Business Desk

OceanaGold Corp, the worst performing stock on New Zealand’s benchmark index this year, has agreed to acquire all the shares in Canadian gold miner Pacific Rim Mining Corp that it doesn’t already own in a deal valued at C$10.2 million. OceanaGold is offering 0.04006 of its shares for each Pacific Rim share, which would see it issue some 6.76 million …

Business confidence rose to its highest in more than three years in the third quarter and broadened beyond Canterbury, according to the latest Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion from the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research. A net 32 percent of businesses were optimistic in the September quarter, seasonally adjusted, up from a net 30 percent in the June quarter, …

New Zealand business confidence climbed to a new five-year high, with construction firms still the most upbeat on profits, hiring and investments. A net 54 percent of firms expect general business conditions to improve in the year ahead, up from 48.1 percent in August and the highest since March 1999, according to the ANZ Business Outlook survey. Firms seeing a …

Stronger consumer spending on durable goods resumed in August after a blip in July, led by a 2.8 percent increase in spending on durable goods. “This month’s increase in core retail was driven by durables and was the largest since June 2011,” acting industry and labour statistics manager at Standards New Zealand, Tehseen Islam, said in a statement. The two …

Goodman Property Trust, the country’s biggest listed property investor by market value, is planning to spend $22.4 million on a new building at its Central Park development in Auckland’s Greenlane. The property trust’s manager, Goodman (NZ), said it will erect a new five-level office space with 5,670 square metres to cater for more than 2,000 people, replacing an older building. …

The New Zealand dollar surged on optimism global economic growth is recovering and as safe haven currencies declined in light of no imminent western military action in Syria. The kiwi jumped to 79.07 US cents at 8am in Wellington from 78.08 cents at 5pm yesterday. The trade-weighted index advanced to 74.70 from 74 yesterday. Growth-sensitive currencies such as the kiwi …

A2 Corp managing director Geoffrey Babidge and director David Mair have taken of a 38 percent surge in the share price of the dairy marketing company to trim their holdings. Babidge’s GHB Investment Trust sold 4 million shares, leaving it with 6 million, the Sydney-based company said in a statement. Mair’s DM2 Investment Trust sold 2 million shares, leaving it …

Trade Me, New Zealand’s largest online auction site, posted slower profit growth for 2013 and warned earnings growth would remain tepid in the coming year as it reinvests in its business. Trade Me profit rose 4 percent to $78.6 million in the year ended June 30, slower than the 8.4 percent pace a year earlier, the Wellington-based company said in …

New Zealand’s services sector slipped from a six-year high in June while remaining broadly in expansion mode, led by new orders and sales. The BNZ-Business New Zealand Performance of Services Index fell to 55 last month, from 56.2 in May, still the highest for the month of June since 2007. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in activity. The PSI …

New Zealand’s capital city will be open for business tomorrow after a 6.5 magnitude earthquake hit the Cook Strait, while scientists say there’s a one-in-five chance of a similar-size temblor this week. Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown told a media briefing today it will be up to employers to determine whether their staff should come in. Portions of the city were …