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Bridgecorp, the failed finance company whose directors were imprisoned for making false statements in offer documents seeking investor funds, was on the path to insolvency when it issued the prospectus in 2006, Crown lawyer Brian Dickey told the Court of Appeal today. The company’s former chief financial officer Rob Roest is appealing his High Court conviction and six-and-a-half year sentence …

The new head of the New Zealand Serious Fraud Office is an Australian, Julie Read, currently Special Counsel (Litigation) at the Australian Securities and Exchange Commission. After a decade at ASIC, the Australian equivalent of the Financial Markets Authority, Read will move from her current base in Tasmania, where she has also been the ASIC state commissioner since 2002, to …

Taupo-based moulded wood products manufacturer Tenon is due for further share price growth as preparations made for the recovery of the US housing market start to bear fruit, says Edison Investment Research in a new report on the company. With 87 percent of its sales in North America, Tenon has struggled with losses in recent years with the high kiwi …

Fonterra Cooperative Group, which was embroiled in a false food safety alarm last month, is seeking to double its Chinese milk production in China with plans for a second farming hub in the Shanxi Province. The world’s biggest dairy exporter plans to develop five 3,000-cow farms in Ying County, doubling its Chinese milk production to an annual 300 million litres, …

Wall Street gained amid optimism that a US-led military strike against Syria might be avoided and as China produced more signs that its economy is gathering steam. President Barack Obama told ABC News that a US attack “absolutely” would be put on hold if Syrian President Bashar el-Assad would give up the country’s chemical weapons. Even so, “I don’t think …

The New Zealand and Australian dollars advanced as investors took heart from improving Chinese data and easing tensions over Syria. The kiwi touched a three-week high of 80.75 US cents early this morning, and traded at 80.64 cents at 8am in Wellington, from 80.44 cents at the 5pm market close yesterday. The Australian dollar rose to an 11-week high of …

New Zealand shares rose again, with direction given by Diligent Board Member Services, which appears to be re-rating ahead of a delayed earnings announcement and following stock exchange censure, amid a positive tone across major stocks. The NZX 50 Index rose 13.738 points, or 0.3 percent, to 4,627.757. Within the index, 15 stocks rose, 14 fell, and 21 were unchanged. …

Managers at Fonterra Cooperative Group waited days before escalating a clostridium bacteria contamination that led to a global recall up to chief executive level, according to the dairy giant’s own operational review. As a result of the review, Fonterra is to create a new role of group director of food safety and quality, answering direct to the CEO. It will …

Shares in Port of Tauranga, New Zealand’s biggest export port, dropped 3 percent to a three-week low after the company said its marshalling unit lost a major log marshalling contract starting next year. Quality Marshalling, New Zealand’s second-largest log marshalling and scaling company, lost the log marshalling contract at Mount Maunganui and Murupara, which accounts for about 60 percent of …

New Zealand’s top two world-ranked universities, Auckland and Otago, have taken sharp drops in the latest annual QS World University rankings, although Auckland remains in the top 100 at 94th. Otago’s was the most precipitous fall, dropping 22 places to 155th ranking, while Auckland dropped 11 places from 83 in last year’s survey. On the bright side, all New Zealand …