The New Zealand dollar gained against the Japanese yen as improved US economic data bolstered sentiment on global growth, prompting investors to reduce holdings of safe haven currencies such as the yen. The kiwi rose to 84.73 yen at 8am in Wellington, from 84.15 yen at 5pm on Friday. The local currency was little changed at 79.22 US cents from …

A slew of US corporate earnings and Chinese economic data will form the key focus in the coming days as Friday’s rebound could not prevent Wall Street from sliding for a fourth consecutive week amid concern about global growth. Among US companies reporting quarterly results in the coming days are Apple, IBM, Boeing, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Amazon, and Caterpillar. Friday’s jump …

Rick Lucas Helicopters, which owns the red helicopter tourism company HeliPro, has been tipped into receivership by its director. Sole director of the business Rick Lucas appointed PwC partners John Fisk and David Bridgman as receivers for the Palmerston North-based company and its related businesses, the accounting firm said in a statement. The HeliPro business employs 70 people and has 35 helicopters across its …

The New Zealand dollar gained as markets dial back their support for the US dollar as they await more information from the US Federal Reserve on its plans to shift away from running a zero interest rate policy. The kiwi rose to 78.31 US cents at 8am in Wellington from 77.96 cents yesterday. The trade-weighted index was little changed at 77.19 …

Equities on both sides of the Atlantic dropped, along with oil, after a report showed Germany’s industrial output slumped more than expected in August, while the International Monetary Fund downgraded its forecasts for the global economy. The euro-zone’s engine economy is spluttering. A government report showed German production, adjusted for seasonal swings, sank 4 percent in August, after increasing 1.6 …

Energy and Resources Minister Simon Bridges has formally requested the Electricity Authority conduct an inquiry into the Auckland power outage. All power has been restored to the 85,000 households and businesses that had their electricity cut in the early hours of Sunday morning after fire damaged cables at Transpower’s Penrose substation.  The two days of disruption costs millions of dollars in lost sales …

New Zealand stocks rose, led by Warehouse Group, following Friday’s rally on Wall Street as jobs data boosted confidence in the world’s largest economy’s recovery. Summerset Group Holdings gained on its third quarter sales. The NZX 50 Index edged up 4.32 points, or 0.08 percent, to 5241.314. Within the index, 26 stocks rose, 13 fell and 11 were unchanged. Turnover was a lighter-than-usual $69 million as Australia’s …

The New Zealand dollar was little changed in local trading after stronger than expected US employment figures stoked demand for the greenback on a growing expectation the Federal Reserve will have to hike interest rates. The kiwi traded at 77.67 US cents at 5pm in Wellington from 77.65 cents at 8am, and 77.62 cents at the close of trading in New York …

The latest major power cut in Auckland is the fifth to hit the region since 1998. The biggest was the six-week Mercury power outage in 1998 that involved the failure of four power cables due to overheating. It had an estimated long-term economic impact equivalent to 0.1 to 0.3 per cent of New Zealand’s gross domestic product and over half of …

New Zealand business confidence continued to slide in the September quarter, as the positive outlook seen earlier in the year wasn’t backed up by similarly strong actual economic activity, according to the latest Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion from the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research. A net 20 percent of businesses remained optimistic in the September quarter, down from 32 percent …