Air New Zealand says its working with staff and unions as it grapples with the unprecedented impact of the coronavirus; and the New Zealand sharemarket has opened sharply lower after the Reserve Bank slashed its official cash rate.
1.Air New Zealand says its working with staff and unions as it grapples with the unprecedented impact of the coronavirus. It says in the future it will be a smaller airline as it adjusts to new travel restrictions.
2.Forsyth Barr, Head of Research, Andy Bowley says the Government may have to inject more money into Air New Zealand to keep it going. The Government is a 51 percent shareholder in the airline.
3.Some travelers to New Zealand are being caught unaware by the new travel restrictions introduced over the weekend to curb the spread of coronavirus. The restrictions means anyone who touchdown down after 1am this morning from anywhere but the Pacirfic Islands is required to go into isolation for at least 14-days.
4.The Reserve Bank has cut its benchmark interest rate by three quarters of a percentage point, to support the economy against the impact of the Covid-19 virus. The central bank cut its official cash rate to a record low 0.25 percent from 1 percent. Governor Adrian Orr said the cut was necessary to support businesses and employment.
5.The New Zealand sharemarket has opened sharply lower after the Reserve Bank slashed its official cash rate. The central bank cut its benchmark interest rate by three quarters of a percentage point, to support the economy against the impact of the Covid-19 coronavirus. The benchmark top-50 index opened down about 1.3 percent in early trading.
6.In a surprise move the US Federal Reserve has cut interest rates to zero to counter the economic effects of coronavirus.
7.A cruise ship has docked in Wellington harbour and all passengers have been let out while the company makes arrangements to get international visitors home. The ship was in New Zealand waters before the ban overnight barring cruise ships from stopping here.
8.Labour MP and cabinet minister Nanaia Mahuta has voluntarily gone into self-isolation after traveling back from Australia over the weekend. Mahuta arrived back in New Zealand on Saturday before travel restrictions came into force.
9.The Education Ministry is phoning every school in the country to discuss plans for closures to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus. In its bulletin to principals today, the ministry said its staff would call today and tomorrow to ask principals about their school’s ability to teach children online if they were asked to close.
10.Visitor arrivals from China dropped by more than 90 percent in less than six weeks as travel restrictions began to haul earlier this year. Stats New Zealand has released provisional for the year to February 23rd.
11.Calls are growing louder for Polyfest Festival due to take place in Auckland this week to be called off. Last weekend’s Pasifika Festival was cancelled because of fears that coronavirus could be spread.
12.Every Briton over the age of 70 will be told “within the coming weeks” to stay at home for an extended period to shield them from coronavirus, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said. He told the BBC the advice will not come into force just yet but when it does it will last “a very long time”. It comes as 14 more people have died in the UK after testing positive for the virus, bringing total deaths to 35.
13.US sportswear giant Nike said on Sunday it is closing all of its stores in the United States and several other countries to limit the spread of the coronavirus. Nike stores in Canada, Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand will be closed from Mar 16 to 27, the company said in a statement.
14.The lawyer for a Samoan chief accused of slavery has told a jury the evidence against his client does not stack up. Joseph Auga Matamata, 65, denies 11 charges of human trafficking and 13 charges of slavery relating to 13 Samoan nationals between 1995 and April last year.
15.The lawyer for a Samoan chief accused of slavery has told a jury the evidence against his client does not stack up. Joseph Auga Matamata, 65, denies 11 charges of human trafficking and 13 charges of slavery relating to 13 Samoan nationals between 1995 and April last year.
16.The High Court has heard the Dunedin based Aurora Energy failed to invest in core infrastructure over several years. The Commerce Commission accuses the lines company of under investing poles, cables and transformers between 2016 and 2019.
17.A driver who crashed a stolen car into a parked vehicle in Christchurch this morning fled the scene. Police have taken a 29-year-old into custody, they were called just after 8am this morning when a stolen vehicle hit several parked cars on Wrights Road in Addington.
