NZX joins Asia-Pacific markets' decline

NEW Zealand shares have retreated as the market joined a region-wide decline.

The NZX 50 Index fell 39.263 points, or about 0.8 per cent to 4911.076 on Thursday. Within the index 35 stocks fell, seven rose and eight were unchanged. Turnover was $101.7 million.

Across Asian-Pacific markets there was a downturn after Chinese data showed manufacturing was shrinking.

"The negative data out of China flowed on particularly through Australia," said James Smalley, a director at Hamilton Hindin Greene.

"We just seem to be following those trends at the moment."

Budget retailer Warehouse Group led decliners after it warned its first half profits could fall as much as 13 per cent. New Zealand's largest listed retailer slid 4.5 per cent to $3.54.

Among other retail stocks to fall, outdoor equipment chain Kathmandu Holdings dropped 4.4 per cent to $3.35 and Hallenstein Glasson, which was punished last week after it issued a profit warning, fell 2.9 per cent to $3.35.

Listed property entities declined as the talk of an interest rate hike "sooner rather than later" diminished the appeal of property stocks that typically return a steady cash dividend, Mr Smalley said.

Goodman Property Trust fell one per cent to 97 cents. Kiwi Income Property Trust dropped 0.9 per cent to $1.10. DNZ Property Fund fell 0.3 per cent to $1.53, and Argosy Property was unchanged at 93 cents.

SkyCity Entertainment Group slipped 1.8 per cent to $3.82 and Fletcher Building fell 0.3 per cent to $9.13.

Mr Smalley said some of the heat came out of the tech stocks as investors took the opportunity to take profits.

Xero, whose share price has gained 480 per cent in the past 12 months, declined 1.4 per cent to $42.59 and Wynyard slipped 7.6 per cent to $2.93.

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OceanaGold leads NZX gains

NEW Zealand shares have gained for a second day to a two-month high, led by OceanaGold, which exceeded its gold production forecasts.

The NZX50 advanced 28.668 points or about 0.6 per cent to 4950.339 on Wednesday.

Within the index 26 stock rose, 15 fell and nine were unchanged. Turnover was $107.9 million.

Melbourne-based mining group OceanaGold led the index higher, with the shares up 7.7 per cent to $2.11 after it said it beat its gold production forecasts for 2013.

"When there is any announcement out of a gold company about production rates you do get a knee jerk reaction from the market," said Mark Warminger, portfolio manager at Milford Asset Management.

"That will settle down in the following days and months. Ultimately it depends on the price of gold."

F&P Healthcare shares rose 3.9 per cent to $4.12, the highest the respiratory and sleep apnoea mask makers have been in nearly seven years.

Retirement village operators Ryman Healthcare, Summerset Group and Metlifecare joined the health sector rally.

Ryman was up 0.3 per cent to $8.17, Summerset also lifted 0.3 per cent to $3.65 and Metlifecare gained 0.2 per cent to $4.25

"Healthcare is a safe place to be, in case of any little hiccup in the market, health is seen as safe stock," Mr Warminger said.

Stocks with Australian interests rose as the kiwi dollar weakened against the Australian dollar.

SkyCity Entertainment Group, which has casinos in Darwin and Adelaide, advanced 1.8 per cent to $3.89, Fletcher Building rose 1.1 per cent to $9.16 and outdoor clothing retailer Kathmandu was up three per cent to $3.45.

Telecom shares rose 0.4 per cent to $5.80 after it won the final lot of 4G radio spectrum in the government's auction.

Shares in energy efficient light bulb maker and marketer Energy Mad doubled to an intraday two-year high price of 68 cents, after it said its cost saving bulbs will be sold in the US market through online retailer Amazon. The stock closed at 60 cents, up 76 per cent.

Trade Me Group led the decliners, dropping 1.7 per cent to $4.13 and Diligent Board Member Services fell 1.5 per cent to $4.68.

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$88 million extra cash for Customs "war"

THE federal government will spend an extra $88 million to boost the capacity of Customs and Border Protection Service (ACBPS) to screen mail, air and sea cargo.

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison made the announcement at Port Botany in Sydney on Wednesday.

"Customs and Border Protection will increase inspections of high-risk cargo and mail and also increase the intensity of examinations which will maximise the potential of stopping illegal firearms and drugs before they hit our streets," Mr Morrison said.

As part of the package, an investigation squad will be created to assist existing law-enforcement task forces to arrest firearm and drug traffickers.

Container inspection operations will be expanded at Sydney and Melbourne, as well as mobile X-ray technology for ACBPS staff.

It will also include 15 extra detector dog teams to increase inspection of cargo.

