Business Desk

The New Zealand dollar may gain against the euro as investors returning from the Christmas and New Year holidays prepare for the European Central Bank to review monetary policy this week amid fears the region’s economy will continue to shrink this year. The kiwi increased to 63.66 euro cents at 5pm in Wellington from 63.54 cents yesterday. It was little …

The James Bertram Scholarship at Victoria University has been established by the Wigram Foundation to encourage a broader understanding by young New Zealanders of Asia, and particularly of China, in the contemporary world.  The scholarship aims to address deficiencies in knowledge not only in Chinese language, but also in Chinese culture, history, society, government and business. The scholarship is for …

Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully has announced the nomination of Dr the Rt Hon Lockwood Smith as High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. McCully describes New Zealand’s relationship with the UK as “one of our most important”. “While we have strong historical connections, the relationship with the UK today remains one of our closest. It is appropriate that the appointment …

Global efforts to get a new deal to combat climate change are foundering because they are based on the competitive mindset of trade negotiations rather than collaborative problem-solving, says Green Party climate change spokesman Kennedy Graham. Speaking at a Victoria University-hosted briefing on the outcomes of the latest round of global climate change talks in Doha, Graham said trade and …

State Owned Enterprises Minister, Tony Ryall, has announced the reappointment of Prue Flacks to the Board of Mighty River Power. Flacks has been an MRP director since May 2010. She is a barrister and solicitor with extensive specialist experience in commercial law, banking and finance and securities law, and a consultant to Russell McVeagh, where she was a partner for …

Minister for Climate Change Issues Tim Groser claims the Doha Conference has left NZ well placed to confront the real issue: the negotiation of a long-term comprehensive Climate Change Agreement. Groser  and Associate Minister Simon Bridges have been ave been leading the New Zealand delegation at the annual Climate Change Ministerial meeting in Doha. “While the formal agreements are extremely …

Substantial delays in getting drugs to market in New Zealand compared with Australia is ‘not acceptable’ says Kevin Sheehy – General Manager of Medicines New Zealand. The delays, which “are not liked to the regulator”, were evidence of the deficiencies1Z1-868 within Pharmac. In its current state, a lack of transparency and the absence of a consistent decision making process was hurting Pharmac,” …

Turners & Growers, the fruit marketer controlled by Germany’s BayWa Aktiengesellschaft, changed its guidance and is now forecasting a full-year loss, reflecting a writedown of its orchards. “Early indications are that there will be write-downs, particularly of orchard properties and biological assets,” the company said in a statement. “As a result the after-tax loss is forecasted to be between $16 …

Fonterra Cooperative Group, the world’s biggest exporter of dairy products, is seeking consents to build a new milk powder plant at Pahiatua, more than doubling output from the site and mopping up surplus milk in the lower North Island. The third drier at Pahiatua would process 2.5 million litres of milk a day, making it a similar size to its …

The New Zealand government”s operating deficit was wider than forecast in the first four months of the financial year as the Crown clipped a smaller tax take on consumer spending and wages. The operating balance before gains and losses (obegal) was a deficit of $2.87 billion in the four months ended Oct. 31, $169 million, or 6.3 percent, bigger than …