Telecom Corp, the country’s biggest phone company, is hoping to drive customers on to faster broadband services with a deal to offer discounted online access to the English Premier League football. The Auckland-based company will offer existing broadband customers a 15 percent discount for a $149.90 ‘season pass’ on Coliseum Sports Media’s PremierLeaguePass.com website, and new customers on mid-range plans …

Fonterra Cooperative Group, the world’s biggest dairy exporter, has been contacted by the China National Development and Reform Commission as part of an investigation into milk powder prices in the world’s most populous nation. The Auckland-based company is cooperating fully with the Chinese regulator, which is reviewing a wide range of consumer businesses in the Chinese dairy industry, Fonterra said …

The regime governing New Zealand’s ultra-fast broadband roll-out risks “the real probability of repeated political intervention as those in public office exercise their legislated powers to safeguard taxpayer investments and secure their political objectives.” That warning comes in a briefing paper from Victoria University’s Institute for the Study of Competition and Regulation, which is convening a day-long seminar to probe …

Xero, the cloud-based accounting software firm, has doubled its market capitalisation in just four months, rising above $2 billion today, having still to turn a profit. The shares rose 3.9 percent to $17.40 on turnover of some $935,000, valuing the company at $2.04 billion and adding to its 120 percent jump this year. That makes it the 11th biggest company …

Freightways, the courier and data management company, said profit before one-time items rose 6 percent in 2013 and similar profit growth is expected in 2014, lagging analyst estimates of 10 percent growth in the coming year. The shares fell 2.9 percent to a one-month low. “The expected performance is consistent with Freightways most recent outlook comments that it expects to …

The New Zealand dollar touched its highest in four-and-a-half years against the Aussie this morning after the Reserve Bank of Australia governor Glenn Stevens yesterday suggested a decision on whether to hold interest rates this week was a close call. The kiwi touched 85.80 Australian cents today, its highest since November 2008. The local currency recently traded at 85.62 Australian …

Wall Street was mixed as better-than-anticipated US jobs data offset concern about political unrest in Egypt and ministerial resignations in Portugal. In the US, private payrolls rose 188,000 in June, according to the ADP National Employment Report. That exceeded expectations for a gain of 160,000 jobs. Separately, Jobless claims fell by 5,000 to 343,000 in the week ended June 29 …

Cottonsoft, the toilet tissue maker working to repair its reputation after criticism of parent Asia Pulp & Paper’s tropical rainforest logging, narrowed its loss in 2012 and took a smaller shareholder advance, its accounts show. The net loss was $1 million last year, from a loss of about $2.4 million a year earlier, according to financial statements lodged with the …

Auckland house prices edged up for a second month in June in the face of fewer listings and intense demand among property buyers, according to Barfoot & Thompson, the city’s biggest realtor. The average sale price rose 0.8 percent to $649,945 last month, adding to a 0.3 percent gain in May, the firm said. The median price rose 3.5 percent …

The New Zealand dollar weakened as signs of an improvement in the US economy buoyed speculation the Federal Reserve will start tapering its asset purchases. The kiwi dropped to 77.45 US cents from 77.73 cents at the 5pm market close in Wellington yesterday. The local currency earlier this morning fell to 77.31 cents, the lowest level since Monday. The trade-weighted …