Mercury Energy, the electricity retailer owned by partial privatisation candidate MightyRiverPower, has announced its first across the board price cuts in a decade. The cuts average 1.4 percent for most of its customers in its home territory, Auckland, and will apply from April 1. The cut is credited to an order by the government’s competition watchdog, the Commerce Commission, to …

In stark contrast to when I opened the curtains yesterday to reveal great disappointment, today Beijing truly turned it on, presenting a winter-wonderland outside as snow blanketed the city. Beijing looked truly stunning today, the snow cleared much of the pollution and the extended sight-lines showed a beautiful winter city – giving a whole new appreciation for what is truly a tremendously …

This morning was a pretty big disappointment when I opened my curtains to reveal one of the worst days for pollution since I arrived in Beijing. I made the decision to hold off on the Forbidden City for one more day and make the journey to the Silk Market, a place described to me as a hub for the weird, …