over time." That meant they could reduce the level of restraint, Orr said. "We aren't ac...

A new report shows 89 percent - or $2.35b - of NZ's healthtech revenues were generated overseas. File photo. Photo: sinenkiy/123RF The value of healthtech exports has more than doubled in the past decade to $2.6 billion from $1.27b, but investment is lagging behind global peers. A report by Technology Investment Network (TIN) with partners Medtech-iQ indicates the healthtech sector is second only to fintech in tech sector exports, based on information collected from 233 New Zealand healthtech companies. "After a period of rapid growth, New Zealand healthtech firms are adjusting to a more stable demand environment," report author and TIN head of research Alex Dickson said. The healthtech sector's revenue grew 2.4 percent in 2023, with 89 percent - or $2.35b - generated overseas. About 12...

BNZ chief economist Mike Jones says there will be ongoing downward pressure on wholesale and retail interest rates. Photo: RNZ Home loan borrowers can expect rates to fall throughout the rest of this year and next, commentators say. The Reserve Bank cut the official cash rate by 25bps to 5.25 percent on Wednesday. While it was a move that was forecast by several economists, it was a u-turn from the bank's position in May. Infometrics chief executive Brad Olsen described it as a "WTH moment" and "the biggest flip-flop ever". Mortgage rates moved within minutes - Kiwibank reduced its variable rates by 25bps, passing on the full cut, and ASB dropped its floating and fixed rates. Its 18-month term dropped by 34 basis points. BNZ chief economist Mike Jones said there would be ongoing downwar...