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Consumers dramatically changed their spending patterns last month because of Covid-19 and the government ordered lockdown. Official numbers show overall retail spending using electronic cards fell a record seasonally adjusted 3.9 percent on the previous month. Stats NZ senior manager Sue Chapman sai

Previously only transactions of $80 or less were able to be completed without a PIN using a contactless card. However, ASB and TSB customers will not benefit (unless they get new cards) as those banks “hardwired” the $80 limit into their cards, Newsroom reported. After a pilot, Payments NZ will prog

Two great personalities  from very different worlds have gone. This with the news that Tim Brooke-Taylor and Sir Stirling Moss have both passed away. Many of us remember Tim Brooke-Taylor OBE from The Goodies TV show in the 70’s and currently on re-run here. He has featured in many other shows and p

Today the Ministry can report 19 new cases of COVID-19, made up of 15 new confirmed cases and four new probable cases. There are now 546 reported cases of COVID-19 infection which we can confirm have recovered – an increase of 75 on yesterday. We continue to report more people recovered than new cas

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield are giving the update. Yesterday, Bloomfield announced New Zealand had another 18 cases of Covid-19, the lowest daily number in three weeks. The total number of confirmed and probable cases in the country is 1330, whil

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said it “could have gone either way” as he thanked healthcare workers for saving his life after being discharged from hospital. Boris Johnson participates in a national ‘clap for carers’ in the doorway of 10 Downing Street on April 2, 2020. Johnson, 55, was taken

Yesterday, there were 29 new confirmed and probable cases, bringing the total cases in the country to 1312, while two more deaths were announced. Both of the deaths were linked to an identified cluster. The deaths include a man in his 80s who died at Wellington Hospital and a man in his 70s who died

Analysis – Unless there’s an unexpected spike in Covid-19 cases, level 4 will most likely end on 22 April. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is preparing the country for a marathon recovery and life under “the new normal” is starting to take shape. The number of new Covid-19 cases reported over the last