Nov 23, 2017  -  Legendary hedge fund manager and multi-billionaire Julian Roberston put together one of the most luxurious golfing vacations in his beloved New Zealand – and we got the inside look writes Elena Holodny for Business Insider US.  On the Tiger Tour, vacationers can see both New Zealand’s North and South Islands over the course of nine nights on Roberston’s three properties: The Lodge at Kauri Cliffs, The Farm at Cape Kidnappers, and Matakauri Lodge.

Roberston, 85, a pioneer of the modern hedge fund industry, is best known for founding the investment firm Tiger Management Corp, one of the earliest funds, in 1980. After closing his fund in 2000, many of Robertson’s proteges went on to start some of the world’s largest hedge funds, such as Lone Pine and Viking Global.  His net worth is estimated at $4.1 billion, according to Forbes.

The Tiger Tour is currently going on from November 17-26, 2017, but there’s another tour coming up March 1-10, 2018. The tour is limited to four couples at $28,500 per person, plus taxes, and not including international airfare and other expenses. The first stop is at The Lodge at Kauri Cliffs.

| Continue here to take your own photographic journey of the Tiger Tour ||  November 23,  2017   |||

Nov 22, 2017  -  In politics, timing is everything. So it might have been inopportune amid a faux furore over Auckland Council business-class travel spending for Mayor Phil Goff to have to made public the details of his two-week sojourn to Europe and Britain.  Goff, however, has been around too long in the public eye, and is too much of a swot, to allow his time astride the world stage to be portrayed as some cosy junket writes Tim Murphy on Newsroom.

Instead, in full-press workaholic mode, he has revealed in a written report to councillors an eye-watering work programme of research on transport and housing and of diplomacy on climate change and World War 1 commemorations.

His 15-page note supplemented by photographic evidence and graphs, even explains that both Goff and an adviser's return airfares to Europe and accommodation in France were paid for by the global Bloomberg philanthropic foundation. (For completeness, that charity deemed business-class appropriate for a travelling public official).

What did the mayor - and the public - learn from the former foreign minister's return to a jet-setting life?

* He may have uncovered a "major New Zealand expatriate investor who is interested in investing in large-scale, built-to-rent developments to help alleviate Auckland's housing shortage. Goff's report says Kent Gardner, of multi-billion dollar investment company Evans Randall, is returning to New Zealand and is interested in projects here similar to those the company developed in the UK. "His goal is to build good-quality long-term rentals with secure tenure, including some social housing. This could represent a major opportunity to increase housing stock to address Auckland's housing shortage."

* He met New London Architecture, an independent forum for discussion on design and planning for the city, which has used 3D technology to create a 12.5 long metre scale model of London, showing in miniature the city's full 85 square kilometres. Notably, Goff says the Auckland Design Office is working with AUT on a similar model for Auckland.

* He had four and a half hours with the chief executive of Transport for London, Mike Brown, and his officials, learning that rubber-wheeled trains that can run along roads without the cost of tram-tracks were not the cost savers some think, because roads have to be strengthened to take the weight of the trams, they need power and the rides are not comfortable. TFL's experience also helped persuade Goff that elevated light rail costs four times as much as grade-level light rail - and underground light rail cost ten times that on the ground. "These costs largely rule out these options for Auckland."

* From TFL, the mayor also learned that autonomous vehicles were "highly . . .

| Continue here to read the full article on Newsroom   ||  November 22,  2017   |||

Nov 22, 2017 -  Auckland University’s Michelle Dickinson and Soul Machines business chief Greg Cross are among top key speakers at the biggest artificial intelligence (AI) event ever to be held in New Zealand next year.  New Zealand’s trail-blazing AI event will be held in Auckland on March 28 and will showcase the amazing strides AI has made and is making across the country, New Zealand AI Forum executive director Ben Reid says.  “AI is pervading across many walks of Kiwi life and this conference is the place to hear all about the latest in AI. Some New Zealand companies are providing cutting-edge world-first products. “We’re seeing incredible AI developments on a weekly basis and they are growing. Look at how cool Netsafe has developed the AI tool Re:scam, to stop $12 billion lost globally to phishing scams every year. The recent creation of an AI weapon against scammers is the latest example of New Zealand’s innovative culture at play “AI Forum founding member Chapman Tripp has launched a new AI service for legal due diligence. And then there’s Soul Machine’s Rachel, a digital human avatar who has been created by two-time Oscar winner Mark Sagar, now working for Soul Machines.

“New Zealand’s largest companies – including ANZ, Orion Health and Air New Zealand - are rapidly taking to AI, developing innovative new products and solutions using artificial intelligence to create new approaches to old problems. All the major players in AI around New Zealand will be at the March 28 AI Day conference.”

