
NZX down 0.3% as world waits for Iranian response
The New Zealand sharemarket fell on Monday after the United States launched strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities over the long weekend.
The benchmark S&P/NZX 50 Index dropped 0.29% to 12,532.65 points with 38 million shares worth $135.7m changing hands.
On his Truth Social media platform, US President Donald Trump said

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NZ Herald
11 hours ago
- NZ Herald
NZ sharemarket flat despite export growth, Fletcher Building down again
The New Zealand sharemarket dipped slightly as the fallout of Fletcher Building's investor day continued, offsetting new trade data that showed a growth in exports year-on-year. The S&P/NZX 50 Index closed down 0.052% or 6.52 points, falling to 12,460.96, with 32.87 million shares changing hands to the value of $127.48

RNZ News
16 hours ago
- RNZ News
Trump drops f-bomb while berating Israel, Iran over ceasefire wobbles
US President Donald Trump speaks to the press before boarding Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC on 24 June, 2025, to attend the NATO's Heads of State and Government summit in The Hague. Photo: AFP US President Donald Trump says that a ceasefire between Iran and Israel is holding, shortly after he lashed out at both countries and cursed as he accused them of violating the truce. In a fast-moving series of declarations, the 79-year-old Republican, who was on his way to attend a NATO summit in The Hague, posted on his Truth Social app that "the Ceasefire is in effect!" "ISRAEL is not going to attack Iran. All planes will turn around and head home, while doing a friendly 'Plane Wave' to Iran. Nobody will be hurt," Trump wrote. Minutes earlier, he had castigated Iran and also close US ally Israel for violating a ceasefire he had originally announced late Monday. The two countries have been "fighting so long and so hard that they don't know what the f... they're doing, do you understand that?" the president told reporters at the White House. Iran violated the ceasefire, "but Israel violated it too," Trump told reporters on the White House's South Lawn as he departed for the NATO summit. "So I'm not happy with them. I'm not happy with Iran either. But I'm really unhappy if Israel is going out this morning." "I've got to get Israel to calm down," he said. "Israel, as soon as we made the deal, they came out and dropped a load of bombs the likes of which I've never seen before." Trump's unusually public display of anger at Israel saw the US leader apparently trying to cajole his ally to call off war planes in real time. Earlier the same morning, he had posted on Truth Social: "ISRAEL. DO NOT DROP THOSE BOMBS" -- without it being clear which bombs he was referring to. "IF YOU DO IT IS A MAJOR VIOLATION. BRING YOUR PILOTS HOME, NOW!" If it holds, the truce would be a big political win for Trump in the wake of his risky decision to send US bombers over the weekend to attack three nuclear facilities in Iran that Israel and the United States say were being used to build an atomic bomb in secret. The US leader had said the truce would be a phased 24-hour process beginning at around 0400 GMT Tuesday, with Iran unilaterally halting all operations first. He said Israel would follow suit 12 hours later. Israel has been bombing Iran in an offensive that began 13 June. The United States joined the attack with a mission starting overnight Friday to Saturday against the deeply buried Fordow complex and two other sites. Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump insisted that the US bombing mission was a success. "I think it's been completely demolished," he said, savaging US journalists for "fake news" and calling two networks "scum" for reporting that it remains unclear whether the Iranian nuclear infrastructure was truly dismantled. "IRAN WILL NEVER REBUILD THEIR NUCLEAR FACILITIES!" he posted separately on Truth Social. - AFP


Techday NZ
17 hours ago
- Techday NZ
LG launches Radio Optimism to boost meaningful digital bonds
LG Electronics has launched a campaign titled Radio Optimism with the aim of addressing social disconnection in digitally-focused societies by encouraging more meaningful interactions through music. The initiative aligns with the company's Life's Good brand promise and allows individuals to compose and send customised songs to friends or family using artificial intelligence-enabled tools. Through this interactive platform, participants are able to generate unique musical creations and associated album artwork by inputting personal prompts, with the intention of supporting deeper relationship building. By introducing Radio Optimism, LG is seeking to challenge the prevalence of superficial online exchanges, such as social media likes and short comments, which have increasingly replaced genuine interpersonal communication. The campaign builds on the company's prior efforts to engage younger audiences and create positive digital environments, following last year's campaign that aimed to promote uplifting content via social algorithms. Kim Hyo-eun, Head of Brand Management Division at LG, commented on the importance of the campaign's intentions. "As technology advances, meaningful human connections become increasingly vital to enrich our lives. LG continues its commitment to bringing optimism into customers' daily lives, staying true to our enduring brand promise of 'Life's Good.'" A global survey commissioned by LG, conducted through Focaldata and spanning the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, India and Canada, underscores the extent of social disconnection experienced by many. The research found that 68 percent of respondents reported increased difficulty in forming real friendships. One third of those surveyed indicated they had one or fewer meaningful connections in the past month, with 8 percent stating they had had none at all. Jean M. Twenge, Professor of Psychology at San Diego State University, commented on the findings and their broader social context. "One of the most reliable predictors of happiness is having deep and meaningful relationships. Yet today, many people are spending more time online and less time connecting in person. Social media in particular tends to create shallow relationships rather than the deep connections people need. It's common for people to have hundreds of followers but no one to talk to in real life if they need support. We need to build more meaningful connections with those around us. That might turn around the pronounced decline in happiness that's occurred over the last decade." The concept behind Radio Optimism is said to be inspired by the role traditional radio has played in creating shared experiences, using music and storytelling to bridge distances between listeners. LG's adaptation of this idea allows users to craft and distribute digital songs, which can also be shared more widely for global discovery via the platform. According to the survey, nearly 90 percent of respondents believe that having meaningful personal bonds contributes to a more optimistic attitude towards life. The Radio Optimism campaign aims to respond to this view by providing a medium for self-expression through music, enabling users to reach out to loved ones and, potentially, to form richer social networks. The company has ensured the campaign's accessibility by launching the platform in both English and Spanish, with plans to add further language support in subsequent months, encouraging participation from a broader international audience. LG states that the AI-powered tools draw on a carefully selected music dataset to help interpret user instructions, resulting in the generation of diverse and individualised content within the platform's interface. The survey, which included 5,000 participants equally distributed across the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, India and Canada, was conducted among adults aged 18 to 45, offering a representative snapshot of attitudes to connection and optimism in five major markets. The Radio Optimism campaign reflects LG's ongoing approach to engaging with digital-native audiences and responding to concerns about well-being and fulfilment in a highly connected, but at times isolating, digital environment.