New Zealand Financial News

Megan Rapinoe announced on social media on Saturday that she would be retiring from football at the end of this season. «It is with a deep sense of peace & gratitude that I have decided this will be my final season playing this beautiful game,» the 38-year-old posted. «I never could have imagined the ways in which soccer would shape and change my life forever,» she added.

Rugby Championship in South Africa will provide a perfect stage to assess preparedness ahead of the Rugby World Cup in France. Southern hemisphere rugby powerhouses Australia, Argentina, New Zealand and South Africa are taking on each other to address respective concerns ahead of the crucial tournament in France. The Rugby Championship fixture list has been cut from six games to three to allow for World Cup warm-up matches. South Africa host Australia in Pretoria and New Zealand travel to Mendoza to meet Argentina in the opening fixtures on Saturday.

Switzerland have emerged as an electrifying team in FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023. They will begin the championship campaign by playing host New Zealand and will meet Norway, and the Philippines in the World Cup Group A. By winning eight games and losing only one match, they emerged at the top of the second-placed teams and thus qualified for the play-off stage.

alliance about the specific nature of this collaboration as they grapple with how to navigate their relationship with China. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno confirmed that Kishida intends to emphasize the importance of stronger relations between Japan and NATO, despite objections from Beijing regarding the alliance's activities in the region. Alongside Kishida, leaders from South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand will also be present at the summit in Vilnius.

ESPNCricinfo, the panel includes interior minister Rana Sanaullah and Law and justice minister Azam Nazeer Tarar. The heads of intelligence agencies and representatives of all political parties have also found a place in the committee, making the scope for wide consultations. The report adds that the reason behind keeping such a large panel is likely to be a buffer against a change in government as the country will be soon headed towards the general elections.

NATO was created to deter Soviet tanks and missiles in Europe. Now it is also in the business of deterring China’s global ambitions, spurring concern among some members about mission creep and accusations by Beijing of inciting confrontation.

FIFA tournaments in 2023 have been purchased by 1Stadia, a US-based firm that specializes in technological improvements in the sports and media rights industries. The broadcast deal includes FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023, FIFA Club World Cup 2023, FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2023, and FIFA Under-17 World Cup 2023.

dollar held tight ranges on Friday as investors awaited a key U.S. jobs report and weighed the prospect of higher-for-longer Federal Reserve interest rates against the economic growth outlook. The closely watched nonfarm payrolls report is due later on Friday, where expectations are for the U.S.

real estate sector tumbled 4.2%. Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 2.2% at 7,280.50. Germany’s DAX dropped 2.6% at 15,528.54. France’s CAC 40 tanked 3.1% at 7,082.29.  In Asia, stock markets fell on Thursday, led by Hong Kong shares. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slumped 3% at 18,533.05. China’s Shanghai Composite lost 0.5% at 3,205.57.

Nato summit to be held in Lithuania’s capital Vilnius as South Korea, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand are planning to meet on the sidelines of the summit to discuss how to respond to Beijing’s aggressive attempts to change the status quo in the South and East China Seas. All eyes are set on the July 11-12 summit as for the first time all leaders of Nato's four Asia-Pacific partners—Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand—will be attending. The four, collectively known as AP4, are currently tagged as ‘partners across the globe’ by Nato. The North Atlantic alliance will “formulate an individually tailored partnership programme (ITPP) with all four countries in order to upgrade its partnership with them to a higher level,” according to Tokyo-based Nikkei Asia. To support its move for South and East China Seas, Beijing is reportedly engaged in power projection, military build-up and hybrid and cyber operations. To counter China’s aggression in the region, Nato wants to strengthen its engagement with its Asia-Pacific partners step by step. After the ITPPs are finalised, Nato will open a liaison office in Japan in 2024. Nato will use the liaison office as a hub for cooperation with South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. China, which is closely watching Nato’s activity in the Indo-Pacific region, recently warned that South Korea will not gain anything by participating in a summit that shows hostility towards Beijing.

economic activity fell in June. According to revised figures from the HCOB Eurozone Composite purchasing managers' index, Eurozone economic activity fell to 49.9 points in June, just under the 50-point mark indicating zero growth. The EURO STOXX 50 index closed 0.9% lower, its worst session since end May.

Costa Group co-founder Robert Costa says he long expected any takeover tilt at Australia’s biggest horticulture company to involve a spin-off of its lucrative berry business.

Insurance giant IAG’s staff raised doubts internally about a discounting algorithm six years before the board heard of the problems that the business was having in pricing premiums, which have since cost it more than $500 million.

Private equity-backed MYOB has entertained informal offers for its payroll and workforce management software business PayGlobal, Street Talk has learnt.

New Zealand is only the latest country to have slipped into recession in June 2023, after the nation’s GDP fell for two consecutive quarters. The slowdown followed the benchmark interest rate being hiked by New Zealand’s central bank for 12 successive times in a bid to control inflation, taking the rate to its highest since 2008. Germany had entered a technical recession at the end of May, closely followed by 20 eurozone nations by June 8.

UBS’ New Zealand desk had nabbed the mandate to sell Auckland Council’s 7 per cent holding in Auckland International Airport, beating rival banks who have been positioning for the trade for several months.

Pacific Equity Partners is considering a tilt at New Zealand-listed engineering business Scott Technology, which is 53 per cent owned by Brazilian meat processor JBS and has Macquarie Capital running a strategic review.

The Rugby World Cup 2023 will commence on September 8, with a match between France and New Zealand. The final is scheduled for October 28. Broadcast Information

Global stock markets are mostly higher after Australia's central bank kept its key lending rate unchanged and Wall Street hit a 15-month high

Harmanpreet Kaur and her deputy Smriti Mandhana dropped a place each to sixth and seventh respectively in the latest ICC rankings for batters in ODIs released here on Tuesday. Swashbuckling batter Harmanpreet has 716 rating points while Mandhana has 714. Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu topped the chart with 758 points, the first player from the island nation to achieve the feat.

Also read: ‘Your career is over…’, When Shoaib Akhtar picked up Sachin Tendulkar and promptly fell to the ground   Hailing from Rawalpindi city in Pakistan's Punjab province, Shoaib Akhtar gained widespread recognition as the 'Rawalpindi Express,' a title bestowed upon him by cricket enthusiasts and fans due to his exceptional speed and bowling skills. Throughout his career, he astonished the cricket world with his achievements, including holding the world record for bowling the fastest delivery in an international cricket match.