Best of Business

A Los Angeles ​jury recently found Meta and Google guilty of designing harmful social media platforms that encourage addictive behaviour in users.
The jury found Meta liable for $4.2 million in damages and Google for $1.8 million, and it's expected this case will inspire similar legal cases.
Senior public health researcher at UOA, Dr Samantha Marsh, says this is a historic moment for social media.
"This is the first time that they've actually been taken to court, they've been found liable for their product. Up until now, it's just been about what people post on their platforms and they can't be held responsible for that. But this kind of changes everything."
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Labour may still hand a lifeline to the Government's much-touted surcharge ban.
The policy was announced with much fanfare last year - with Minister Scott Simpson promising it would be in force by May.
But he now says the bill's on pause, after David Seymour confirmed ACT won't back it.
National's now hoping for Labour's support for it to pass, with the Opposition keen to see amendments made so retailers don’t bear the costs of the payments themselves.
Retail NZ's Carolyn Young says she think's it's unlikely the banks can be forced to absorb them.
"If they can get the banks to absorb the fees, that would be a great outcome."
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The Government is looking at potentially helping Channel Infrastructure increase its fuel storage capacity at Marsden Point.
Channel - New Zealand’s largest fuel import terminal business - has identified some 'very preliminary options' for significantly increasing its diesel storage capacity more quickly than would normally be the case.
NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny explained further.
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The New Zealand sharemarket turned downwards, finishing with a fall of over 1.53 percent.
The conflict in the Middle East has continued on, and oil prices have kept going up as a result.
Milford Asset Management's Jeremy Hutton explained further.
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It’s believed businesses will hold off on hiking prices for as long as possible as rising fuel prices risk pushing inflation up.
Reserve Bank Governor Anna Breman says fuel prices are likely to lead to higher inflation and weaker growth over the coming months.
She says it's too early to say how much that will push up inflation across the board, or whether the Official Cash Rate will need to be hiked earlier than expected.
BusinessNZ Advocacy Director Catherine Beard told Ryan Bridge there was discussion with suppliers to make any price increases as a result of fuel transparent, so they won’t get baked in.
She says businesses are preparing for the worst, but things at the moment aren’t too bad.
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