England will face destructive batsman Ross Taylor in both their forthcoming Twenty20 and one-day international series against New Zealand.
The former New Zealand captain was recalled to the squads for the limited overs series against England for the first time since being axed as skipper last year.
Taylor did not tour South Africa after being dumped by Mike Hesson after the tour of Sri Lanka, an incident which prompted a credibility crisis for New Zealand Cricket, but has apparently re-established a working replacement with the coach.
The aggressive 28-year-old right-hander has only recently returned to first class cricket for Central Districts.
"Ross is a world class batsman who is a key part of this Black Caps side," Hesson said in a statement.
Otago opening batsman Hamish Rutherford, who had a strong domestic Twenty20 competition, is the only uncapped player in the squads, while all-rounder Andrew Ellis returns to both after missing the South African tour with injury.
"There are a couple of changes that have been forced through injury but essentially we want to be seen to provide continuity from one series to the next," chief selector Kim Littlejohn said.
"We are however looking at developing talented youngsters and finding a new crop of all-rounders in our build-up to the Champions Trophy in June and the 2015 Cricket World Cup."
England begin their tour on Feb. 4 with a Twenty20 match in Whangarei against a New Zealand XI. The first Twenty20 international is in Auckland on Feb. 9.
Twenty20 squad: Brendon McCullum (captain), Trent Boult, Ian Butler, Grant Elliott, Andrew Ellis, James Franklin, Martin Guptill, Roneel Hira, Mitchell McClenaghan, Nathan McCullum, Colin Munro, Hamish Rutherford, Ross Taylor.
One day squad: Brendon McCullum (captain), Trent Boult, Grant Elliott, Andrew Ellis, James Franklin, Martin Guptill, Mitchell McClenaghan, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Colin Munro, Ross Taylor, BJ Watling, Kane Williamson.
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- 2018: Formal work begins
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Three tips from La Perle's performers
1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.
2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.
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Retirement funds heavily invested in equities at a risky time
Pension funds in growing economies in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East have a sharply higher percentage of assets parked in stocks, just at a time when trade tensions threaten to derail markets.
Retirement money managers in 14 geographies now allocate 40 per cent of their assets to equities, an 8 percentage-point climb over the past five years, according to a Mercer survey released last week that canvassed government, corporate and mandatory pension funds with almost $5 trillion in assets under management. That compares with about 25 per cent for pension funds in Europe.
The escalating trade spat between the US and China has heightened fears that stocks are ripe for a downturn. With tensions mounting and outcomes driven more by politics than economics, the S&P 500 Index will be on course for a “full-scale bear market” without Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts, Citigroup’s global macro strategy team said earlier this week.
The increased allocation to equities by growth-market pension funds has come at the expense of fixed-income investments, which declined 11 percentage points over the five years, according to the survey.
Hong Kong funds have the highest exposure to equities at 66 per cent, although that’s been relatively stable over the period. Japan’s equity allocation jumped 13 percentage points while South Korea’s increased 8 percentage points.
The money managers are also directing a higher portion of their funds to assets outside of their home countries. On average, foreign stocks now account for 49 per cent of respondents’ equity investments, 4 percentage points higher than five years ago, while foreign fixed-income exposure climbed 7 percentage points to 23 per cent. Funds in Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan are among those seeking greater diversification in stocks and fixed income.
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