Business

Fonterra's Anchor brand butter, showing the label claiming it is '100 percent New Zealand grass-fed'. Photo: Supplied/ Greenpeace Greenpeace is suing dairy company Fonterra for misleading customers by claiming its Anchor brand butter is 100 percent New Zealand grass-fed. Fonterra's own rules allow up to 20 percent of the diet of their dairy cows to be feed that is not grass, while still able to be considered "grass fed". Greenpeace said this was a problem, as imported palm kernel feed was linked to the deforestation of rainforests in Southeast Asia, and customers deserved to know that their products were contributing to demand for it. Greenpeace spokesperson Sinéad Deighton-O'Flynn served Fonterra with the lawsuit on Monday morning at the dairy co-operative's Auckland headquarters. "Fon...

ANZ's business confidence survey found strong signs businesses are growing more positive about the future. Photo: Unsplash/ Patrick Tomasso ANZ business survey shows headline confidence at highest since May 2014 Firms also most upbeat about their own outlook since mid-2014 More firms expect better profits, investment, steady jobs, wages, inflation Retail and construction sectors more cheerful. The recovery in business confidence has held at a decade high, with firms buoyed by improved trading and expectations of future growth. ANZ's survey for September showed general sentiment rose 10 points on the month before, to a net 61 percent optimism, the highest since May 2014. The more closely followed 'own activity' measure showed an eight point rise to 45 percent optimism, also a 10-year...

Photo: Getty Images Speciality dairy company A2 Milk has confirmed it is in talks to buy a manufacturing facility in China. Australian share market operator ASX sought answers from A2 on Friday, after its share price gained 11 percent before being placed in a trading halt. In a carefully worded response, A2 said it was "possibly" aware of unannounced information that could explain the spike in its share price. The company highlighted stimulus measures announced by the Chinese government as a possible reason for the trading of its shares, but also revealed discussions over a new plant in China. A2's chief legal and sustainability officer Jaron McVicar said: "For completeness, consistent with its publicly announced strategy which includes developing infant milk formula manufacturing capabi...

Photo: Photo / AFP Fonterra has released its new strategy to pay more in dividends to shareholders and get a higher return on capital. The company's revised business strategy aims to focus on its high performing ingredients and food service businesses to grow value. It has increased its target average return on capital to 10-12 percent, up from 9-10 percent, and a new dividend policy of 60-80 percent of earnings, up from 40-60 percent. Chief executive Miles Hurrell said building trading capability for the company's dairy ingredients will help grow the Farmgate Milk Price and earnings. He said expanding the food service business in China will also help boost value. Chairperson Peter McBride said the new strategy will support farmers. "The co-op exists to provide stability and manage risk ...

Southern Health's chief executive says a deficit was expected. Photo: 123RF Deficit for June year $88m vs deficit $16.5m year before Claims increase 15 pct, premium income up 9 pct Membership 955,301 - 50 pct made claims Most expensive procedure - heart valve ($72,800-$94,200) Spending on knee/hip replacements, colonoscopies rise sharply Pet and travel insurance profitable The country's biggest health insurer and private healthcare provider Southern Cross has posted a large deficit on the back of rising costs and claims, and an accounting change. The not-for-profit group said it had had a surge in business as people turned to the private health system to get around blockages and delays in the public system. Chief executive Nick Astwick said a deficit had been expected, but cost...

A Synlait milk truck. File picture. Photo: Synlait/supplied Troubled dairy company Synlait Milk has slumped to a large loss after a large asset write down, as it struggled with huge debt, money losing operations, and business disputes. Key numbers for the year ended July compared with a year ago: Net loss $182.1m vs loss $4.1m Revenue $1.64bn vs $1.60bn Impairment $114.6m (North Island factories) Milk payout/kilo milk solids $8.11 vs $8.49 No dividend Synlait chief executive Grant Watson said the company had turned a corner with the approval of a $218 million rescue package from its two biggest shareholders, Bright Dairy and a2 Milk, and new banking arrangements that will allow it to pay back debt. "Synlait began FY24 (financial year 2024) with too much production capacity, unsustaina...

By Richard Meade* of Inland Revenue is consulting the public on how to address long-term challenges like superannuation and healthcare funding and capital gains taxes have been put forward as one option. Photo: AFP Opinion - In New Zealand, capital gains tax debates spring up like zombies. Each time they get killed off, back to life they come. New Zealand already has some types of capital gains taxes - such as the bright-line test (which taxes residential land bought and sold within two years) and taxes on other various activities. So the debate is more about expanding taxes on capital gains, rather than introducing a new tax. ANZ's chief executive Antonia Watson triggered the latest furore this week when she argued since people invest in housing for the purpose of...

Photo: 123rf Charities say they are struggling to find volunteers as people prioritise paid employment in the current financial crisis. A report by Volunteering New Zealand, which surveyed 420 organisations and 1500 volunteers, also noted a move towards casual volunteering of just a few hours a week. The State of Volunteering in Aotearoa New Zealand 2024 report also found a quarter of volunteers performed up to five hours a month, while only seven percent did 20 hours or more. Volunteering New Zealand chief executive Michelle Kitney said organisations were reporting a lack of volunteers as a concern, but an even bigger issue was not having enough time or resources to support their volunteers. "That's in the context of wider funding security issues and concerns in relation to future fundi...

Protesters raise their fists to show solidarity at a Black Lives Matter march in Auckland. Photo: RNZ / Mabel Muller It's the catchcry of a certain tranche of X - formerly Twitter - users: Go woke go broke. It has been levelled at everyone from Budweiser in the United States, which suffered a decline in sales after a social media partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, to Strictly Come Dancing in Britain for its ratings falling when it included same-sex couples and a contestant with dwarfism. In New Zealand, Mike Hosking asked Patrick Gower - after the confirmation that Newshub would close - what he would say to people who said "go woke, go broke". The term comes from African-American Vernacular English. Over the past five years it's been used as an insult from the right...

RNZ's money correspondent Susan Edmunds. Photo: RNZ Send your questions to susan.edmunds@rnz.co.nz I am currently selling my house and plan to spend a few months overseas for family reasons, before returning to NZ and buying my next house in a new town. I am mortgage-free. My living costs overseas will be negligible, while I will be paying $100 a month to store my furniture in NZ. I am looking to earn a bit of interest on my house money in the meantime. Are non-bank lenders safe enough to entrust my life savings with, or should I stick with banks? What about Rabobank? With housing prices relatively flat at the moment and interest rates still relatively high, should I consider investing for longer - say six months - and extending my time overseas, or is there a reasonable risk that hous...