Wall Street fell as investors weighed comments from various US Federal Reserve officials following last week’s surprise decision by the central bank not to cut back its monthly bond-buying program. “The more people who speak from the Fed in one day, the less clarity there is,” Richard Sichel, who oversees about US$1.9 billion as chief investment officer at Philadelphia Trust, …

New Zealand shares fell, with the NZX 50 Index extending its drop from a record, as investors prepare for the Meridian Energy sale and mull the potential end of US monetary stimulus. Sky Network Television and Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund paced the slide. The NZX 50 fell 29.003 points, or 0.6 percent, to 4701.374. Within the index, 39 stocks fell, seven …

Labour plans no change to key economic planks, including a capital gains tax, the single buyer electricity policy, affordable home-building policy, and a broader mandate for monetary policy than inflation control, Labour’s newly appointed leader, David Cunliffe, confirms. Speaking to BusinessDesk after a press conference where he unveiled a new shadow Cabinet line-up, Cunliffe confirmed his deputy, David Parker’s key …

PGG Wrightson chairman John Anderson will retire from the rural services company at the annual meeting next month. Anderson, who joined the board during a tumultuous shake-up in 2010, will step down from the board at the Oct. 22 meeting, the company said in a statement. A new chairman will be appointed after the meeting. Anderson’s appointment coincided with a …

Newly listed transport fuels distributor Z Energy is heading into the first refresh of its corporate strategy since launching three years ago. In an interview with BusinessDesk, chief executive Mike Bennetts said the Z board will be considering a “four to five year” horizon in the next round of strategic planning, which should start crystallising late this year, but may …

State-owned national grid operator Transpower named former senior executive at Fletcher Challenge and Fonterra Cooperative Group, Alison Andrew, to replace outgoing chief executive Patrick Strange early next year. Andrew is currently the global head of chemicals for Orica Australia, a multinational chemical and mining services company, and a member of the Genesis Energy board. An engineer by training, she held …

The New Zealand dollar may trade in a tight range this week as investors consider when the Federal Reserve is likely to start paring back its US$85 billion-a-month monetary stimulus after unexpectedly chosing to keep the package unchanged last week. The local currency may trade between 82 US cents and 84.80 cents this week, according to a BusinessDesk survey of …

The New Zealand dollar weakened as investors evaluate whether the Federal Reserve may start tapering its monetary stimulus next month after unexpectedly keeping the programme unchanged this month. The kiwi slipped to 83.49 US cents at 8am in Wellington, from 83.62 cents at the New York close and 83.81 cents at the 5pm market close in Wellington on Friday. The …

New Zealand stocks were mixed in trading today. Early signs were that the market would break a two day mild upward run, but the trend reversed late in the day to be slightly positive at day’s end, with several stocks going ex dividend. The NZX50 Index, which is calculated on a gross basis and does not account for the ex …

DNZ Property Fund has hired Auckland International Airport’s property boss Peter Alexander to take over the reins when current chief executive Paul Duffy departs. Alexander, currently Auckland Airport’s general manager property and part of the transport hub’s senior management team, will join the sixth-biggest listed property entity by market value on Dec. 10, DNZ said in a statement. The property …