New government spending in the May 16 budget will be skewed towards supporting fast-growth export businesses, Prime Minister John Key says. His announcement of a $158 million boost to tourism funding over four years is the first of several set-piece announcements of new government spending, which government Ministers will drip-feed to the public in the weeks leading up to the …

Prime Minister and Tourism Minister John Key said an additional $158 million over four years will be earmarked for tourism in next month’s budget. Key told a business audience in Wellington that he will announce details of the funding at the TRENZ tourism conference this week. It will be part of the budget’s theme for “a package of internationally focused …

Diligent Board Member Services sees major growth opportunities in Europe where companies haven’t jumped on to the Boardbooks bandwagon, but still hasn’t decided what to do with its growing pile of cash. The New York-based firm, whose software helps company directors manage corporate governance information flows, lifted sales 84 percent to US$15.1 million in the three months ended March 31, …

The New Zealand dollar extended its slide, falling below 84 US cents as financial markets digested the implications of weaker-than-expected Chinese growth which has weighed on equity markets and commodities. The kiwi dollar fell to 83.91 US cents from 85.05 cents at 5pm in Wellington yesterday. The trade-weighted index fell to 77.27 from 78.16. China’s economic growth slowed to 7.7 …

Stocks on both sides of the Atlantic slumped along with commodities, as disappointing data from China, the world’s second-largest economy, sparked concern about the pace of global growth. China’s gross domestic product increased 7.7 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, according to the National Bureau of Statistics in Beijing. That’s down from 7.9 percent in the previous …

Kordia, the state-owned communications company, has sold internet service provider Orcon to a local business group led by Vivid Networks’ Warren Hurst. The price paid in the privatisation has not been disclosed. The deal closed on Friday, the state-owned enterprise said in a statement today. Buyer interest in the ISP intensified in recent months, and Kordia signalled a pending announcement …

Diligent Board Member Service’s directors have come up with a new incentive scheme for chief executive Alex Sodi to replace the stock options it has to cancel after granting him too many. The plan, which will be put to shareholders on June 4 at the annual meeting, will offer Sodi stock and options provided he meets revenue and earnings growth, …

Property for Industry led the NZX50 up before lunchtime today as it announced a deal to merge with Direct Property Fund, an unlisted PIE in the same sector, to create a commercial property empire worth close to $800 million. PFI shares were up 4.9 percent at 11am, at $1.40, and were showing a 14.1 percent gain over the last 12 …

Summerset Group, the retirement village operator and developer, is pressing ahead with plans for a $100 million site in Lower Hutt after completing due diligence. The Wellington-based company plans to buy the 3.3 hectare site from Boulcott’s Farm Heritage Golf Club for its 20th retirement village, it said in a statement. The contract needs Overseas Investment Office approval, which is …

A slew of corporate earnings results will likely set the mood in the coming days following last week’s record run that boosted Wall Street to its best weekly performance this year. In the past five days, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 2.1 percent, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index advanced 2.3 percent while the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 2.8 …