The Independent, March 2001
front page:
- with a loss of as much as $3 million looming, Savoy Equities is said by unnamed observers to be considering a $2
million cash issue. The company's principal, Jihong Lu, would-be develper of Auckland's on-aga off-again Britomart
transport centre, was judged bankrupt last November;
- The Independent pulls apart a Wilson & Horton advertisement run prominently in the Herald last week, criticising the way it transformed a bottom-line loss of
$2.39 million for the last financial year into a "record operating profit of $96.7 million";
- the NZ Stock Exchange-appointed committee investigating the Lion takeover of Montana is meeting behind closed doors to
agree terms;
elsewhere in the paper:
- BNZ wins $1 million summary judgement from Garry Lawrence, director of the financially troubled Metro City Apartments
development;
- Seafood Industry Council close to gaining right to levy members under the Commodity Levies Act, ahead of meat and wool
industry bodies;
- a flagship incubator for young fashion designers is in trouble a year after its establishment. Five designers have
left the Auckland High St premises, and its future is being reassessed. One of the designers says the incubator gave her
the kick-start she needed. However, retail distribution and cashflow problems have apparently outweighed the mentoring,
wholesale assistance, and subsidised premises which were available;
- Chris Trotter says the proposed new Tertiary Education Commission is dangerous;
- feature - innovation in NZ is hampered by troublesome intellectual property law
- Bill Ralston is bowled over by the offer of a six figure salary in public relations and ponders the fate of freelance
journalists in NZ, knocking out yarns at 30 cents a word.