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NZ forex trader and the Russian gang leader, Queen St retail rents rocket, Warning for investment angels

What's in your National Business Review print edition this week.

Fri, 10 Jul 2015

In NBR Print today: New Zealand company Forex Trend has been accused by Ukrainian authorities of involvement in an embezzlement scam aimed at financing pro-Russian separatists, Tim Hunter reveals. The accusation, made by the Security Service of Ukraine in May, has been denied by its alleged ringleader, Alexander “the surgeon” Zaldostanov, leader of biker gang the Night Wolves, who described it as “imbecility.” With New Zealand-registered, foreign-owned forex traders increasingly implicated in allegations of fraud and money laundering overseas, is it time for a change to our benign regulation of the sector?

Early-stage investing is enjoying a surge in popularity in New Zealand with record levels of angel investment, growing venture capitalist numbers and the emergence of equity crowdfunders. But as Calida Smylie reports, those involved at the coal-face warn there are great risks involved and a high likelihood of investment losses. “I do see with crowdfunding that a moral hazard is emerging … Companies with negligible revenue being valued anything north of $1 million is nuts. And some of the stuff that’s coming out of these sites is just crazy money,” former Shareholders Association chairman Bruce Sheppard says.

The future of how the non-bank financial services industry operates hangs on the outcome of a Supreme Court appeal, reports Jenny Ruth. “It’s fair to say the whole industry’s in limbo,” says Financial Services Federation executive director Lyn McMorran on news that Motor Trade Finance [NZX:MTF] won the right to appeal to the nation’s highest court in what is known as the Sportzone Motorcycles case brought by the Commerce Commission.

Seven years after investors in Hanover and sister company United Finance heard the chilling news that their $554m would not be home for Christmas, or perhaps ever, the last regulatory action has ended with an $18m settlement. Like it or not, this is indeed where it ends and there’s no sense carrying on like it’s some sort of Balkan blood feud. But before we walk away from the wreckage, let’s reflect on that uneasy feeling in the guts that says “is that it?”. Tim Hunter comments on the Hanover/FMA deal.

More interest rate cuts are on the way as the economy drops a gear – but calls for a spendup are misplaced, writes Rob Hosking. An OCR cut later this month is now a near-certainty, with a further cut in September more likely than not.

Auckland’s Queen St retail rents are pushing the $4000 barrier as retailers battle for limited space at the harbour end of the city’s golden shopping strip. Landlords are seeking expressions of interest before making lease decisions. Sally Lindsay reports.

NBR's Special Report covers Business Insurance.

If the agriculture sector does not pull up its productivity socks, the competitive advantage New Zealand enjoys will be lost, as developing countries become more agriculturally productive, reports Jason Walls.

All this and more in today's National Business Review. Out now.

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NZ forex trader and the Russian gang leader, Queen St retail rents rocket, Warning for investment angels
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