Rob Stock
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Articles by Rob Stock
Insurer Vero warns customers will foot the bill as natural disaster weather claims set to keep rising Original
Vero said weather-related natural hazard claims cost $184.6 million over the past year, up from $70.6m in the previous year. (file photo)Sven Martin / Supplied Vero Insurance says its modelling suggests climate change will increase the yearly cost of natural hazard claims for weather-related perils by a minimum of 12% by 2040, and that cost will have to be passed on to policyholders. However, in a “high warming scenario” the cost could rise by 15% a year.
Ngāi Tahu Investments to exit Sanford in $72 million deal Original
Moyle told media the sale did not mark the end of Ngāi Tahu’s investment in the seafood industry. It still owns Ngāi Tahu Seafood, which was established to manage the fishing quota received by Ngāi Tahu following settlement with the Crown. Ngāi Tahu Investments bought its stake in Sanford in 2021 paying $5.50 a share. Sanford shares have performed strongly over the past 12 months having risen in price by nearly 15%, however it’s been a volatile ride, and their price briefly topped $8 in May.
Dollars and Sense: Labour wants to wipe 10% from student loans. How is that fair? Original
Generic voting images.COLLETTYE DEVLIN/STUFF Senior business reporter Rob Stock answers your money questions. Got a question for Sunday magazine? Email it to sundaymagazine@stuff.co.nz QUESTION: Labour is promising to wipe 10% off student loan balances. I chose to repay my student debt quickly. I feel like Labour’s policy is a spit in the eye. How is it fair? ANSWER: Money and politics are a fertile ground for resentment at all points on the left/right spectrum, but this is how policy works.
The ‘big guys’ will win the AI copyright fight, says visiting legal expert Original
AI and law expert Mark Lemley had a large language model create this image of penguins drinking at a beach. In most countries it is unlikely that he would be able to claim copyright over the image, though on that point New Zealand may be an outlier. The big guys tend to win out over the little guys, according to Professor Mark Lemley, expert on the global battle surrounding generative AI and copyright law.
Spectre of dividends in 2028 dangled in front of long-suffering SkyCity shareholders Original
SkyCity hopes to return to paying dividends to shareholders in 2028.Photo: Kelly Hodel / WAIKATO TIMES Just In 5:57 pm 4:49 pm 3:13 pm Long-suffering SkyCity shareholders have been told to expect the casino and entertainment company to start paying dividends again in its 2028 financial year. Speaking at the company’s annual shareholder meeting in Auckland on Wednesday, chief executive Jason Walbridge said SkyCity continued to reduce debt, cut costs, and improve its business.
Milford KiwiSaver growth fund knocked off top spot in 10-year ranking for first time, by Simplicity
Since the first KiwiSaver growth funds passed their 10-year anniversary in late 2017, Milford’s Active Growth fund has led fund researcher Melville Jessup Weaver’s rankings for the highest return after fees. It’s now lost the top spot to rival Simplicity. Star KiwiSaver manager Milford has lost its record for the highest-returning growth fund over 10 years.
Milford KiwiSaver growth fund knocked off top spot in 10-year ranking for first time, by Simplicity
But Harris said while Milford’s 9.6% per annum, after-fee return was just behind Simplicity’s 9.9% return, it had taken less risk to secure those returns than Simplicity had. Risk is measured by MJW using standard deviation, a measure that indicates how much a fund’s returns bounce around over time. Investors wanted high returns, Harris said, but they also wanted fund managers to keep losses low in periods in which markets were falling.
The Kiwi company planning a critical metals reclamation plant in Texas to combat the world’s ewaste explosion
Mint Innovation's Sydney critical metals reclamation plant in operation.supplied US President Donald Trump may have torn up green or clean tech incentives, but he’s gone full throttle into critical minerals, and for at least one Kiwi company, that’s good news. “That's really, really helpful for us right now,” Mint Innovation co-founder and chief executive Will Barker told investors at the NZX Tech Investor Day in Auckland in early October.
Helping the Bank of Mum and Dad get repaid on time and in full
Tom Aitkin, left, and Kris Hunter, co-founders of Amico - a New Zealand technology company, which the Kiwi pair run from Australia.supplied / Supplied Kiwi technology company Amico has taken a step towards organising the sometimes disorderly financial arrangements between friends and family: an app to manage loan repayments. The most recent World Bank data indicates that in 2021, 15.2% of adults in New Zealand got a loan of some sort from family and friends in the previous 12 months.
