Rebecca Stevenson takes a look back at the tenure of ‘Mr Milk’, Theo Spierings, atop our biggest company. It’s our biggest business (yet it’s a co-operative) and its chief executive Theo Spierings also earns the highest salary in New Zealand – a lottery dream of a wage packet of about $8.3 million a year, or … Read more
New Zealand’s new unofficial flag isn’t Laser Kiwi, it’s the increasingly ingenious way our retailers give us the news that hurts – no Paywave. Rebecca Stevenson investigates the unrelenting demand for tap and go payments. I’m sure you’ve seen them – sometimes it’s an old bit of brown tape with “NO PAYWAVE” in biro. Some … Read more
Welcome to the Cheat Sheet, a clickable, shareable, bite-sized FAQ on the news of the moment. Today, the ‘everyday air taxi’ that’s taking off in Canterbury. It’s been called an “everyday air taxi”, and a “flying car”, but isn’t it… a plane? Yes, yes it is. In the hills around Canterbury, a small, self-piloted electric … Read more
An old cigarette factory in Masterton, a remnant from the Think Big era, has been re-purposed to tackle our affordable housing crisis. Rebecca Stevenson caught up with builder Mike Fox to find out how a plant in the Wairarapa is producing modular, kitset homes on the cheap. Houses in New Zealand are not expensive only … Read more
It happens every five years (unless there is a major disaster), it helps to guide what we spend billions of dollars on – but did you know it was happening today? Rebecca Stevenson finds the census is causing concern. There is an envelope on my mantelpiece which has “census” on the front of it so … Read more
Rent Week 2018: Property managers. Two words to make the blood run cold, whether you are a tenant or a landlord. Rebecca Stevenson weighs up the data and anecdotal evidence, and her ruling is final: property managers suck. Hear me out. I’ve been on both sides; yes, I have been a landlord (pretty much by … Read more
A2 Milk Co briefly burst through a landmark this week, reaching a market capitalisation of $10 billion on news of its deal with Fonterra. Here are ten numbers which encapsulate the milk brand’s inexorable rise. $14.62 A2’s shares rocketed up to over $14 this week (but fell back a little to settle just under $13) … Read more
Imagine you didn’t get paid for a month or two for your work. Big businesses have used this tactic to keep cash in the bank – but how long do our corporates take to pay? Rebecca Stevenson investigates. In New Zealand, they account for 97% of businesses. In Australia, 97%. In the UK, 96%. Small … Read more
Fletcher. The name is synonymous with construction and building in New Zealand, and has been since, well, forever. But it’s been in the news for all the wrong reasons lately – here are ten numbers that sum up the company’s bad news streak. $660 million This morning, Fletcher Building announced losses from its Building and … Read more
With Stephen Fleming and Brendon McCullum among its founders, CricHQ capitalised on global interest in both cricket and cloud-based internet startups. It attracted a star-studded lineup of investors and seemed hugely successful, at one point boasting that it could bring in as much as US $10 billion. Then, in October, it went into receivership. Rebecca … Read more
Welcome to the Cheat Sheet, a clickable, shareable, bite-sized FAQ on the news of the moment. Today, should we all work a four-day working week? Yes. Hang on a minute! Yesterday a New Zealand company, Perpetual Guardian, announced it was trialling a four-day work week for its 200 employees, keeping wages – and number of … Read more
Welcome to the Cheat Sheet, a clickable, shareable, bite-sized FAQ on the news of the moment. Today, we take a wild ride with global share markets. There’s carnage on Wall Street! Well, not exactly. Carnage means of the flesh, and while it’s nice to imagine corporate fat-cats sliced and diced 70 ways, no-one has actually … Read more
Our two supermarket chains have agreed to get rid of plastic bags by the end of this year. Does this mean the end of the seemingly humble plastic bag? Rebecca Stevenson caught up with Wellington City Council’s Roderick Boys to find out why we need to say goodbye to them, for good. Plastic bags were … Read more
Peanut butter maker Fix and Fogg has expanded from farmers’ markets to the biggest online marketplace in the world, Amazon. Rebecca Stevenson caught up with founder Roman Jewell, and discovered Kiwi ingenuity at the heart of this small business success story. Google “craft brewery”, Fix and Fogg’s Roman Jewell says, and you’ll find a plethora … Read more
The Block NZ signifies everything that’s wrong with our tax system. Takapuna tax expert Terry Baucher fills Rebecca Stevenson in on how we can get a lump of cash, and keep it all to ourselves. This post was first published on September 19, 2017. After we all recovered from the horror that was The Block … Read more