The conference is being organised by NewZealand.AI and the NZ AI Forum, which is part of the NZTech Alliance, bringing together 14 tech communities, over 500 organisations and more than 100,000 employees to help create a more prosperous New Zealand underpinned by technology. Reid says New Zealand is seeing so much AI appearing and changing lives and every day activities at a rate that many people cannot comprehend. “We’ll see traffic lights fitted with artificial intelligence which could spell the end of rush hour queues in our cities. The link between fashion retail and technology is growing with the rampant rise of online shopping and the use of AI technology, which is transforming the way people shop. “In Britain, national health service (NHS) patients will be assessed by robots under a controversial 111 scheme to use artificial intelligence to ease pressures on accident and emergency units. “More than one million people will be given access to a free app which means they can consult with a chatbot instead of a real person. “The speedy birth of AI in New Zealand is happening right across the country. Activity and capability in New Zealand is really gathering momentum on all fronts as the country begins to apply AI and machine learning to technology exports.” He says the future impacts on the economy and society will be significant, dramatic and disruptive.

| A New Zealand.ai release  ||  November 22,  2017   |||

Nov 21, 2017  -  Air New Zealand has today announced it will work with the Ministry for the Environment and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to explore the establishment of a private afforestation scheme, providing funding to landowners to plant trees in return for the carbon benefits this will create. Building on the success of MPI’s existing Afforestation Grant Scheme, Air New Zealand is working with Government to scope a complementary private afforestation fund, with the airline to engage landowners to plant up to 15,000 hectares of new native and exotic trees. If the fund goes ahead, Air New Zealand intends to offset some of the emissions from its domestic operations with credits generated by the new forestry. It hopes planting will commence in winter 2018. Air New Zealand Chief Executive Officer Christopher Luxon says the initiative demonstrates how business and government can work together to move New Zealand towards a low emissions future. "As an airline, managing our carbon footprint is a key challenge and while we are working hard to improve efficiencies, offsetting is an important tool in our carbon reduction efforts. “Air New Zealand has been a strong advocate for more quality offsetting options within New Zealand and we are pleased to work with Government to encourage thousands more hectares of trees into the emissions trading scheme, which will create broader social, environmental and economic benefits,” says Mr Luxon. MPI Director-General Martyn Dunne says the Ministry is well-placed to be involved with this initiative. “MPI has significant expertise and experience in forestry and forestry-related investment. We’re proud to be working with Air New Zealand and the Ministry for the Environment to scope this important initiative, which could have far-reaching environmental and economic benefits,” says Mr Dunne. Secretary for the Environment Vicky Robertson says: “I’d like to congratulate Air New Zealand. Partnerships like this between Government and industry provide the opportunity to make a positive difference to New Zealanders and the environment.”

| An air New Zealand release  ||  November 21, 2017   |||

EU members swapped personalities

Nov 21, 2017  -  In the years since Britain and France teamed up together in the Common Market both these unlikely partners appear to have undergone a national character transfer switch, a transposition, writes our travel editor Peter Isaac.

The British have become pushy, brittle and quick tempered while the French have absorbed those once British values of tolerance, stoicism, and good humour.

Nov 21, 2017  -  Second Electron rocket was delivered from Rocket Lab’s factory in Auckland to Launch Complex 1 on Mahia Peninsula placed 200 km to south east.  After failed first launch attempt on May 25, 2017, Rocket Lab announced that second test flight is planned before end of 2017. For all spaceflights fans in New Zealand we have good news: second Electron rocket arrived to Launch Complex 1 on November 16, 2017.

Second launch attempt named "Still Testing" is planned for December and seems to be different flight comparing to first one, "It's a Test". This time rocket will deliver few Cubesat satellites and deploy them at 300 km x 500 km orbit inclined 83 degrees to the equator.

Payload of Electron rocket will be one Dove Earth-imaging CubeSat for San Francisco-based Planet, and probably two Lemur-2 weather CubeSats operated by Spire Global.

Rocket Lab still has not unveiled when exactly Electron will be launched but is highly possible that second launch attempt will be performed before Christmas.

| A Spaceflight.News release  ||  November 21,  2017   |||

Nov 21, 2017  -  The FMA has today published KiwiSaver data in an interactive format to prompt discussion, engagement and debate on the relationship between investment risk, returns and fees.  The FMA KiwiSaver Tracker uses the information KiwiSaver providers give investors through their quarterly fund updates and via the Companies Office’s Disclose Register. These updates are a legal requirement and the Tracker will automatically incorporate the new information every three months.

