Business Desk

New Zealand shares rose, led by Westpac Banking Corp, as dual-listed stocks rebounded from a sharp drop yesterday. Australia and New Zealand Banking Group and Spark New Zealand gained. The S&P/NZX 50 Index rose 5.98 points, or 0.1 percent, to 5613.29, somewhat reversing yesterday’s biggest drop in four years. Within the index, 15 stocks rose, 28 fell and seven were unchanged. Turnover was $260 million. Some …

Wall Street pared losses, after plunging in the first 10 minutes of trading after Chinese stocks plummeted as investors rushed to the sidelines. “Anybody with a pulse was nervous when the market opened,” Michael James, managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities in Los Angeles, told Reuters. “The only thing that’s certain is the volatility is going to continue …

Contact Energy, which generates about a quarter of New Zealand’s electricity, plans to sell as much as $125 million of six-year bonds in the final step of its refinancing programme. The Wellington-based company will offer $100 million of unsecured, unsubordinated, fixed-rate bonds to institutional investors and New Zealand retail investors, with the potential for a further $25 million in oversubscriptions, it said …

The Federal Reserve is preparing for its annual meeting in Jackson Hole amid intensifying concern the slowing growth in China will impact the global economy and US corporate profits. Wall Street sank last week, along with other equity markets, as did US oil which briefly slid below US$40 a barrel. The declining appeal of stocks and an increased appetite for …

TPP talks have stalled this month but are set to resume later in August- NZ Inc has collected the best of the web on the latest developments. Andrew Robb over at the Sydney Morning Herald says given the collapse in negotiations last week, it’s crunch time for the TPPA. – Andrew Robb: It’s Crunch Time for the Trans-Pacific Partnership- Sydney …

The New Zealand dollar was little changed after dairy product prices jumped as expected at auction overnight, as the bounce had already been priced into the local currency. The kiwi was at 65.84 US cents at 8am in Wellington, from 65.89 cents at 5pm yesterday. The trade-weighted index edged lower to 70.96 from 71.04 yesterday. Dairy product prices jumped in …

Milk processor Tatua Co-operative Dairy Company is calling for a full and independent review of the way milk pricing is set following concerns that inefficient milk supply and capital investments could be made under the current model. In its submission to the Commerce Commission’s government-ordered review of the Dairy Industry Restructuring Act (DIRA), the Waikato-based cooperative said it would expect any …

Farm prices have been holding relatively steady in the latest Real Estate Institute of New Zealand rural data despite fears lower dairy prices would force down land values. There’s only been a small drop in the median sales price per hectare for dairy farms to $35,304 for the three months ended July 31, compared to $35,531 in the three months ended …

Fletcher Building posted a 20 percent decline in full-year profit after taking $150 million of one-time charges for plant closures and impairments. Pretax earnings rose in line with guidance, driven by a strong New Zealand performance. Profit fell to $270 million in the year ended June 30, from $339 million a year earlier, the Auckland-based company said in a statement. Sales …

New Zealand spending on electronic cards rose for the third consecutive month in July, led by a surge in spending on apparel, that sector’s first gain since February. The value of core retail spending, which strips out fuel and vehicle related items, rose 0.5 percent to $3.9 billion in July from June, accelerating from the previous month’s revised 0.1 percent gain, …