New Zealand’s top two world-ranked universities, Auckland and Otago, have taken sharp drops in the latest annual QS World University rankings, although Auckland remains in the top 100 at 94th. Otago’s was the most precipitous fall, dropping 22 places to 155th ranking, while Auckland dropped 11 places from 83 in last year’s survey. On the bright side, all New Zealand …

Former Bridgecorp chief financial officer Rob Roest suggested the losses to investors were not as severe or widespread and directors were acting in the company’s best interest by not putting it into receivership, when he appeared before the Court of Appeal in Wellington. Roest was representing himself in his appeal hearing today, and is appealing his High Court conviction and …

Up to 20 government departments will cut short leases for temporary accommodation taken after the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes and return to the Christchurch central business district en masse in 2016. Prime Minister John Key announced the commitment to helping repopulate the quake-hit city’s traditional urban core in a speech to the Canterbury Employers Chamber of Commerce, just days after …

Stronger consumer spending on durable goods resumed in August after a blip in July, led by a 2.8 percent increase in spending on durable goods. “This month’s increase in core retail was driven by durables and was the largest since June 2011,” acting industry and labour statistics manager at Standards New Zealand, Tehseen Islam, said in a statement. The two …

The New Zealand dollar rose after weaker US jobs data prompted some investors to pull back expectations for the Federal Reserve to start tapering its bond buying programme this month. The kiwi advanced to 80.09 US cents at 8am in Wellington from 79.96 cents at the New York close last week and 79.09 cents at 5pm in Wellington Friday. The …

US President Barack Obama’s speech aimed at gaining domestic support for military action against Syria and the continuing debate over the timing of the start of the Federal Reserve’s taper will top this week’s agenda. President Obama is scheduled to make his Oval Office address on Tuesday evening, hoping to convince Americans that the US must act. The risks of …

The New Zealand dollar advanced, tracking most of its peers, as the US dollar weakened following softer US jobs data last week. The kiwi rose to 80.22 US cents at 8am in Wellington, from 79.80 cents at the 5pm market close yesterday. The trade-weighted index advanced to 75.60 from 75.41 yesterday. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a …

Tenon, the wood mouldings company controlled by former Fletcher Challenge unit Rubicon, boosted its funding lines, signing up to a bigger banking facility as it seeks to cash in on the US housing recovery. The Auckland-based company signed a five-year, US$70 milion facility, adding PNC Bank National Association to its banking syndicate with existing lenders Bank of New Zealand and …

Better-than-expected Chinese data and takeover deals helped bolster Wall Street, which also welcomed a Russian proposal to put Syria’s chemical weapons under international control in an effort to avert US military intervention. Shares of Molex soared, last up 31.6 percent, after Koch Industries agreed to buy the maker of electronic components for US$7.2 billion. In other deals, Ares Management and …

New Zealand stocks rose slightly, as did Australian stocks, where markets were digesting the implications of a clear, but less emphatic than anticipated, win for the Liberal Party-led coalition of the new Prime Minister, Tony Abbott. The NZX 50 Index rose 16.841 points, or 0.366 percent, to 4,614.019. Within the index, 24 stocks rose, 17 fell and nine were unchanged. …