My credit card is creeping into debt for daily purchases, would I be better off using buy now, pay later?
On average, the more types of loan account you have, the greater your non-mortgage debt, and the greater the likelihood you will be behind on repaymentsPhoto: 123RF Just In 11:00 am 11:00 am 11:00 am Senior business reporter Rob Stock answers your money questions. Got a question for Sunday magazine?
Long Covid claims rejected by insurers - using mental health policy exclusions
Tales Azevedo Alves is struggling with a debilitating case of Long Covid, but when he made a claim on his income protection policy, it was declined.Alden Williams / The Press Christchurch man Tales Azevedo Alves was diagnosed with ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) when in university in Brazil, his country of origin.
The good kind of economic ‘complexity’ New Zealand is missing
New Zealand’s economy runs on a narrow track. Do political parties have any plans on the table to change that?VANESSA LAURIE / Taranaki Daily News The Post's Policy Spotlight series digs deep to identify what solutions the parties might be offering for the top issues facing New Zealand. Today, Rob Stock reports on the country’s reliance on agriculture and tourism.
‘Insurers have reached their risk limits’: Impact of natural hazards on homeowners
There is a growing insurance divide with some homeowners finding it harder to secure insurance on terms they are happy with.Braden Fastier / NELSON MAIL Insurance brokers say it’s getting increasingly hard to find insurance for homeowners due to natural hazard risk. Katherine Wilson, chief executive of the Insurance Brokers Association (IBANZ), says a survey it conducted of brokers found 62% reported an increase in the difficulty of placing house insurance.
Half of people ‘angry’ or ‘anxious’ about cost of living, university reports
‘Angry’ or ‘Anxious’ were how half of people felt about the cost of living, researchers from the University of Otago found.Photo: Stuff Just In 11:00 am 11:00 am Election campaigning is playing out before the eyes of a jaded public with many feeling uncertain and miserable about their finances, a report from researchers at the University of Otago Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka suggests.
I’d lived in Auckland for 25 years. How had I never hiked the Pinnacles?
There are some stunning selfie-moments to be had on The Pinnacles in the Coromandel Forest Park.Photo: The Post Just In The day I hike into one of the country’s most beautiful spots, the US President is particularly active dropping bombs in the Middle East. I regret not having turned my phone off before I started. I sigh and switch the phone to silent.
Dollars and Sense: How can you safely get money to skip a generation?
Older generations sometimes want their money to skip a generation. It’s important to think about how that can be done without the money being frittered.123rf Senior business reporter Rob Stock answers your money questions. Got a question for Sunday magazine?
Kiwi tech stars take stage at NZX showcase as non-AI stocks take a beating
Tech is one of the NZX’s key strategic focuses as it strives to increase listings on the market, and it’s trying to create a buzz around the sector.The Post The first question NZX investors had for Phil Thomson, founder of the world-leading retail crime-busting technology company Auror, was when would the company sell its stock in an IPO so they could buy shares in it.
National pledges $300m loans for water, aims to keep fertiliser, flowing to farmers
National says if re-elected, it will commit $300 million for loans to boost water storage to reduce drought risk to farmers.Supplied National says it will make $300 million worth of “concessional” loans available to increase water storage for agriculture, if re-elected.
The service that’s cutting KiwiSaver financial hardship withdrawals in half
Christine Liggins, founder of Debtfix, believes there are too many hardship withdrawals from KiwiSaver.SUPPLIED Many of the 4500 people who made hardship withdrawals from KiwiSaver in August may not have needed to, according to a specialist firm that manages many of the applications. Christine Liggins heads Debtfix, which manages hardship withdrawal applications for four large KiwiSaver providers: Simplicity, Milford, New Zealand Funds, and SuperLife.
High inflation has hurt households, but which party has the policies to tame it?
Food has played a big part in the 2026 election campaigns. Chris Hipkins and Arena Williams are shown working the deli counter at Plenty Foods, a small grocer they say would benefit from their supermarket policy.Henry Cooke The Post's Policy Spotlight series digs deep to identify what solutions the parties might be offering for the top issues facing New Zealand. Rob Stock reports.
