Friday, June 26

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What’s actually going on with sharemarkets?
5Aug By Raayan ThompsonNo Comments
Business

What’s actually going on with sharemarkets?

Photo: 123RF New Zealanders woke to headlines about sharemarket carnage overnight. The S&P 500 closed down 3 percent, the Nasdaq by about 3.4 percent, the Nikkei by a dramatic 12.4 percent, and even the ASX 3.7 percent - a A$100 billion "wipe out" of investor value. So what's caused this? There are a few factors that have combined to create the downturn that has stretched around the globe, including underwhelming earnings reports from listed companies, and softer US economic data. Earnings Westpac chief economist Kelly Eckhold said there had been a number of big global firms that had downgraded their earnings expectations in the past few weeks. Intel was a high-profile one, recording the biggest share price drop since 1974 last Friday after it reported softer revenue and significantl...
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Zia Yusuf: the Muslim mega-donor who just became Reform’s new chair
5Aug By Raayan ThompsonNo Comments
Life Style

Zia Yusuf: the Muslim mega-donor who just became Reform’s new chair

Calling to protect what he calls “British values”. Claiming he was “borderline depressed” when Nigel Farage said he wasn’t standing in the election. Accusing the Labour party of being “race-obsessed” and inciting the “violent thuggery” taking place across Britain.These are just some of the headlines that have swirled around Zia Yusuf in recent weeks. He is the multi-millionaire tech entrepreneur and Reform mega-donor who just replaced Richard Tice as the party’s new chairman. Scotland-born Yusuf, 37, a self-described “British Muslim patriot”, whose parents came to Britain from Sri Lanka in the 1980s, might sound like an unlikely spokesperson for a party putting border-control at the forefront of its aims, but commentators say his appointment is hardly a surprise. REUTERSThe Goldman Sachs a...
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Hyderabad: Doctors perform surgery on mother, son with rare heart condition
5Aug By Raayan ThompsonNo Comments
Health

Hyderabad: Doctors perform surgery on mother, son with rare heart condition

Doctors at a private hospital in Hyderabad have successfully operated on a woman and son, suffering from aortic aneurysms. In what is claimed to be extremely rare case, the woman inherited the heart condition from her mother and the same was passed on to both her sons. Although such conditions can occur due to genetic factors, the occurrence of the extremely rare Marfan Syndrome is even rarer, affecting only 0.19 people per 100,000. Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon Vishal V. Khante said mother and son were successfully treated with surgery at Kamineni Hospital, where the doctors replaced the aneurysmal aorta with an artificial one, saving their lives. According to doctors, this family is significantly tall and faces various issues. Their bones and ligaments are weak, and they have pro...
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Olympic pole vault final to be unlike anything NZers have seen before
5Aug By Raayan ThompsonNo Comments
World News

Olympic pole vault final to be unlike anything NZers have seen before

Olivia McTaggart (L), Imogen Ayris (C) and Eliza McCartney celebrate together after qualifying for the Women's Pole Vault Final at Stade de France during the 2024 Paris Olympics. Photo: Simon Stacpoole / www.photosport.nz Eliza McCartney eased into the final of the Olympic pole vault for a second time but for two of her New Zealand team mates they admit they're lucky to be joining her. All three New Zealand athletes knew what was ahead of them during the qualification round on a warm Monday morning in Paris. The qualification standard was set at 4.70 metres. Two pole vault pits would be running side by side and at least the top 12 best performed athletes would be through to the final two days later. All was going to plan until the bar was lifted to 4.55m. Olivia McTaggart competes i...
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NZ’s only organic chicken farm sold to Inghams
5Aug By Raayan ThompsonNo Comments
Business

NZ’s only organic chicken farm sold to Inghams

Bostock Brothers chicken farm in Hawkes Bay. Photo: Bostock Brothers The country's only organic chicken farm has been sold to industry giant Inghams. Hawkes Bay based Bostock Brothers were on the lookout for capital to grow the business but decided to sell the whole operation to major player Inghams. The company started a decade ago when Ben and George Bostock started raising chickens in the family's apple orchards. Ben Bostock said after ten years of developing the brand and growing business they couldn't keep up with demand. "Sales were doing really well, we were short on supply and we had more demand than we could keep up with but like all things especially recently to be sustainable you need scale, so we started looking for capital and it became on option to hand the batton over to ...
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Google’s monopoly of online searches is illegal, US judge rules
5Aug By Raayan ThompsonNo Comments
World News

