Guinness Peat Group, which expects to rebrand itself as UK threadmaker Coats later this year, has sold its 20 percent stake in ASX-listed agri-products maker Ridley Corp. The London-headquartered firm expects to reap A$54 million in cash proceeds from the sale, adding the equivalent of some 34 million British pounds to the 129 million pounds it has generated from asset …

APN News & Media, whose stable of publications includes the New Zealand Herald newspaper, has appointed News Ltd’s Michael Miller as its new chief executive, effective from mid-June. Miller, who has been with Rupert Murdoch-controlled News Ltd since 1997, is currently its regional director for New South Wales, and has experience in New Zealand, sitting on the board of pay-TV …

The New Zealand government kept a smaller operating deficit than forecast in the first nine months of the financial year, even as the cost of the Canterbury earthquakes grew an expected $192 million. The operating balance before gains and losses (obegal) was a deficit of $4.95 billion in the nine months ended March 31, smaller than the $5.22 billion shortfall …

Wall Street kicks off the week at record highs, which might be all that’s needed to underpin investors’ faith in the road ahead. Friday’s US payrolls report not only surpassed expectations about the number of jobs created in April, it also showed upward revisions to the previous two months to the tune of 114,000 extra workers. That went a long …

New Zealand shares fell as Fletcher Building, the biggest company on the NZX 50 Index by market value, left some investors at a Macquarie briefing in Sydney with the impression earnings would be at the low end of guidance. The NZX 50 fell 30.14 points, or 0.7 percent, to 4544.32. Within the index, 22 stocks rose, 19 fell and nine …

New Zealand’s first public offer privatisation of the 21st century is a week away, with registrations from individual New Zealand investors closing at 5pm ahead of next week’s book-build, following by listing on the NZX and ASX next Friday. No details will be released of the number of registrants. Some 440,000 New Zealanders requested the 260-page prospectus offering shares in …

NZX wants to boost its exposure to agriculture and commodities and the company is on the hunt for bolt-on acquisitions less than $5 million, says chief executive Tim Bennett. “We continue to look for small add-on acquisitions,” Bennett told shareholders at their annual meeting in Wellington. “Ultimately, of course, we would like to offer a broad range of soft commodity …

The New Zealand dollar climbed above 83 Australian cents for the first time since October 2009 as investors look for increasing returns on this side of the Ditch ahead of next week’s Australian central bank. The kiwi climbed to 83.02 Australian cents at 5pm in Wellington, near its 83.08 cents high, from 82.86 cents yesterday. The local currency gained to …

Former New Zealand Shareholders Association chairman Bruce Sheppard will face trial by judge alone after former Hanover Finance shareholders Mark Hotchin and Eric Watson succeeded in arguing their defamation case was too complex for a jury. Judge Mark Cooper ordered a trial by judge alone based on “the complexity of the issues that are likely to arise and the nature …

Westpac New Zealand has pulled back on its level of mortgage lending where it wears the bulk of the risk, amid increasingly volatile house prices. The lender has reduced its level of lending above an 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LVR) to about 21 percent from about 22 percent a year after house prices in Auckland and Christchurch rose at a …