The Tracker is part of the FMA’s ongoing focus on using disclosure to drive good conduct by providers and informed investor decision-making. The tracker complements other existing independent sources of KiwiSaver analysis, like Sorted’s Fundfinder.

The Tracker allows people to arrange and sort the data. It shows:

• The risk profile, returns and fees for each fund.
• A percentage figure for how much of the return is paid to the fund manager in fees (excluding fixed management fees) and how much is paid to investors.
• Data that currently covers the past year and average five-year returns.
• Funds that have been invested for less than a year and restricted schemes are excluded.

Paul Gregory, FMA Director of External Communications and Investor Capability said, “We regularly encourage investors to look carefully at who is managing their money and what the results and costs are.

As KiwiSaver matures, balances are increasing and more people are looking at what’s inside their KiwiSaver. This will increase demands for transparency. The market is also changing, with new lower-cost entrants, the potential impact of robo-advice and policy changes requiring fees to be disclosed in dollar amounts.

The information in the KiwiSaver tracker about fees and return is an important factor in considering your investment, but it is not sufficient information to make an investment decision. This is why we link to providers and the Fund Finder tool to discover further information.” Mr Gregory added.

Investors involved in early tests of the tracker showed particular interest in the scatter plot of KiwiSaver fund fees and returns.

Mr Gregory said, “People like to see where their fund and other similar funds sit in a plot. Over 5 years, there certainly seems to be a link between higher risk investments and higher returns. However, the link between higher fees and higher returns is, apart from in the case of a couple of standout funds, far less obvious.”

Investors are encouraged to talk to their provider if they have questions about KiwiSaver in general, or their specific fund. The contact details for each fund are provided in the Tracker.

The Tracker has been designed to enable users to embed it within their own website. The FMA also welcomes feedback, suggestions and comments on the Tracker.

The tracker can be found here. 

| A Financial Markets Authority release  ||  November 21,  2017   |||

Nov 21, 2017  -  An exciting new era in America’s Cup racing has been unveiled today as the concept for the AC75, the class of boat to be sailed in the 36th America’s Cup is released illustrating a bold and modern vision for high performance fully foiling monohull racing yachts.

The Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa design teams have spent the last four months evaluating a wide range of monohull concepts. Their goals have been to design a class that will be challenging and demanding to sail, rewarding the top level of skill for the crews; this concept could become the future of racing and even cruising monohulls beyond the America's Cup.

The AC75 combines extremely high-performance sailing and great match racing with the safety of a boat that can right itself in the event of a capsize. The ground-breaking concept is achieved through the use of twin canting T-foils, ballasted to provide righting-moment when sailing, and roll stability at low speed.

The normal sailing mode sees the leeward foil lowered to provide lift and enable foiling, with the windward foil raised out of the water to maximise the lever-arm of the ballast and reduce drag. In pre-starts and through manoeuvres, both foils can be lowered to provide extra lift and roll control, also useful in rougher sea conditions and providing a wider window for racing.

Although racing performance has been the cornerstone of the design, consideration has had to be focused on the more practical aspects of the boat in the shed and at the dock, where both foils are canted right under the hull in order to provide natural roll stability and to allow the yacht to fit into a standard marina berth.

An underlying principle has been to provide affordable and sustainable technology ‘trickle down’ to other sailing classes and yachts. Whilst recent America's Cup multihulls have benefitted from the power and control of rigid wing sails, there has been no transfer of this technology to the rigs of other sailing classes. In tandem with the innovations of the foiling system, Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa are investigating a number of possible innovations for the AC75's rig, with the requirement that the rig need not be craned in and out each day. This research work is ongoing as different concepts are evaluated, and details will be released with the AC75 Class Rule before March 31st, 2018.

The America's Cup is a match race and creating a class that will provide challenging match racing has been the goal from the start. The AC75 will foil-tack and foil-gybe with only small manoeuvring losses, and given the speed and the ease at which the boats can turn the classic pre-starts of the America's Cup are set to make an exciting comeback. Sail handling will also become important, with cross-overs to code zero sails in light wind conditions.

A huge number of ideas have been considered in the quest to define a class that will be extremely exciting to sail and provide great match racing, but the final decision was an easy one: the concept being announced was a clear winner, and both teams are eager to be introducing the AC75 for the 36th America's Cup in 2021.

The AC75 class rule will be published by March 31st 2018.

Continue here to read the full article with supporting images and video and video

| An Emirates Team New Zealand release  ||  November 20,  2017   |||

14 Nov 2017  -  Join CADPRO Systems Ltd & Global Survey technical specialist NEXT WEDNESDAY to see why the #BLK360

A Tauranga company has spent seven years developing a unique platform to safeguard the more than 800,000 hives in New Zealand, and satisfy overseas market access requirements, with its globally unique software.

