Investment theory for dummies, Sexwax falls flat and China wine opportunities

While a sheep dog could have picked a good index in the past couple of years there is volatility ahead, Neville Bennett writes in today’s National Business Review.

In his Economically Speaking column, Dr Bennett covers the recent bull market, why he’s picking a bear market is ahead and what recent gyrations mean for investors.

In Margin Call NBR editor-in-chief Nevil Gibson says the recent shakeout has restored sanity to markets.

Elsewhere in today’s print edition, there’s the curious case of US company Sexwax Incorporated opposing a New Zealand trademark application and what a High Court decision means for future disputes.

In AdMedia, Victoria Young details a naming stoush between two tax refund companies, the latest round of which has been thrown out of the Supreme Court.

Also, why a trade spat between the European Union and China might be good for the New Zealand wine industry.

The Overseas Investment Office confirms it will probe the background of executives at giant Chinese dairy producer Mengniu once its proposed acquisition of rival company Yashili International Holdings is confirmed.

Yashili has OIO approval to build a dairy factory in the Waikato town of Pokeno.

Meanwhile, a visiting fund manager issues a warning for investors in China-exposed companies.

Guest columnist Rose Patterson, a New Zealand Initiative research fellow, says the primary teachers’ union is essentially backing performance-based pay – an idea they publicly railed against four years ago.

In Asia Watch, Frank Ching reveals where he sides on the debate over Edward Snowden – whistleblower or leaker of sensitive information? – and what Mr Snowden's actions mean for the privacy debate in the US.

Back home, lawyer Michael Wigley explains why the law governing the Government Communications Security Bureau is already clear and why it suits those in power to allow for “creative” interpretations.

Executive Health reports a three-year study to determine the best strategies for weight-loss and diabetes prevention is about to begin in Auckland.

Also in today's print edition:

• Shoeshine thumbs his way through the Synlait Milk prospectus and asks the Canterbury-based dairy company how it plans to meet its hefty revenue growth forecasts.
• In On The Money, Michael Coote outlines why the Reserve Bank’s moves to calm a frothy residential housing market misses the mark.
• Nathan Smith, writing in Foreign Affairs, traverses the background of Iran’s new president Hassan Rouhani and what it means for the country’s dire economy and regional influence.