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Chorus has filed papers in the High Court challenging the way Commerce Commission set prices on its regulated copper lines, questioning whether the antitrust regulator interpreted the law correctly. The Wellington-based telecommunications network operator spun out of Telecom Corp two years ago is seeking a judicial determination on whether the commission was right to rely on comparisons with just two …

The New Zealand dollar gain as local figures showed the country’s terms of trade at a 40-year high in September and after better-than-expected Chinese manufacturing data provided some optimism for the trans-Tasman nations selling into the world’s most populous country. The kiwi rose to 81.94 US cents at 5pm in Wellington from 81.31 cents at 8am and 81.25 cents on …

The New Zealand dollar may rise this week as improving economic data strengthens the case for interest rate rises next year. The kiwi may trade between 79.80 US cents and 83.50 cents this week, according to nine currency strategists and traders surveyed by BusinessDesk. Seven expect the currency to advance while two say it may decline. The local currency recently …

Fonterra Cooperative Group chief executive Theo Spierings says months of talks with Danone over losses from the whey protein concentrate recall have failed to reach a commercial solution, suggesting the issue may end up in the courts. Danone put the cost of the Fonterra WPC 80 recall at 350 million euros when it announced its third-quarter results last month. Spierings …

Snakk Media, ranked sixth in the Deloitte Fast 50 index of the fastest-growing businesses, posted first-half sales growth of 148 percent, helped by the contribution from its smart screen start up. Sales rose to $3 million in the six months ended Sept. 30, from $1.22 million a year earlier, the Auckland-based company said in a statement. Its net loss widened …

New Zealand’s terms of trade, which measure the quantity of imports the country can buy with a set amount of exports, climbed to its highest level since December 1973 as dairy prices surged in the quarter, while cheaper electrical machinery kept a lid on increases in import prices. The terms of trade rose 7.5 percent in the three months ended …

Guinness Peat Group, which has exited more than 50 investments to focus on UK threadmaker Coats, said the UK’s Pensions Regulator won’t meet a Dec. 31 target to decide on whether to issue a warning notice over its pension plans. The regulator has found the Coats Pension Plan and Brunel Holdings Pension Scheme were insufficiently resourced and this could lead …

MightyRiverPower is shutting down its largest geothermal power station, the 140 Megawatt Nga Awa Purua installation, to perform temporary repairs after finding geothermal fluids have damaged the three-year-old unit. Commissioned in 2010, Nga Awa Purua is the largest of MRP’s five geothermal power stations, representing close to 30 percent of its 469MW of rated output from steamfields in the central …

Rangatira, which bought a cornerstone stake in beer company Tuatara Brewing this year, reported a tenfold surge in first-half profit after selling its stake in engineering service firm Contract Resources and its direct holding in accounting software developer Xero. Net profit jumped to $30.8 million in the six months ended Sept. 30 from $3 million a year earlier, the Wellington-based …

The New Zealand dollar rose against the euro after higher European inflation dented expectations that the European Central Bank may have to ease monetary conditions further to stimulate growth. The kiwi touched 60.02 euro cents over the weekend and was trading at 59.82 cents at 8am in Wellington from 59.47 cents at the 5pm market close on Friday. The local …