ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on August 8, 2025.
The ASX’s rookie error is just the latest of many blunders. Investors are losing confidence
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Angel Zhong, Professor of Finance, RMIT University It was the latest blow to the credibility of the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). This time, the nation’s stock exchange mixed up two company names in an error that briefly wiped A$400 million off the market value of our third
Keith Rankin Analysis – Stimulate or Suffocate, in the light of Older Women’s Spending?
Analysis by Keith Rankin. In the wake of the recent release of labour force data (Household Labour Force Survey, HLFS, Nicola Willis bemoans ‘glass half empty’ view of unemployment figures, RNZ 6 August 2025), 1918-1920 National Party Leader Simon Bridges, has called for economic “stimulus” to rescue in particular the dire Auckland economy. (See Call
The Cambridge factor: how influential NZ schools hastened the demise of NCEA
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stuart Deerness, Senior Lecturer in Education, Auckland University of Technology As New Zealanders digest the news about government plans to scrap NCEA from 2028, we should also consider the role influential and prestigious schools had on its demise. Since NCEA was introduced between 2002 and 2004, these
Keith Rankin Chart Analysis – Employment growth in New Zealand for retirement-age women
Analysis by Keith Rankin. The above chart shows – in red – the annual percentage increase (since 1988) in numbers employed of women aged 65-69, based on Household Labour Force Survey employment data. (And it shows, for comparison, males aged 30-34; in blue, their percentages are shown on the right-hand side of the chart. I
Are you in a mid-career to senior job? Don’t fear AI – you could have this important advantage
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kai Riemer, Professor of Information Technology and Organisation, University of Sydney Have you ever sat in a meeting where someone half your age casually mentions “prompting ChatGPT” or “running this through AI”, and felt a familiar knot in your stomach? You’re not alone. There’s a growing narrative
Move over Mercury – Chiron is in retrograde. What even is Chiron?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Nicole Driessen, Postdoctoral Researcher in Radio Astronomy, University of Sydney An artist’s impression of Chiron and its coma of gas. William Gonzalez Sierra / UCF You might have seen an interesting phrase popping up in your social media feeds lately: “Chiron is in retrograde.” If you’re
The ANU is moving to kill the Australian National Dictionary – this is why it matters
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Howard Manns, Senior Lecturer in Linguistics, Monash University Bonzer. Dinkum. Troppo. We love our distinctive words and phrases. We revel in the confusion they cause outsiders. We celebrate the stories behind them. We even make up a few furphies about them. What many Australians might not know,
17 older Australians die from falls every day. Here are 5 things you can do to reduce your risk
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anne Tiedemann, Professor of Physical Activity and Health, Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney ipuwadol/Getty Images Every day in Australia, more than 400 people aged over 65 are admitted to hospital due to a fall. That’s around one person every four minutes. Although anyone can
Australia can hit an 85% emissions cut by 2035 – if government and business seize the moment
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anna Malos, Climateworks Centre Country Lead, Australia, Monash University Ian Waldie/Getty Images Discussions are hotting up over Australia’s 2035 emission reduction target, which the federal government is due to reveal by September this year. It will be a crucial announcement, for several reasons. The target signals to
Rewatching Picnic at Hanging Rock at 50: an unsettling portrayal of place, silence and disappearance
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jo Coghlan, Associate Professor, Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, University of New England FilmPublicityArchive/United Archives via Getty Images Peter Weir’s Picnic at Hanging Rock, released 50 years ago, is remembered for its eerie atmosphere and mysterious story. But beneath its haunting beauty, the film challenges the idea
Grattan on Friday: Anthony Albanese marches cautiously towards Palestinian recognition
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Treasurer Jim Chalmers has been putting it succinctly, declaring it’s a question of when, not if, Australia recognises Palestine as a state. It’s a line Foreign Minister Penny Wong used more than a year ago. This week Wong was sounding
Politics with Michelle Grattan: ‘talking about blokes’ issues’ with ex-Olympian and Labor MP Dan Repacholi
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Men’s physical and mental health can be a prickly subject, both for men and those looking to help. With the rise of social media and AI, there are new challenges emerging – especially for younger men. The re-elected Albanese government
Changes are brewing in the Indian Ocean. Does this mean Australia should get ready for a soggy spring?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew King, Associate Professor in Climate Science, ARC Centre of Excellence for 21st Century Weather, The University of Melbourne As spring in Australia nears and the days get longer, you might be wondering what the rest of the year holds for our weather. There are signs that
Keith Rankin Chart Analysis: Employment in New Zealand – especially of women – at the Age Margins
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Quarterly Labour market data in Aotearoa New Zealand was released today. Much of the data is functionally useless, because of definitions which disguise rather than reveal important trends and turning points. I have focussed on employment data (although the definition of ’employment’ is too generous to be optimally useful) relative to
Banning contactless and credit card surcharges won’t help – open banking reform is what’s needed
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Andhov, Chair in Law and Technology, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Jorge Mata We’ve all been there – absentmindedly tapping a credit or debit card to pay for something at a shop, only to remember moments later there is a 2.99% surcharge. These surcharges are
How do scientists estimate crowd sizes at public events – and why are they often disputed?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milad Haghani, Associate Professor and Principal Fellow in Urban Risk and Resilience, The University of Melbourne Last Sunday, tens of thousands marched across the Sydney Harbour Bridge in support of Gaza. But exactly how many people were there depends on whom you ask. Police put it at
Can I eat instant noodles every day? What does it do to my health?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lauren Ball, Professor of Community Health and Wellbeing, The University of Queensland Photo by Rahul Pandit/Pexels Instant noodles are cheap, quick and comforting – often a go-to snack or meal for students, busy workers, families and anyone trying to stretch their grocery budget. In Australia, the instant
I entered an exhibition about North Terrace on North Terrace, and saw the precinct anew
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sasha Grbich, Undertaking a PhD in Art History, Flinders University North Terrace: worlds in relief, installation view, Samstag Museum of Art, 2025. Photography by Sia Duff courtesy Samstag Museum of Art North Terrace: worlds in relief, currently showing at the Samstag Museum of Art, offers visitors the
‘Slutty little glasses’: men’s eyewear fashion is the history of seeing – and being seen
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lorinda Cramer, Lecturer, Cultural Heritage and Museum Studies, Deakin University If you’ve been on the internet lately, chances are you’ve heard an intriguing – and perhaps even startling – descriptor applied to men’s eyewear: “slutty little glasses”. Coined by online creator and culture critic Blakely Thornton, the