Faking it
OPINION: Demand for red meat is booming, while it seems the heyday of plant-based protein is well past its 'best before' date.
OPINION: The Hound suggests all the hype around the potential commercial success of plant-based meat alternatives is starting to hit the wall of reality.
Beyond Meat - the plant-based 'meat' maker - recently reported disappointing third-quarter results.
The company has also issued a gloomy outlook that indicates sales won't snap back immediately.
Financial analysts like JP Morgan and Credit Suisse are now backing off their earlier calls to invest in Beyond Meat, downgrading the stock and telling investors to not buy.
"We view the results as further evidence that Beyond's business is reaching market saturation faster than expected and that the company has deeper problems that won't be easy to fix," Credit Suisse analyst Robert Moskow wrote in a not to clients.
JP Morgan's Ken Goldman told investors that "it's hard to be completely confident about the future of the category".
Westpac NZ has announced new initiatives that aim to give customers more options to do their banking in person.
New Zealand red meat exports experienced a 29% increase year-on-year in September, according to the Meat Industry Association (MIA).
The head of the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) biosecurity operation, Stuart Anderson, has defended the cost and the need for a Plant Healht and Environment Laboratory (PHEL) being built in Auckland.
BNZ says its new initiative, helping make the first step to farm ownership or sharemilking a little easier, is being well received by customers and rural professionals.
The head of Fonterra's R&D facility in Palmerston North is set to literally cross the road and become the new vice chancellor at Massey University.
Allan Freeth, chief executive of the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has announced he is resigning.