Vehicle inspectors Jevic New Zealand has upped its offer for all the shares of Vehicle Inspection New Zealand (VINZ) to a level that has won approval of directors who can’t see a competing offer eventuating. Jevic has increased its offer to $2.15 a share from the $1.65 a share, valuing VINZ at $5.4 million. The new offer is being unanimously …

While other countries like Japan manage their currencies lower, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key says there are benefits to a strong exchange rate, even as it creates headaches for exporters. In his state of the nation address in Auckland, Key said prices for primary exports are holding up and the country’s terms of trade remain high. That is helping …

One of the chief architects of Fonterra’s successfully launched listed units, chief financial officer Jonathan Mason, is to leave the co-operative. The softly spoken former senior executive for the American wood products giant International Paper first came to New Zealand from 2000 to 2005 to be cfo at Carter Holt Harvey, which IP owned at the time, before returning to …

The government will intervene to free up land for housing unless local governments, especially Auckland, plan to do so themselves, Prime Minister John Key said today in his state of the nation speech in Auckland. “We want to work co-operatively with local councils and I believe our goals in the end are the same,” said Key. “In particular we are …

A visiting competition expert says regulating petrol prices doesn’t work, and that international attention is now turning to the role refineries play in the industry. Justus Haucap, who holds the chair of competition theory and policy at the University of Dusseldorf, told a seminar in Wellington of an economic laboratory experiment he was involved with to shed light on the …

Major electricity users and most electricity companies are gearing up to challenge a radical new Electricity Plan changing the way they pay for access to the national grid. resume writing service Papers published on the EA’s website show a combination of confusion and opposition to the proposals, which the industry regulator unveiled in October, cutting through more than a decade …

The property market may be taking off, but there is no sign of the manufacturing sector doing the same, according to the latest BNZ-Business New Zealand Performance of Manufacturing Index. The December PMI was barely in positive territory at 50.1, up 1.3 points from November, but down on the readings in December 2011 and 2010. BNZ described the overall index …

Publisher Fairfax Media is moving more sub-editing work from Australia to New Zealand in a bid to reduce costs. Fairfax has already moved sub-editing work from the Newcastle Herald, the Illawarra Mercury and community titles to New Zealand, resulting in the loss of 66 jobs in Australia. On Wednesday it said it will move the copy sub-editing of its Financial …

The New Zealand dollar firmed slightly on approval of a temporary increase in the US debt ceiling, which came after a mixed session overnight. The kiwi was at 84.18 US cents at 8am, up from 84.05 cents at 5pm. It traded as high as 84.41 cents overnight. News that the US House of Representative voted on Wednesday US time to …

Wall Street extended gains after the US House voted in favour of a plan that allows the Treasury to borrow beyond the US$16.4 trillion limit until May 19 to avoid the threat of default. Republicans are seeking cuts to spending in return. “The bill we are passing today, we think, will give us the ability to have a debate that …