The Reserve Bank has removed the prospect of future interest rate hikes from its forecast horizon as a strong kiwi dollar and cheap oil hold down inflation, and the central bank ponders whether to lower its assessment of where “neutral” interest rates should be. The kiwi dollar gained after the statement. Governor Graeme Wheeler kept the official cash rate at 3.5 percent, …

The New Zealand dollar dropped to a five-week low ahead of the Reserve Bank decision on interest rates today as the greenback surged to a 12-year high. The kiwi touched 71.87 US cents, close to its February low of 71.74 cents, and was trading at 71.97 cents at 8am in Wellington, from 72.39 cents at 5pm yesterday. The trade-weighted index …

Wall Street seesawed as the US dollar continued its climb amid bets the Federal Reserve is gearing up to lift interest rates as early as June. “The reason the Fed would raise rates is because growth dynamics are picking up, which would ultimately be a tailwind for markets, though markets will likely challenge that view with volatility,” Jeremy Zirin, chief …

Orion Health Group, the health software developer, will join the benchmark NZX 50 index later this month, ousting energy explorer New Zealand Oil & Gas, after the stock market operator’s latest quarterly review. Orion will enter the index on March 23, having met ranking and liquidity requirements for index inclusion, NZX said in a statement after the close of trading. …

By Paul McBeth March 11 (BusinessDesk) – The New Zealand dollar fell on speculation Reserve Bank governor Graeme Wheeler may signal further delays to interest rate hikes tomorrow and amid concern a threat to contaminate infant formula may hurt orders for the nation’s dairy products. The kiwi dropped to 72.37 US cents at 5pm in Wellington from 72.62 cents at 8am …

By Fiona Rotherham   March 11 (BusinessDesk) – Market regulators, the NZX and the Financial Markets Authority, say they’re confident the approach they took to disclosure of the 1080 contamination threat by listed companies involved was appropriate in the “unusual circumstances”, but they will be checking for any suspected market manipulation or insider trading.   Under the NZX Main Board …

Foley Family Wines, majority owned by American businessman and vineyard owner Bill Foley, posted a first-half operating profit as sales increased 14 percent. Underlying profit, which strips out fair valuation changes for harvested grapes, was $661,000 in the six months ended Dec. 31, compared to a loss of $96,000 in the previous comparable period, the Marlborough-based company said in a statement. Sales increased to $15.6 …

By Fiona Rotherham March 11 (BusinessDesk) – Chinese consumer reaction to the threat to contaminate New Zealand infant formula with 1080 poison has been muted so far, but the Taiwanese have been more strident, said Massey University marketing specialist Associate Professor Henry Chung. Chung, who has studied the Chinese market for more than 20 years, is currently in Taiwan and monitoring …

SBS Bank, New Zealand’s largest building society, has agreed to buy 50 percent of Staples Rodway Asset Management (SRAM)  as part of a strategy to build scale in wealth management and lift its presence in the North Island. Financial details of the transaction are confidential, said Wayne Evans, chief executive of SBS Group, which owns SBS Bank. The deal will add to SBS’s growth …

State-owned coal miner Solid Energy is preparing for more redundancies at its Stockton mine, near Westport, as slumping global prices for coking coal threaten its long term viability and force it anew into talks with its banks to restructure its borrowing. Plans under way to stem those losses were in preparation and “reductions will be inevitable on the basis of those …