Charles Hudson   Venture Partner SoftTech VC An active seed stage investor focusing on Web 2.0 startups, Charles Hudson has focused his recent attention on mobile and gaming investments in addition to his work as Venture Partner at SoftTech VC. Prior to joining SoftTech, Hudson was vice-President at Business Development for Serious Business, a company acquired by major internet players …

The New Zealand dollar rose to a new 9-month high after the Federal Reserve extended its quantitative easing programme and tied the end of record low interest rates to a targeted drop in unemployment. The kiwi dollar rose to 84.51 US cents from 83.90 cents at 5pm yesterday, the highest since it reached 84.71 cents on Feb. 29. The trade-weighted …

GLOBAL MARKETS:  This morning was all about the US Federal Reserve and it duly delivered. The big change was a shift in the Fed’s communication strategy for it’s zero-interest rate policy, which is now dependent on the US unemployment rate falling below 6.5% (while inflation remains below 2.5%); from the Fed’s earlier mid-2015 forward guidance. The Fed also announced it would …