"We're in a war against drug syndicates, against those who would seek to import weapons into this country, drug precursors, steroids," ACBPS chief executive Michael Pezzullo said.

"In a war you need weapons, you need bullets.

"We will use those capabilities in the war we're engaged in."

NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell said the money would help stop the flow of illegal weapons and drugs into his state.

"This is a very welcome announcement from Tony Abbott and Scott Morrison," he said in a statement.

The extra funds will also complement the NSW government's efforts to fight drug and alcohol-fuelled violence, the premier added.

Following intense public pressure over alcohol-fuelled violence, Mr O'Farrell announced a raft of tough new measures on Tuesday to crack down on offenders.

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Business still lacks appetite to employ

An improving trend in business is not likely to prevent unemployment from rising over the next year. Source: AAP

A MODEST improvement in business conditions is unlikely to stop the jobless rate rising over the next year, a leading business group has warned.

A depreciation in the Australian dollar will have helped business conditions to a degree but firms are still struggling, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry says.

"They have limited appetite to invest and employ and that is unlikely to improve until there is a more sustained pick-up in trading conditions across the economy," the chamber's acting chief economist Burchell Wilson told reporters in Canberra on Monday.

"It is also telling us that the unemployment rate is expected to rise over the next 12 months."

The chamber's latest survey of investor confidence showed some positive trends, such as for sales and profitability, albeit coming off a low base.

The survey's business conditions index rose to 52.6 points in the December quarter from 51.1 points in the previous three months, which had been the first reading above 50 in almost three year.

However, while sales and profitability improved, they remain entrenched below the 50 mark that separates expansion from contraction.

The business expectations index also eased slightly to 55.5 points from 56.5 points.

The survey came as the Australian dollar slipped to a fresh three and a half year low towards 87.50 US cents, having been in a gradual decline since last Thursday's labour force date that showed weak employment growth in December.

The federal government in its mid-year budget released just before Christmas forecast the unemployment rate rising to six per cent by June, up from 5.8 per cent as of the end of last year.

The government expects the jobless rate to rise even further over the following year.

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NSW bushfire upgraded to emergency

AN emergency warning has been issued for a bushfire burning in northwest NSW.

The NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) issued the emergency alert for the Oxley Crossing blaze northeast of Coonabarabran at 3.55pm (AEDT) on Monday.

"A bushfire is burning in a south easterly direction towards the township of Rocky Glen," the RFS said just before 4pm.

"If you are not prepared, leave now in an easterly direction towards Gunnedah.

"If you are staying with your property, make final preparations now and seek shelter as the fire front arrives."

The fire has already burnt through more than 100 hectares, a year after major bushfires threatened homes and an observatory in the region.

The Transport Management Centre said the Oxley Highway was closed in both directions about 25km east of Coonabarabran.

Eastbound motorists were being diverted at the Newell Highway to travel via Narrabri while westbound motorists are diverting via Black Stump Way.

Ninety-nine fires were burning across the state on Monday morning, with 26 of them still out of control.

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Cate continues Oscar march after SAG win

Australian actress Cate Blanchett has won a Screen Actors Guild Award for her role in Blue Jasmine. Source: AAP

ANOTHER day, another award for Cate Blanchett.

The Australian actress continued her domination of Hollywood award season on Saturday night with a win at the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards for her lead role in Woody Allen's comedy-drama Blue Jasmine.

A week ago, Blanchett claimed a Golden Globe and on Thursday she was nominated for an Oscar.

She has also won more than 10 other major critics awards.

The haul has created a dilemma for Blanchett.

How will she get all of the trophies in her bags for the return flight to Sydney?

"I hope Australian Customs will be kind," Blanchett told reporters backstage at Los Angeles' Shrine Auditorium.

There is one trophy Blanchett is yet to claim: an Oscar.

The SAG win confirms her almost unbackable favouritism for the best actress Oscar at the March 2 Academy Awards.

In 2005, when Blanchett won the supporting actress SAG award, she went on to win her first Oscar, supporting actress for The Aviator.

Blanchett's sweep of awards season comes despite competition from some of the greats of the business.

The other SAG best actress nominees were: Meryl Streep (August: Osage County); Sandra Bullock (Gravity), Judi Dench (Philomena); and Emma Thompson (Saving Mr Banks).

In other SAG categories, Matthew McConaughey continued his run at the best actor Oscar with a SAG victory for Dallas Buyers Club.

His co-star, Jared Leto, won the supporting SAG while 12 Years a Slave's Lupita Nyong'o caused an upset in the supporting actress category.

