The Reserve Bank might be able to accelerate inflation to its target 2 percent sooner than expected if it cuts rates, but that would come at the expense of plumping an already bubbling property market, assistant governor John McDermott says. The ‘Think Big’ projects of the 1970s are evidence that sustainable long-term growth can’t be achieved by “tolerating a bit …

ASX-listed nib holdings has named Abano Healthcare managing director Alan Clarke as chairman of Tower Medical Insurance, the business it acquired from Tower last year for $102 million. Nib, an Australian private health insurer, said it is also well advanced in appointing a New Zealand-based chief executive for Tower Medical, the nation’s second-largest health insurer with about 13 percent market …

New Zealand manufacturing expanded for a third month to reach the highest level in a year in February, driven by an accelerating pace of production and new orders. BNZ-Business New Zealand Performance of Manufacturing Index rose 1.1 points to 56.3, the highest since February 2012. All five of the seasonally adjusted diffusion indexes expanded last month. Food, beverage and tobacco …

Turners & Growers chief executive Geoff Hipkins has left the fruit marketer immediately, just one week after the company played down speculation his departure was imminent. Hipkins’ exit is effective immediately, and T&G will be led by chief financial officer Harald Hamster-Egerer and general manager of international markets Alastair Hulbert while it looks for a new boss, the company said …

Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy has officially declared the a drought to be across the whole of the North Island, opening up access to welfare for farmers stricken by the arid conditions. The extension to the declaration means the rest of the North Island joins Northland, North Auckland, South Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Hawkes Bay as being official …

Wall Street advanced, pushing the Dow Jones Industrial Average to another record, as jobless claims posted a surprise drop last week, offering the latest clue that the labour market is gathering strength along with the rest of the economy. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits declined 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 332,000, according to Labor Department data. Economists had expected …

The government’s flagship innovation vehicle, Callaghan Innovation, will be led by Mary Quin. Described by Business, Innovation and Employment Minister Steven Joyce as “an exceptional New Zealander with an impressive track record of working in the US engineering and technology sector,” Quin trained as a material scientist, with a doctorate from Northwestern University, Illinois. A graduate of Canterbury University’s engineering …

Solid Energy opposed the government’s pressure to load more debt on its balance sheet in 2009, but the biggest driver of the $389 million debt that has driven the company into crisis were decisions of its own to invest in the open-cast Stockton and underground Spring Creek mines. The financially distressed state coal miner’s former chairman and chief executive, John …

New Zealand shares rose after the Reserve Bank sparked a drop in the kiwi dollar, lifting prospects for companies with export sales such as Fisher & Paykel Healthcare. Xero rose to a record again, hitting $10 for the first time. The NZX 50 Index rose 39.95 points, or 0.9 percent, to 4381.09. Within the index, 26 stocks rose, 14 fell …

The New Zealand dollar sank to a four-month low against the greenback after the Reserve Bank threatened to cut interest rates if the currency appreciates unreasonably, and tumbled to a two-month low versus the Australian dollar after better than expected jobs figures across the Tasman. The kiwi fell to 81.74 US cents at 5pm in Wellington from 82.60 cents immediately …