The New Zealand dollar fell as traders mulled the prospects for an optimistic US Federal Reserve primed to raise interest rates when it reviews policy this week, which would stoke demand for the greenback. The kiwi fell to 77.43 US cents at 5pm in Wellington from 77.61 cents at 8am and 77.76 cents on Friday in New York. The trade-weighted index …

Port of Napier posted a 14 percent gain in annual profit to a record after increasing container and bulk cargo volumes, allowing New Zealand’s fourth-largest container port to increase dividends to its Hawke’s Bay Regional Council owner. Profit rose to $13.4 million in the 12 months ended Sept. 30, from $11.8 million a year earlier, according to the company’s annual report. …

The University of Canterbury can claim $550 million to cover the damage wrought by the series of earthquakes in 2010 and 2011 after reaching an agreement with its insurers. The university will receive an additional $247 million to claims already paid or agreed to be paid, taking its total claim to just over half a billion dollars under the Universities NZ collective insurance …

The US dollar’s weighting has slipped in the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s new trade-weighted index, which adds the Chinese yuan to a line-up of 17 currencies skewed to Asia and intended to more accurately reflect New Zealand’s modern trade profile. The expanded TWI represents the biggest overhaul of the currency basket since it was introduced in the 1970s  as …

Tauranga-based electricity company Trustpower says it remains committed to its renewable energy projects in Australia, in spite of the uncertainty created by the review of the Renewable Energy Targets policy by the federal government. Meridian Energy canned a 34 Megawatt hydro scheme in Northern Queensland last week, citing the uncertainty created by a long-running review of the RET, which Prime …

Kiwi Income Property Trust unitholders have overwhelmingly voted in favour of corporatisation, completing a year-long transformation that saw the property trust taking management in house by buying out Commonwealth Bank of Australia. A total of 99.9 percent of votes cast were in favour of turning the trust into a company, which is to be called  Kiwi Property Group Ltd. Its units …

Fiji Airways, the Pacific nation’s national airline, will launch direct flights between Wellington and Nadi from June next year as it looks to extend its reach into New Zealand latching on to increased travel to Fiji, while also providing new routes into North America. The Nadi-based airline will run the twice-weekly service all year round, flying on Thursday and Sunday …

Graymont, the Canadian lime business, has agreed to buy McDonalds Lime from Holcim New Zealand, which plans to close its Westport cement plant in 2016, and Bluescope Steel-owned New Zealand Steel for an undisclosed sum.   The local operations of the international cement company will also sell its Taylor’s Lime assets to Graymont, the companies said in a joint statement. McDonalds Lime is …

Cooks Global Foods widened its first-half loss after buying the Canadian franchise rights to Esquires Coffee Houses, completing its ownership of the brand outside New Zealand and Australia, and spending more to expand its global footprint The loss widened to $1.2 million in the six months ended Sept. 30, from a loss of $831,000 a year earlier, the Auckland-based company said in a statement. Operating income was $4.3 …

Pulse Energy, the electricity retailer controlled by lines company Buller Electricity, sank deeper into the red in the first half as historical electricity derivatives tied the company to substantially higher than expected wholesale prices and chewed up revenue growth. The Auckland-based company reported a net loss of $9.99 million, or 2.9 cents per share, in the six months ended Sept. 30, widening …