Monthly Archives: November 2009

In praise of Coys

Posted on November 30, 2009 by

We are blessed in New Zealand with the Companies.govt.nz website. It means that we rate consistently as one of the easiest places to form a company, and it gives us the power to look up the ownership and directors of … Continue reading →

Posted in NZ Business | Tagged , , , | 22 Comments

What were you thinking NZHerald?

Posted on November 30, 2009 by

In last night’s post on NBR I made the flip comment that Stuff and NZHerald will continue to fight it out neck sand neck unless one of them does something stupid. Well today NZHerald decided that they didn’t real want … Continue reading →

Posted in NZ Business | Tagged , , | 23 Comments

NBR’s performance since the subscription wall was built

Posted on November 29, 2009 by

Back in mid July the NBR decided to put a chunk of their content behind a subscription wall. I was one of many amateur untrained unqualified bloggers that not only objected to being characterised as such, but was pretty scathing … Continue reading →

Posted in NZ Business | Tagged , , , , , | 27 Comments

What I’m looking for from the Tax Working Group

Posted on November 28, 2009 by

The Tax Working Group is due to issue their report this week. Here are the things I’ll be looking for as I  judge their proposals: Simple. Paying tax is an administrative burden, and compliance takes time and money. A great … Continue reading →

Posted in NZ Business, Politics | Tagged | 5 Comments

Contempt watch: Whaleoil and name suppression

Posted on November 28, 2009 by

<Picture changed after seeing this> Whaleoil seems to think that he is above the law. One day he’ll find out that he is not. <Update That day has come> But then It’s good to have people on the edge pushing … Continue reading →

Posted in NZ Business | 5 Comments

Lingopal Blues

Posted on November 26, 2009 by

Sometimes you just have to take a short break from work, as my cousin Richard did so for us while we were Skyping about Lingopal last night. So to ease your mind, relax and enjoy a brief interlude:

Posted in NZ Business | Tagged | 1 Comment

NZHerald’s shopping tab – it’s complicated

Posted on November 23, 2009 by

NZ Herald launched their new shopping tab yesterday, and as I dug into it the cast of players got larger and larger. It got so complicated that I decided that making a video would be the most efficient way to … Continue reading →

Posted in NZ Business | Tagged , , , | 14 Comments

Has Infratil become a dodgy investment?

Posted on November 19, 2009 by

No – I’m sure Infratil have not changed their excellent approach to infrastructure investing, but their advertising strategy sure makes you think. I’ve been seeing their advertisements in Facebook. They may be cheap ads, but we cannot help judging them … Continue reading →

Posted in NZ Business | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Chanui Pure Ceylon 120 Value Pack

Posted on November 19, 2009 by

We’ve just launched a new range of tea at Chanui – and it is pretty interesting. (Well it is for me anyway.) Chanui sells a range of premium teas across supermarkets in New Zealand. We have seen plenty of response … Continue reading →

Posted in NZ Business | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Brand dilution: not Grandma’s biscuit

Posted on November 17, 2009 by

Eaten on Air NZ just now. It wasn’t very good.

Posted in Air Travel, NZ Business | 1 Comment

A reskinning is not a panacea: Dick Smith

Posted on November 17, 2009 by

Dick Smith just reskinned their site. Well they have at least since the last time I went there. My summary is that this is nice but will add little to their site statistics. The look has changed slightly but the … Continue reading →

Posted in NZ Business | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Woo Hoo I’m Gold – Thanks Virgin Blue

Posted on November 13, 2009 by

Excellent news from Virgin Blue in my email inbox just now. It was a bit of a surprise, as I have not flown with them for a while, and I thought that my status would be expiring if anything. and … Continue reading →

Posted in Air Travel | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Your application is ready for sale

Posted on November 13, 2009 by

Your application is ready for sale, originally uploaded by LanceWiggs. Dealing with the app store for Apple iPhone applications can be a little painful at times and for some, but when the process works it is great. My hats off … Continue reading →

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Governance of tax issues for directors

Posted on November 11, 2009 by

I’ve just run across this nice cheat sheet by the ATO – a tax governance guide for directors of large companies. It’s got some handy hints for directors of smaller companies as well. I maintain that at least one person … Continue reading →

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