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Wall Street retreated from record highs as investors were disappointed with corporate earnings such as from Coca-Cola and awaited Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s testimonial before Congress, beginning tomorrow. Shares of Coca-Cola dropped, last down 1.8 percent, after the company said quarterly profit sagged 4 percent. “Our second-quarter volume results came in below our expectations, reflecting an ongoing challenging global …

The New Zealand dollar edged up in local trading as the lowest annual pace of inflation in 14 years gives the Reserve Bank room to keep interest rates on hold, as rising construction costs stay contained. The kiwi rose to 78.28 US cents at 5pm in Wellington from 78.08 cents at 8am and 78.14 cents yesterday. The trade-weighted index traded …

– Renaissance Corp, the retailer of Apple products and operator of a design school, said annual earnings will be another disappointing result due to its ailing retail unit, and it’s shutting four of nine stores in a bid to restore profitability. The Christchurch-based company today closed Apple reseller stores in Albany, Britomart, Sylvia Parka and Dunedin as part of a …

The New Zealand dollar is trading near a week low on concern about a slowdown in China, the country’s second-largest trading partner. The kiwi recently traded at 77.81 US cents, unchanged from late New York trading Friday, and down from 78.68 cents at the 5pm close in Wellington. During New York trading, the local currency slipped to its lowest in …

The 6.5-magnitude earthquake in Cook Strait last Sunday isn’t expected to lead to big insurance losses, which global financial services firm Credit Suisse expecting it to come in below US$1 billion. Credit Suisse has told investors in its insurance-linked strategies fund, CS IRIS Low Volatility Plus Fund, that the quake was further away from dense populations and lacked the ground …

Infratil, New Zealand’s largest publicly listed infrastructure investor, wants to increase the pool of fees for its directors by 2.3 percent and also raise fees for directors of some subsidiaries. The company will ask shareholders at its annual meeting in Wellington next month to increase the fee pool for its directors to $721,215, from $705,000. It will also seek approval …

The manager of Kiwi Income Property Trust says it has received a proposal from ultimate parent Commonwealth Bank of Australia to internalise its management contract. Kiwi Income Properties Ltd is a unit of Australia’s Colonial First State Property, which is in turn owned by the Australian lender. The manager reaped a $3 million performance fee from Kiwi Income Property Trust …

Brian Henry, a venture capitalist who helped found Diligent Board Member Services, says a Financial Markets Authority suit alleging he manipulated the company’s shares in early 2010 “has no merit” and has already been considered by the FMA’s predecessor. The FMA’s suit contains “six claims alleging certain orders and trades made by Mr Henry in 2010 breached the market manipulation …

The Financial Markets Authority has accused Brian Henry, venture capitalist, of market manipulation of shares in NZX-listed Diligent Board Member Services. Henry was a founding member of Diligent, a company that has been marred by missteps over its administrative disclosures, before he left in March 2009. The FMA’s proceedings “contain six claims alleging certain orders and trades made by Mr …

Partially privatised electricity company MightyRiverPower saw electricity generation and sales fall in the last quarter of the financial year to June 30, although the decline was forecast in the company’s April prospectus. MRP listed on the NZX and ASX in May at $2.50 and was quoted this morning at $2.40. While sales to customers were down 3 percent on the …