New Zealand food prices fell last month led by cheaper, meat and in-season fruit and vegetables, though milk prices rose to a nine-month high. The food price index fell 0.3 percent in February, following a 1.9 percent a month earlier, in its sixth decline in seven months, according to Statistics New Zealand. Annual food prices decreased 0.1 percent. Fruit and …

The New Zealand dollar was little changed as Wall Street’s rally to record levels ran out of puff and traders pondered the effects on the economy of widespread drought in the North Island. The kiwi traded at 82.45 US cents from 82.44 cents at 5pm in Wellington yesterday. The trade-weighted index was at 76 from 76.09. The Dow Jones industrial …

Wall Street pulled back, with the Dow retreating from yesterday’s record close, as solid American jobs data failed to outweigh concern about Europe’s outlook. US job openings rose by 81,000 to 3.69 million in January from a revised 3.61 million in February, according to Labor Department data. “We’ve got a long way to go to get back to a fully …

New Zealand house prices rose in February, edging back toward the record high set in December and highlighting the heating property market that’s likely to be concerning the central bank. The national median house price rose 7.6 percent in February to $382,000, still below the record $389,000 set in December, according to the Real Estate Institute. The median price for …

The government has agreed to stricter monitoring rules for financial service providers, giving regulators the ability to probe deeper into the affairs of firms and block anyone who doesn’t pass muster. Cabinet plans to strengthen the financial service providers registration (FSPR) scheme by granting regulators new investigative powers and the ability to remove providers from the register, Commerce Minister Craig …

Orcon, the internet service provider owned by state-owned Kordia, has attracted “intensified” buyer interest in recent months and an announcement is expected to be made in “coming weeks”. Kordia, which rolled Orcon into its network business last year, has been in talks with several parties for a potential sale of the ISP, it said in an emailed statement. The merged …

The New Zealand dollar rose, and has regained much of the ground shed after the US non-farm payrolls report on Friday, as the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index edged toward a record high, stoking risk sentiment. The kiwi rose to 82.59 US cents from 82.11 cents at 5pm in Wellington yesterday. The trade-weighted index climbed to 76.20 from 75.88. The …

Global stocks have started the week mixed, with sentiment dampened by concerns about growth in China and the continuing political impasse in Italy. At midday in New York, buyers stepped into the market to drive the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to an intraday record high. The S&P 500 was last up 0.21 percent to 1,554.47, after earlier hitting a …

The country’s registered banks have been accused of overcharging 1 million kiwis to the tune of $1 billion in default fees claimed by lenders over the past six years and face what’s being billed as New Zealand’s biggest class action. Auckland-based lawyer Andrew Hooker, Australian consumer law firm Slater & Gordon and Litigation Lending Services, a litigation funding firm, are …

The New Zealand dollar may fall this week, extending its decline in New York on Friday when US employment data added to signs the world’s largest economy is reviving. The New Zealand dollar recently traded at 82.06 US cents from 82.11 cents in New York on Friday, when it traded above 82.86 cents before the non-farm payrolls report. It may …