New Zealand corporate earnings may fall short of investors’ expectations with the reporting season for June balance dates bearing down next month. Locally-listed companies’ valuations may start coming off the boil as the price-to-earnings ratio gets ahead of profits, and investors may be disappointed when firms publish their results next month, AMP Capital Investors (New Zealand) head of equities Guy …

Governance software purveyors Diligent Board Member Services continue to attract the attention of NZX regulators, who issued a ‘please explain’ notice today after a 17.3 percent drop in the company’s share price in the last four days. The inquiry is only the second this year from NZX Market Services under Section 10.1.1 of the NZX Listing Rules relating to the …

GFNZ Group, the finance company formerly known as Geneva Finance, says it has concluded talks on a series of funding transactions worth $27.5 million that will allow it to repay debenture holders, existing bank and other debt. The core part of the new arrangements is a $30 million securitized debt facility with Westpac Banking Corp, the company said. It also …

The lowest annual pace of inflation in 14 years is relieving pressure on the Reserve Bank to have to raise interest rates this year, as rising construction costs stay contained. The consumer price index rose 0.2 percent in the three months ended June 30, just shy of the 0.3 percent expected in a Reuters survey of economists, for an annual …

Accident Compensation Corp, the state-owned no-fault accident insurance scheme with more than $20 million of funds under management, has taken advantage of retailer Pumpkin Patch’s shares near an 18-month low to lift its holding to 9.2 percent. ACC bought 500,000 shares in the children’s clothing chain on July 12 for about $411,000, or about 82 cents apiece. It had previously …

New Zealand inflation printed just below expectations in the second quarter, as cheap imported petrol helped counter rising housing related prices, pushing the annual rate to a 14-year low. The consumer price index rose 0.2 percent in the three months ended June 30, just shy of the 0.3 percent expected in a Reuters survey of economists, for an annual pace …

Greenpeace New Zealand, the local arm of the global environmental lobby group, spent more on national campaigns and lifted its contribution to head office after a jump in its fundraising surplus. The group’s 2012 annual report shows the net fund raising surplus rose to $5.4 million in calendar 2012, from $4.87 million a year earlier. That’s the second-best year for …

New Zealand computer system design companies pay more than twice the average wage and have recorded faster growth in pay that the rest of the economy, yet increasingly they’re reporting severe difficulties attracting workers. That’s one of the findings of the government’s information and communications technology sector report, released today. The percentage of computer system design firms reporting that it …

As US corporate earnings season accelerates this week, Citigroup has posted a 42 percent surge in quarterly profit, setting the stage for stocks to extend their year-to-date rally even amid mixed economic data. Shares of Citigroup gained, last up 2.1 percent, after the company reported quarterly earnings that exceeded expectations as revenue on stock trading jumped. In late afternoon trading …

New Zealand shares rose, pushing up the NZX 50 Index for an eighth straight session, led by A2 Corp, Telecom, Port of Tauranga and Fletcher Building as investors mulled what is expected to be mixed results in earnings season. The NZX 50 rose 37.907 points, or 0.8 percent, to 4606.24. Within the index, 34 stocks rose, seven fell and nine …