Archive for July, 2010

Gamers lose interest in Tiger Woods

Thursday, July 22nd, 2010

Tiger Woods was stood down by his sponsors, Gillette, Accenture, TAG Heur, General Motors and AT&T after the news of his several affairs became public knowledge.

Gamers appear to be the next in line to desert the golfing star, even though the publisher of this gaming franchise, Electronic Arts, has stood by him so far.  An anonymous games retailer states that sales of  Tiger’s latest game Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 have gone down by 60 – 70%.   Electronics Arts admits that this could be due to his not-so-brilliant golfing performance of late.

US sales figures are similar, showing that first-month sales of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 were down 68 per cent on all platforms from the previous version a year ago.

The full text of the article is available here.

Pacific Blue opens gates to LA

Thursday, July 15th, 2010

Hamilton is the latest city of expansion for Pacific Blue, with return flights direct to LA ranging from $1649 to $1945.  The new service joins up with the Pacific Blue service to Brisbane, allowing passengers to connect with the onward journey from Brisbane to LA.

Hamilton Airport CEO Chris Doak welcomed the services as adding convenience and ease of use for North Island residents, as well as easing congestion in Auckland.

Central Business Association chairman Arthur Pitcher said the more international links Hamilton could get the better. “It’s fantastic. Any increase in international flights is a chance to link Hamilton to the great tourism market. I’m delighted.”

View the full article here.

New Zealanders jump on electronic spending

Friday, July 9th, 2010

The month of June has lead to increased use of credit cards, in anticipation of the GST rising and looming tax cuts.

All of the industry groups showed increases for the month, with the leaders in retail sales being food, liquor and chemist sales.

Consumers seem more upbeat with their financial position, in comparison with spending habits during the recession.

To view the full article, click here.

Progressive Trans-Tasman Security Measures

Monday, July 5th, 2010

Technology is been employed in allowing passengers to enjoy shorter airport clearance times, with a screen of baggage been taken en route to NZ.   This means that passengers whose luggage is screened and shown not to pose a possible risk, and who have nothing to declare, can quickly access their luggage and use the express checkouts.

At the moment, only low risk Trans-Tasman flights will use this technology, but other other countries are also showing interest.

To read the full article, click here.