Tower, the insurer that’s 34 percent owned by Guinness Peat Group, posted a 67 percent jump in full-year profit and said it will return $120 million to shareholders after the sale of medical insurance business. The shares climbed 4.2 percent as the market opened. Profit rose to $55.8 million in the 12 months ended Sept. 30, from $33.4 million a …

New Zealand business confidence rose this month as firms became more upbeat about the outlook for profits, hiring and investment. Canterbury was the most upbeat region. A net 26 percent of respondents in the ANZ Bank Business Outlook expect general business conditions to improve in the year ahead, up from 17.2 percent in the previous month’s survey. Those expecting a …

The New Zealand dollar gained after comments from US House of Representatives Speaker and senior Republican John Boehner stoked optimism policymakers will set aside their differences and bypass the fiscal cliff of US$607 billion in automatic tax hikes and spending cuts, stoking investor confidence and pushing stocks higher. The kiwi dollar rose to 82.34 US cents at 8.30am in Wellington …

By Brierley Penn Potential was the common theme underlying the speech of the Prime Minister, and in fact, the conference as a whole, at the Indonesia Forum. New Zealand’s relationship with Indonesia is one of strength, however, it is imperative to build upon this further to capitalize on the opportunities offered by the region’s growth. Key cited Indonesia’s high growth …

The Supreme Court has upheld the Inland Revenue Department’s bid to keep $127.5 million goods and services tax on the 2003 sale of 170,000 hectares of central North Island forestry. The long-running tax dispute stemmed from KordaMentha’s Michael Stiassny and Grant Graham, as receivers for Forestry Corp and Citic New Zealand, paying the tax bill in 2003 when selling the …

Fonterra will open an office in Delhi  next year and has appointed Hamish Gowans GM to run the Indian operations. It will be the Co-operative’s first operating office in India and the first time Fonterra has employed its own India-based staff. These developments follow Fonterra’s strategy refresh in March. Fonterra President Greater China and India Kelvin Wickham said the opening …

Women’s Affairs Minister Jo Goodhew  joined with the Institute of Directors in Auckland to celebrate the successful completion of its 2012 mentoring programme, and welcome a new intake of 27 women for 2013. “The Institute of Directors is to be congratulated for its persistence and commitment to increasing the number of women on private sector boards,” Goodhew said. “It is …

NZ National Fieldays Society has signed an MOU with the Confederation of Indian Industry which is the organisation behind  India’s largest agricultural technology trade event – Agro Tech. The MOU –  brokered by ANZ – will assist the two organisations to collaborate to promote their international trade activities.  It was unveiled during a business mission to India led by Primary …

With another round of TPP negotiations beginning  in Auckland a dialogue amongst ourselves about TPP is helpful. This is important in these times of austerity when transparency is at a premium, because it was after all a conspicuous absence of transparency in  financial oversight that  created much of the  present economic turmoil. Inside NZ itself  TPP has been presented throughout …

Wellington has turned on a fabulous day for the premiere of Sir Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit. Here’s the New Zealand Herald link. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10850547