If robots are going to be the accountants, what is the point of getting a degree? Rebecca Stevenson reports on the future of work, and finds old skills are getting a new relevance. This post was first published on October 17, 2017. Late last month 100 New Zealand companies including Xero, Fonterra, The Warehouse, Spark … Read more
There is a rising global movement towards responsible investing, but how can new KiwiSavers know how to invest without causing harm? Rebecca Stevenson caught up with Kiwi Wealth’s Steffan Berridge to discuss the ins and outs of ethical investing. First things first. What is responsible investing? And why should anyone care about it? Many Kiwis … Read more
More than 40 New Zealand businesses have been ranked as some of the fastest growing technology companies in the Asia-Pacific region by revenue growth. But the big surprise came from a digital marketing company that’s only been operating for about three years, Rebecca Stevenson reports. This week a New Zealand company you’ve probably never heard … Read more
A review into government innovation agency Callaghan Innovation published last year found weaknesses with its management, but its Māori economy unit was singled out for praise. Rebecca Stevenson caught up with Callaghan’s Hēmi Rolleston to find out how it’s helping Māori entrepreneurs build export-ready businesses. It has a mission that is mammoth. Callaghan Innovation aims … Read more
The Financial Markets Authority has launched an interactive tool that let’s you access, and compare, basic fund information. Rebecca Stevenson extracts herself from KiwiSaver ennui to take a look at the numbers. I have a confession. I have a KiwiSaver, and yet for the first two years or so I didn’t realise I had it. … Read more
Wanna run with the fast crew? Rebecca Stevenson takes a look at Deloitte’s Fast50 index to see how quickly Kiwi companies’ revenue is growing. To take a spot among the fastest growing companies in the country in 2017 businesses had to book revenue growth of 180% over three years. But are Kiwi companies growing faster than … Read more
Cloud accounting technology company Xero just announced two things: a very positive half-year financial result, and that it is exiting the New Zealand stock exchange. Rebecca Stevenson considers what this means for our investment landscape. New Zealand cloud accounting firm Xero announced its half-year result today and it was a ripper for the company – and … Read more
Imagine having money or assets and not having to pay tax on them! Sounds like a dream right? But for the super wealthy, it can be very real. Rebecca Stevenson takes a dive into the muddy waters of offshore trusts. How is it that a Russian bank which collapsed owing billions was registered to a … Read more
It’s been estimated to be worth $26 billion, with significant stakes in the forestry and fishing industries. But underneath the story of the Māori economy are also the humming small business stories in Frankie Apothecary and Huia Publishers, Rebecca Stevenson finds. The numbers bandied around are staggering. A 2013 report by BERL for Te Puni … Read more
It’s only been going since June, so how did startup Sharesies capture thousands of customers and millions of their hard-earned money? Rebecca Stevenson caught up with Sharesies founder Sonya Williams to find out how they did it. Got a fiver? Want to make it a tenner? Up until earlier this year if you wanted to … Read more
If robots are going to be the accountants, what is the point of getting a degree? Rebecca Stevenson reports on the future of work, and finds old skills are getting a new relevance. Late last month 100 New Zealand companies including Xero, Fonterra, The Warehouse, Spark and Fisher & Paykel signed an open letter that … Read more
New Zealand’s Super Fund is one of the best performing sovereign wealth funds in the world – and yet isn’t quite what it could have been. Rebecca Stevenson explains what it is and why it matters. An investment vehicle to pay for our future pension payments has something to do with the All Blacks? Well, … Read more
$760 for half an hour of illicit car parking? Seems steep. Rebecca Stevenson investigates how the clamping industry operates. They are back at it again. Bashford Antiques, the clamping company hiding in plain sight as a second hand shop, audaciously claimed $760 from a punter who parked in its Ponsonby car park. It seems like a lot … Read more
He’s an award winning young Kiwi chef, but William Mordido’s first pop-up restaurant is opening in Melbourne this month. Rebecca Stevenson finds out why. William Mordido is one of those people who, when reading up their credentials, you start to feel inferior and question what you have been doing with your life. Last year the … Read more