ApiTrak, which launches this month, allows everyone – from hobbyists with 10 hives, to corporates with over 10,000 – to easily track and verify their product throughout the value chain.

Founder and chief executive officer Hayden Stowell says ApiTrak maintains the confidence of overseas consumers and regulators in the integrity of New Zealand Manuka honey, by ring-fencing the industry to easily identify stolen or adulterated product and provide consumers with clear traceability.

“Consumers worldwide are increasingly seeking assurances that everything they eat is safe and can be reliably traced back to its point of origin. They want to be able to connect with where their honey is from,” says Hayden.

20 Nov 2017  - A Tauranga company has spent seven years developing a unique platform to safeguard the more than 800,000 hives in New Zealand, and satisfy overseas market access requirements, with its globally unique software.

ApiTrak, which launches this month, allows everyone – from hobbyists with 10 hives, to corporates with over 10,000 – to easily track and verify their product throughout the value chain.

Founder and chief executive officer Hayden Stowell told Tauranga's SunLiveNews that  ApiTrak maintains the confidence of overseas consumers and regulators in the integrity of New Zealand Manuka honey, by ring-fencing the industry to easily identify stolen or adulterated product and provide consumers with clear traceability.

“Consumers worldwide are increasingly seeking assurances that everything they eat is safe and can be reliably traced back to its point of origin. They want to be able to connect with where their honey is from,” says Hayden.

ApiTrak software can be utilised at every step of the supply chain and its advanced authentication system verifies product and captures all critical tracking events writes 

The cloud-based GS1 compliant system allows users to track honey throughout the supply chain, utilising small NFC (near field communication) tags, which are attached to hives, drums and jars.

Hayden says the ApiTrak complements existing systems and is managed through a web-based platform and proprietary smart phone apps, meaning no expensive extra hardware is needed.

The surge in beekeeping over the past five years, as cited in recent media reports, has created an increased need to safeguard the valuable honey industry.

“By June last year there were estimated to be almost 700,000 beehives, this has grown by at least 100,000 since – our industry is in fast growth. The high market demand for Manuka honey in particular is driving an increase in hive numbers.

“And with larger numbers entering the industry, there are more pressures on land use, and an increased need to ensure hives are correctly sited and that honey can be securely tracked from beehive through to shelf.”

ApiTrak chief technology officer Duncan Williamson says the platform goes well beyond the hive management-only systems offered by some other providers.

“ApiTrak can be integrated with existing hive management systems, providing a bolt-on service to the many platforms that lack our food safety compliance functionality. Our long-term aim is to help create a fully connected industry with robust traceability and food security.”

Sean Goodwin, chief executive of 100% Pure New Zealand Honey, and a member of ApiTrak’s advisory board, says the ApiTrak team had put in a great deal of effort to engage industry participants and ensure they not only created an innovative system, but one that would be widely utilised.

“The key to ApiTrak is the integrated, end-to-end nature of the system, which provides benefits for every user,” he says.

Sean, who is also deputy chair of both Apiculture New Zealand and GS1 NZ and so has strong insight into the requirements of industry and international standards, says ApiTrak has significant potential on the global stage.

Jamie Te Hiwi, Customer Manager in New Zealand Trade & Enterprise’s Maori Business Team, says global consumers are demanding the highest standards of food safety throughout the supply chain.

“We also know the risk we run if the consumer loses trust in our ability to control the safety of their food. To earn more from the food we export, solutions like ApiTrak will help attract the premium price from consumers willing to buy the intangible attributes like food safety, country of origin labelling, and traceability.”

Hayden, who has been involved in the Manuka honey industry since the early 2000s, founded the Honey Network honey auction site, and is a member of the Maori Honey Working Group.

The cloud-based ApiTrak platform makes food safety compliance easy and significantly cuts down on paperwork for apiarists, processing facilities and marketing companies.

The ApiTrak system has potential applications beyond the honey industry to a range of other food producers. Consumers worldwide are increasingly seeking assurances that everything they eat is safe and can be reliably traced back to its point of origin.

Victor Goldsmith, general manager of Ngati Porou Miere Limited Partnership, who also serves on ApiTrak’s advisory board, says the partnership owns 1000 hives on its own land blocks and will continue to increase the numbers.

“We need to give our customers assurance that what they are buying is authentic and we will be able to demonstrate this with ApiTrak.

"As we grow the business to include extraction processing and bottling, we will be one of the only honey businesses that is truly integrated from the land right through to the brand. ApiTrak will be vital to our growth.”

| A SunLive release  ||  November 18,  2017   |||