National releases small business policy, but stops short of committing to lift GST threshold
National’s Small Business spokesperson Cameron Brewer has unveiled the party’s small business policy pledges for the 2026 election.BRUCE MACKAY / The Post National has released its plan for small businesses, but it falls short of the pledge made by Labour to raise the GST threshold for small businesses from $60,000 to $80,000.
Disaster risk on homes lost in translation, leading insurer says
Houses toppled over in Cyclone Gabrielle - as the immediacy of a disaster fades, a cycle of forgetting and complacency begins.Eva Mueller Half of homebuyers are slacking on hazard and natural disaster research , according to a new study. The research was done by insurer Suncorp, and its chief executive, Jimmy Higgins, isn’t surprised by the findings. He is, in fact, sympathetic, as it isn’t as simple as it should be for buyers to check out a property’s natural disaster bona fides.
Labour’s planned consumer protection laws must be backed by a properly funded regulator, professor warns
Alex Sims is professor in the Department of Commercial Law, and an associate at the UCL Centre for Blockchain Technologies.Chris McKeen / Stuff Consumer law expert Alex Sims has welcomed Labour’s proposed “Fair Go Law” pledge, but says to be effective, money needed to be allocated to the regulators supposed to police them.
Does AI jobs uncertainty make this a bad time to buy a house?
What will the rise of AI do for house prices?Liz McDonald / The Press Senior business reporter Rob Stock answers your money questions. Got a question for Sunday magazine? Email it to sundaymagazine@stuff.co.nz QUESTION: I am not yet a homeowner, but hope to be. What I want to know is what AI will do to house prices?
Long Covid patients, already ‘invisible’, face insurance block over past mental illness
Nicola Coombe is one of around 185,000 people with long Covid, a post-viral illness with varying levels of severity. She has been left unable to work due to horrendous headaches, brain fog, and extreme fatigue.The Post Nicola Coombe has long Covid, a debilitating disease that has left her with symptoms including chronic exhaustion, brain fog, dizziness when standing, joint pain, and gruelling headaches which doctors have tried to treat with anaesthetic injections into her spine.
Treason, Paris and swimmable rivers: Takeaways from the Federated Farmers rural debate
Major political party big hitters Todd McClay (National), Jo Luxton (Labour), Mark Patterson (New Zealand First), Andrew Hoggard (ACT) and Steve Abel (Green) ready themselves to debate.Mark Taylor / Waikato Times “Treasonous”. One dairy farmer couldn’t hold back on her belief the Greens had “conspired” with Dutch climate activists to complain to the European Union that New Zealand was back-tracking on its climate obligations under its free trade agreement.
Labour pledges to pass ‘Fair Go Law’ to ban hidden fees, junk insurance and drip pricing
Labour leader Chris Hipkins says, ‘This election is about the cost of living, and New Zealanders are being hit by hidden fees they never saw coming. Labour will make sure New Zealanders get a fair go at the checkout.’Alden Williams / The Press Labour is promising to ban junk insurance, flex commissions on used-car loans, and force companies to make it as easy for people to cancel a subscription as it is to set it up.
Back to the future: Synlait’s lessons from the past on how to return to profit
“The company is stronger, simpler, and well positioned for the future,” says Synlait acting chief executive Leon Fung.Synlait The future is brighter now for NZX sharemarket-listed dairy company Synlait, but acting chief executive Leon Fung is cautious about forecasts. “It's a little bit too early to promise anything,” says Fung. “I just want to be a little bit conservative here. But the progress we made in the last few months, the operational stability, operational recovery we achieved ...
Woolworths confirms axe to fall on around 130 customer-care jobs in New Zealand, with roles shifted to Australia.
Australian-owned supermarket chain Woolworths has confirmed it is moving Auckland customer service jobs to its Sydney call centre.Photo: ALDEN WILLIAMS / The Press Just In 5:58 pm 5:19 pm 4:04 pm Australian supermarket chain Woolworths has told about 130 Auckland customer service workers that its plan to “integrate” their roles into its Sydney call-centre operation will proceed, resulting in the loss of their jobs.
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