There is an important, but quiet debate in the economics profession about what leads to big recessions: wealth or debt.Almost everyone agrees, at this point, that the Great Recession of 2007-09 was caused by the financial system….
Queen's Birthday Honours: Devoted to conservation
Sir Robert Fenwick Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to conservation and business Saving the kiwi, forging into the Antarctic, leading St John and the Fred Hollows Foundation and being an eco-warrior…
My weekend in the virtual world
It’s almost cliché now – comparing the first time you try virtual reality as being like the infamous Lumiere Brothers screening of the train coming into the station when viewers fled the cinema. It’s intense, overwhelming, and quite…
Christopher Niesche: Insider trading case big win for regulator
This is a true Sydney tale about privilege, greed and dishonour between thieves.The story begins in the late 1990s when John Hartman and Oliver Curtis formed a friendship at the Jesuit-run St Ignatius College in Sydney, a private…
Crews work to contain sheen after Oregon train derailment
SEATTLE (AP) ” Environmental crews worked Saturday to contain a sheen of oil that appeared in the Columbia River along the Washington-Oregon border after a Union Pacific train derailed and caught fire, but officials said there was…
Bernard Hickey: City of cranes has a boom that's a bust
Auckland feels like a boom town. Its shortage of houses, hotels, roads, schoolrooms and tradies dominates the conversations at barbecues, bars and on talk-back radio.It seems like growth is all around and, strictly speaking, that’s…
Death and the KiwiSaver
Q: What happens to KiwiSaver money when you die? A: This question was asked by a young guy at a KiwiSaver seminar I was attending.Death isn’t something we really like to think about and only half of us have a valid will, dropping…
Two-bedroom unit sold for a gobsmacking $1m+
A brick and tile unit has sold for more than $1 million – a new benchmark, according to a realtor. The Herald on Sunday understands the two-bedroom 10m by 6.7m Epsom unit with a small deck and carport sold for more than $1m.The…
Handout or no? Swiss mull $2,500 monthly income for all
GENEVA (AP) ” Would you accept about $2,500 from your government every month, no questions asked?Swiss voters get a choice Sunday in a referendum that, while not specifying a figure, asks if they want “unconditional basic income.”…
US defense secretary offers closer security ties to China
SINGAPORE (AP) ” Striking a notably positive tone, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Saturday offered closer U.S. cooperation with China in pursuit of a deeper and broader Asian security network. He said he intends to visit Beijing…