Summary High school doors open today to senior students as they prepare for exams in the coming weeks, with a decision due today on whether younger students will be able to return before Christmas.
School’s in Decisions on schooling for children caught in level 3 lockdowns in Auckland and the Waikato are due today. Senior students, who have been away from school for over two months, return to school today as they prepare for exams. Schools will spread students from years 11, 12 and 13 through their classrooms to preserve social distancing, but expect some to remain at home because parents do not think it’s safe to return yet.
Testing calls Calls are being made to introduce mandatory testing for anyone going to the South Island, to try to stop the spread of covid. So far, Blenheim looks to have avoided a covid outbreak after an infected person visited the region last week.
Level 3 move Northland iwi chairs and National’s Whangarei-based MP Shane Reti have requested a move for the region back to level 3 restrictions to protect Māori until enough are vaccinated. Two new cases were announced yesterday.
More support Auckland mayor Phil Goff has indicated more support for Auckland businesses is to come, with an announcement expected in coming weeks. He said the Auckland council had been working with businesses to provide rates relief and change regulations to enable cafes and pubs to spread outdoors, but the government had its hands on the big levers.
Petrol prices climb As NZ petrol prices continue to skyrocket, UK petrol prices have hit an all-time high. The price changes are likely to attract questions from investors in Refining NZ, as the wisdom around closing the refinery may have changed on the new figures. Z Energy is also likely to have become a more attractive target for buyers. Freight companies such as Mainfreight and KiwiRail will be increasingly impacted, and are likely to push rising costs on to customers. Global energy shortages have driven Brent Crude prices above US$86 a barrel, with OPEC+ producers indicating no change to meet demand. AA told Newshub that fuel prices were likely to rise still further by Christmas.
Property investment review The outgoing head of the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) suspects many property investments advertising high yields to wholesale investors haven’t performed as well as they claimed they would. In an exit interview as he prepares to leave the financial market watchdog after seven years in the role, chief executive Rob Everett told BusinessDesk the regulator is "about to kick off a big piece of work very soon” in the area of wholesale investment offers to target so-called ‘sophisticated’ investors.
Blues investigation A NZ mushroom could become the source of a natural blue food dye that could even lead to blue fruitloops. Currently, NZers miss out on blue fruit loops in their breakfast cereal because the NZ Kellogg's product does not contain artificial colours. Scientists are working on using NZ’s werewere kōkako to produce a new kind of food dye.
Advertising complaints The government’s $3.5 million campaign to support the three waters reform has attracted complaints damning the advertising as propaganda. The government proposes to amalgamate council-owned drinking, waste and stormwater infrastructure and services into four regional bodies. Opponents are concerned the strategy will remove ownership of ratepayer-funded assets into government ownership to be used to raise large loans.
Number spoofing blocked In the UK, phone companies have agreed to block any internet calls coming from overseas if they are using “number spoofing”, or hiding behind an apparently local number, to disguise the call’s origin. Scammers use this method to make it look as though the call or text is coming from a real number. Almost 45 million people were targeted in this manner by scammers in the past year. NZ phone network companies are likely to come under similar pressure as a wave of text scams hit, with the latest urging people to click on a link to claim a parcel, which in fact infects the phone with malware.
Living wage rise The UK is raising its minimum wage to just over NZ$18 in tomorrow’s Budget. Those aged over 23 will see a 6.6% living wage rise from April 1, giving them an annual increase of nearly NZ$2,000, and a higher wage bill for employers. The Budget is expected to include an extra NZ$11 billion in health spending.
Nuclear generation Australian resources minister Keith Pitt has come out in support of nuclear power generation, saying the technology has changed. The minister, a strong advocate for coal who opposes a 2050 zero emissions target, has been elevated back into the Australian federal government’s cabinet.
Reaching for records US equities markets are on track to reach record highs as they move through afternoon trading. The S&P 500 was up 0.6%, the Dow rose 0.3%, and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.8%. Stronger earnings from banks, consumer companies and manufacturers are easing fears of labour shortages and inflation. All eyes remain on the big four tech companies reporting third-quarter earnings today and tomorrow. Facebook is due to update shortly under its current name perhaps for the last time ahead of an expected name change this week, while Microsoft, Twitter and Alphabet are due to report tomorrow. Over in Europe, the pan European Stoxx 600 remained flat on 0.07%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 advanced 0.25% thanks to banks and mining, while Germany's DAX rose 0.36% and France's CAC 40 dropped 0.31%.
