Contact Energy shareholders hoping for news of a capital return or increased dividends got slim pickings from the company’s annual meeting in Christchurch, although chief executive Dennis Barnes had good news for customers, saying power prices were unlikely to rise anytime soon. Chairman Grant King told shareholders at last year’s annual meeting that an update on capital returns or dividend …

Japanese financial giant Bank of Tokyo is opposing the debt restructuring deal announced on Oct. 1 to help get state-owned coal miner Solid Energy back on its feet, but may be forced to take the deal anyway, papers lodged with the Companies Office show. The Auckland branch of Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ is recorded as the second-largest lender to Solid …

The building boom looming in Christchurch and Auckland in the next three years will inevitably put upward pressure on wages and prices in the construction sector and could spill over into general inflation, driving up interest rates and the kiwi dollar, the Reserve Bank says. The Auckland Housing Accord aims to free up enough land for 39,000 homes in the …

Shares in Xero topped $20 apiece when trading opened today, valuing the cloud-based accounting software developer at $2.38 billion, more than casino and hotel operator SkyCity Entertainment Group and dominant pay-TV firm Sky Network Television. The shares rose 2.5 percent to $20.20, a new intraday record, after the Wellington-based company announced yesterday that it raised $180 million in new capital, …

Fisher Funds Management, which took over Tower Investments earlier this year, says a takeover bid for Abano Healthcare Group undervalues the specialist medical investor. Abano is facing a potential takeover bid by biggest shareholder and former director Peter Hutson, Australian private equity firm Archer Capital and investor James Reeves, valuing the firm at about $131.4 million, though no formal offer …

Infratil, the Wellington-based infrastructure investor, has agreed to sell Manston Airport in the UK for 350,000 British pounds to Stagecoach Group co-founder Ann Gloag and her brother Brian Souter. Infratil agreed to sell the airport for 1 pound plus adjustment for working capital variances and cash injected by Infratil, the company said in a statement. The latest sale comes after …

Christchurch International Airport’s proposed prices over the next two decades are significantly higher than the Commerce Commissions’ view of what’s acceptable, and tougher disclosure requirements have had little impact on promoting price efficiency, the regulator says. The airport is targeting a return of 8.9 percent over the next 20 years, well above the commission’s view of an acceptable return of …

The New Zealand dollar advanced as concern US politicians have yet to reach agreement before this week’s deadline for raising the nation’s debt limit, risking default, weighed on the greenback. The kiwi rose to 83.67 US cents at 8am in Wellington from 83.31 cents at the 5pm market close yesterday. The trade-weighted index gained to 77.64 from 77.34 yesterday. The …

Optimism that US lawmakers might be nearer to breaking their impasse over increasing the debt ceiling and re-opening the federal government is lifting investor sentiment. The top-ranking Democrat in the Senate has reportedly put a new proposal to his Republican counterpart and the two will meet with President Barack Obama on Monday afternoon in Washington to see if there’s a …

Rod Drury, founder of Xero, says the cloud-based accounting company $180 million capital raising from key US shareholders sends a strong signal to rivals that there are no constraints on the funds it needs to win global market share. essays about bullying The Wellington-based company sold 9.92 million shares at $18.15 apiece, a 1.1 percent premium to their price last …