Housing & Construction: New Zealand home building has hit a 10-year low, with residential construction volume down 5% to NZ$17.6b in the year to March as higher rates and uncertainty sap demand, even as consents rise 11% and economists expect some lift later in the year. Markets: The NZX 50 slipped for a third day as Middle East tensions kept investors cautious, while Ngāi Tahu’s partial Sanford sale and weaker construction and retail sentiment weighed; Spark also sank to 15-year lows. Payments & Costs: The Commerce Commission has proposed capping Mastercard and Visa commercial credit card interchange fees, aiming to cut business costs by about $40m a year. Insurance & Risk Funding: The Insurance Council is pushing to replace the FENZ levy with a simpler Community Protection Levy to fund pre-disaster resilience, while Finance Minister Nicola Willis says a separate levy may not be needed. Espionage & Cyber/Recruitment: Five Eyes agencies warn Chinese intelligence is targeting people with access to sensitive information via LinkedIn and job sites, prompting fresh scrutiny of online hiring scams. Geopolitics & Trade: China has banned four New Zealand MPs from entering for a year after a Taiwan visit, and the US has proposed 12.5% forced-labour tariffs on dozens of countries including New Zealand—raising trade risk for exporters. Energy & Regulation: Fuel security tensions continue as Shane Jones criticises WorkSafe tank upgrade rules, arguing they could reduce storage capacity.