Uncategorized

New Zealand labour costs rose in the first quarter and filled jobs increased, suggesting the household labour force survey on Thursday will show a return to employment growth. Private sector ordinary time wages rose 0.4 percent in the first three months of the year from the fourth quarter of 2012, and gained 1.8 percent from the first quarter last year, …

Local retail investors won’t get a chance to buy into the NZX float of website software developer SLI Systems after the share offer was overbid by almost two-and-a-half times in the bookbuild by institutions. The Christchurch-based company plans to raise $15 million in an initial public offer at $1.50 apiece and a further $12 million from existing shareholders as it …

Summerset Group, New Zealand’s second-largest listed retirement village operator and developer, plans to list on the Australian stock exchange, putting its shares in front of an investor pool more than 20 times larger than in its home market. “The retirement village and aged care sector now accounts for nearly 8 percent of the NZX 50,” Summerset chairman Rob Campbell said …

SLI Systems, a Christchurch-based developer of website search software, plans to sell its shares at $1.50 in a listing on the NZX at the end of the month to fund its long-term growth aspirations in Japan and Brazil. The company plans to raise $15 million in an initial public offer and a further $12 million from existing shareholders as it …

Warehouse Group, the country’s biggest listed retailer, has unveiled plans to lift staff wages and create a better-trained workforce reward long-term service at an extra cost of up to $2.5 million in each of the next two years. The Auckland-based company wants to improve the public perception of retailing and attract more talented staff, and will hike wages for team …

Wall Street climbed to fresh records, carrying the momentum from Friday’s jobs data into renewed optimism about the US economy and corporate profits. In afternoon trading in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.05 percent, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 0.32 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.47 percent. The S&P 500 touched a record …

Foreign companies looking to boost their international credibility with a New Zealand registration were behind Commerce Minister Craig Foss’ plans to tighten up the database. In March, Foss announced plans for stricter monitoring rules and beefed up investigative powers for regulators of the Financial Service Providers Register, three years after its launch as part of government efforts to restore investors’ …

Guinness Peat Group, which expects to rebrand itself as UK threadmaker Coats later this year, has sold its 20 percent stake in ASX-listed agri-products maker Ridley Corp. The London-headquartered firm expects to reap A$54 million in cash proceeds from the sale, adding the equivalent of some 34 million British pounds to the 129 million pounds it has generated from asset …

The New Zealand government kept a smaller operating deficit than forecast in the first nine months of the financial year, even as the cost of the Canterbury earthquakes grew an expected $192 million. The operating balance before gains and losses (obegal) was a deficit of $4.95 billion in the nine months ended March 31, smaller than the $5.22 billion shortfall …

Wall Street kicks off the week at record highs, which might be all that’s needed to underpin investors’ faith in the road ahead. Friday’s US payrolls report not only surpassed expectations about the number of jobs created in April, it also showed upward revisions to the previous two months to the tune of 114,000 extra workers. That went a long …