New Zealand stocks rose on Christmas Eve, pushing the NZX 50 Index to a three-week high, as the outlook for the construction industry helped lift Fletcher Building and Warehouse Group led some retailers higher in the peak spending season. The NZX 50 rose 45.30 points, or about 1 percent, to 4767.935 in the shortened pre-Christmas session. Within the index, 35 …

The general election in New Zealand next year is starting to weigh on the nation’s equity market and is also likely to weaken business confidence and the exchange rate, brokerage First NZ Capital said. The election, to be held between September and November 2014, is expected to be an extremely close result between a National-led government and a Labour/Green coalition, …

James Hardie Industries, the Australian building materials supplier, settled legal action with the New Zealand government over leaky school buildings. While the terms of the deal are confidential, Sydney-based James Hardie said in its second quarter financial statements in November that it faced potential costs of up to US$47.6 million related to a slew of leaky building claims, including provision …

Talley’s Group, the privately-held maker of foods ranging from frozen fish to ice cream, agreed to buy up to 14.99 percent of Open Country Dairy from Singapore’s Olam International for as much as $46.5 million. The deal would lift Talley’s holding of the dairy company to as much as 70.5 percent from 55.5 percent, increasing its control of a business …

The New Zealand dollar advanced in subdued trading heading into the quiet Christmas holiday period. The kiwi edged up to 82.06 US cents at 8am in Wellington, from 81.93 cents at 5pm yesterday even after reports showing US consumer spending and consumer sentiment at five month highs. The trade-weighted index strengthened to 77.50 from 77.43 yesterday. The New Zealand dollar …

Wall Street rose, pushing the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to fresh record highs, as the International Monetary Fund said it plans to lift its outlook for the US economy. “Growth is picking up and unemployment is going down,” IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said yesterday on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press.’ “So all of …

New Zealand shares rallied as Australia & New Zealand Banking Group and Westpac Banking Corp shrugged off Australian regulatory requirements to hold more capital and offshore investors saw value in a market that has lagged global peers in recent days. The NZX 50 Index rose 41.444 points, or 0.9 percent, to 4722.635. Within the index, 33 stocks rose, 11 fell …

The New Zealand dollar held near its lowest in more than three weeks heading into the Christmas break and was weaker against the Australian dollar while not moving outside its recent trading range. The kiwi was at 81.97 US cents from 82.05 cents at the start of the day and from 82.09 cents in New York on Friday. The currency …

Summerset Group, the retirement village operator whose shares have gained 47 percent in the past 12 months, named Scott Scoullar as chief financial officer, filling a vacancy left by Julian Cook, who has been promoted to chief executive. Scoullar joins Summerset from Housing New Zealand, where he has been CFO since early 2012, after filling the same role at the …

GuocoLeisure, the diversified investment company once known as Brierley Investments, plans to delist from the NZX, meaning its dwindling New Zealand shareholder base will have to use the Singapore Exchange in future. The Singapore-based company said New Zealanders now own just 4.2 percent of total shares on issue. So far in 2013, daily turnover on the NZX has been 22,567 …