Nyong'o beat favourite Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle) and heavyweights Julia Roberts (August: Osage County) and Oprah Winfrey (The Butler).

In the TV categories, Modern Family won the best comedy ensemble and Breaking Bad took the drama ensemble.

Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston also won the lead actor in a drama series award.

Helen Mirren, for Phil Spector, caused an upset over Top of the Lake duo Elisabeth Moss and Holly Hunter in the TV movie or mini-series category.

The SAGs were held at The Shrine auditorium in Los Angeles.

SAG is the union representing more than 100,000 actors.

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NZ boy dies after sand hole collapses

A SEVEN-YEAR-OLD boy has died at a New Zealand beach after a hole in the sand collapsed on him and suffocated him.

The accident happened at Pataua South Beach, near Whangarei in Northland, on Sunday afternoon.

The boy had poked his head into a hole in the sand and the sand collapsed around him, pinning him in, St John northern communications shift manager Tony Devanney told AAP.

He was pulled out of the hole but could not be revived.

It was not clear how long the boy was stuck in the hole, he said.

Mr Devanney said it did not appear the hole was all that big.

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GP fee a key issue in Griffith by-election

IT may be a squabble over a paltry $6, but the stakes are high.

Speculation that the federal government wants to introduce a mandatory $6 GP fee is fast becoming a major issue in the by-election for the seat vacated by ex-Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

The Greens have joined Labor in campaigning against the $6 GP fee in the Griffith electorate, trying to get residents to vote against the Liberal National Party at the February 8 poll.

An army of Greens voters are doorknocking homes in the electorate on Saturday, urging constituents to put LNP candidate Dr Glasson last on their ballot papers.

They say Dr Glasson, a former Australian Medical Association (AMA) president, supports plans to make patients pay a $6 fee every time they visit their GP.

Greens candidate for Griffith Geoff Ebbs says struggling residents would simply not be able to afford the charge.

"The people of Griffith will be queuing up at our local hospitals emergency departments to avoid paying this extra cost," Greens candidate for Griffith Geoff Ebbs said.

"More expensive medical expertise will be taken up for illnesses that GPs should be tending to."

The Doctors Reform Society of Australia is rallying with the Greens, while Labor has already come out firing on the $6 GP fee.

Opposition leader Bill Shorten was in Griffith on Thursday with Labor candidate Terri Butler to meet voters and campaign against Medicare co-payments.

However, the coalition maintains it has not considered or proposed to introduce a co-payment.

The government says the proposals were made by the Australian Centre for Health Research in a paper released publicly last October and have been the subject of media speculation since.

Dr Glasson says he has always been a passionate supporter of Medicare.

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Vitamin D can help fibromyalgia

VITAMIN D supplements can improve the symptoms of a debilitating chronic pain disorder that affects around one in 25 people, mostly women.

Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) causes widespread muscle pain and tiredness, and is associated with anxiety and depression.

Sufferers are highly sensitive to touch, so that even a minor knock can be extremely painful.

The incurable condition, often confused with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, or ME, is believed to be triggered by abnormally sensitive nerves.

Previous studies have shown that low levels of vitamin D are common in patients with FMS.

In the new study, 30 women with the syndrome who were lacking vitamin D were either given supplements of the vitamin or an inactive placebo.

Boosting vitamin D levels led to dramatic reductions in the treated group's experience of pain, as measured using a standard scale based on self-reported symptoms.

The improvement continued over 25 weeks until the supplements were stopped, after which both groups had matching pain scores.

Treated women also experienced a significant reduction in morning fatigue, although the supplements had no impact on depression and anxiety symptoms.

The findings are reported in the current issue of the journal Pain.

Study leader Dr Florian Wepner, from Speising Orthopaedic Hospital in Vienna, Austria, said: "We believe that the data presented in the present study are promising. FMS is a very extensive symptom complex that cannot be explained by a vitamin D deficiency alone.

"However, vitamin D supplementation may be regarded as a relatively safe and economical treatment for FMS patients and an extremely cost-effective alternative or adjunct to expensive pharmacological treatment as well as physical, behavioural, and multimodal therapies.

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The ACT extends its total fire ban

The ACT is bracing for another day of scorching hot temperatures under a total fire ban. Source: AAP

AUTHORITIES in the ACT have extended a total fire ban into the weekend as the nation's capital continues to swelter.

ACT Emergency Services Agency Commissioner Dominic Lane says the ban first declared on Wednesday has been extended until midnight on Saturday.

The Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting a top of 40C for Canberra and strengthening winds on Saturday, with a severe fire danger.

Light showers are expected to break the heat on Monday.

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