The Independent, March 2001

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.

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