Google’s monopoly of online searches is illegal, US judge rules

By Nadine Yousif for BBC Photo: Unsplash A US judge has ruled Google acted illegally to maintain a monopoly on online searches and related advertising. Google was sued by the Department of Justice in 2020 for its control of about 90 percent of the online search market. US District Judge Amit Mehta noted that Google paid billions to ensure it is the default search engine on smartphones and browsers. The decision on Monday could reshape how technology giants do business. "Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly," Judge Mehta wrote in his 277-page opinion. The decision is a significant victory for federal antitrust regulators who have filed other pending lawsuits against Big Tech companies, accusing them of operating unlawful monopolies. Federal regulat...
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Live: US stocks plunge after sharp falls in Europe and Asia
5Aug By Raayan ThompsonNo Comments
Business

Live: US stocks plunge after sharp falls in Europe and Asia

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Photo: AFP / Getty Images North America US share markets posted heavy losses on fears the American economy is headed for recession. When markets closed at 8am (NZT), the broader S&P 500 index fell 3 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 2.6 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 3.4 percent. Earlier, the Nasdaq opened 6.3 percent lower, but clawed back some of the losses after data showed US services sector activity rebounding in July. On Monday Japan's Nikkei 225 closed down 12.4 percent, a blow to the world's fourth largest economy. The recession fears come after a US jobs report last week showed the world's biggest economy added significantly fewer jobs than analysts were expecting, at a time of high interes...
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US stocks plunge after sharp falls in Europe and Asia
5Aug By Raayan ThompsonNo Comments
Business

US stocks plunge after sharp falls in Europe and Asia

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Photo: AFP / Getty Images North America US stock markets tumbled on Monday following falls in Europe and Asia as fears rose that the American economy is heading for a slowdown. The S&P500 is steadily falling and before 7am NZT had dipped below the psychological 3 percent mark. The technology-heavy Nasdaq index opened 6.3 percent lower, before recovering some ground and then continuing its losses. Markets around the world have been facing furious selling and sharp falls on fears that the US economy is heading for a slowdown - and that many AI and tech stocks are overvalued. The global sell-off began on Friday after reports showed a weakening economy, then swept around the world. Last evening Japan's Nikkei 225 closed down 12.4 ...
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The rise of super fakes – luxury designer replicas are being sold in plain sight
5Aug By Raayan ThompsonNo Comments
World News

The rise of super fakes – luxury designer replicas are being sold in plain sight

By Carolyn Enting Chanel replica bag posted by a Chinese seller on RepLadies. Photo: Screenshot They're known as luxury reps or super fakes - counterfeits of designer accessories that are so good you'd swear they were the real thing. These super fakes are being unwrapped in plain sight by influencers on Instagram and TikTok and purchased to order through online anonymous forums and chat groups. One such forum, sub-Reddit group Repladies Designer, has 112,000 members and spent more than US$3 million on replicas in 2021 (according to a self-reported survey). A spin-off group, WagoonLadies, has $58,000 members. Kiwi shoppers buying luxury fakes with the assistance of these chat groups include Auckland mum Rachel (not her real name). She bought a super fake Miu Miu bag directly from a Ch...
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What does international sharemarket turmoil mean for KiwiSaver?
5Aug By Raayan ThompsonNo Comments
Business

What does international sharemarket turmoil mean for KiwiSaver?

What international sharemarket turmoil means for your KiwiSaver KiwiSaver is directly affected by global market volatility as about 60 percent of KiwiSaver assets are invested offshore. Photo: 123RF There's one clear piece of advice for anyone worried about the impact of international sharemarket movements on their KiwiSaver balances: Ignore it. (Provided you've got your settings right.) Markets around the world were volatile on Friday and to start this week. The softness in US markets has been largely driven by concerns the central bank might cut rates too late to avoid a downturn. Intel's share price fell 26 percent on Friday, to the lowest level in a decade. High-profile investor Warren Buffett was reported to have sold more than US$75 billion in shares in the second quarter, taki...
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