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New Zealand shares rose, pushing the NZX 50 Index back toward its five-year highs, led by PGG Wrightson and NZ Oil & Gas as commodity prices rose and investors continued to be drawn to the relatively attractive dividend yields. The NZX 50 gained 0.46 points, or 0.01 percent, to 4246.40, edging back to the five-year high 4252.65 reached on Jan. …

The New Zealand dollar rose to a 2 ½-year high against the Australian dollar before the Reserve Bank of Australia’s monetary policy review tomorrow, while largely ignoring Prime Minister John Key’s comment that the kiwi is overvalued against the greenback. The kiwi rose as high as 81.39 Australian cents, the highest since July 2010, and traded at 81.10 Australian cents …

Kiwifruit growers Satara Cooperative Group and EastPack are set to resume merger plans shelved after the outbreak of the Psa vine bacteria two years ago. The deal will see Satara grower shareholders receive one EastPack share for each dollar paid-up of the transactor or investor share, and receive a 5 cent fully imputed special dividend, valuing the deal at 65 …

The Commerce Commission’s draft regime for pricing network company Chorus’s copper lines has divided submitters into investors pushing for a backdown by the regulator and consumer lobby groups and retailers supporting the initial version. The draft determination from Telecommunications Commissioner Stephen Gale highlights an “incoherent policy environment” and risks undermining the government’s vision for a nationwide ultra-fast broadband network, Chorus …

The New Zealand dollar may extend its gains this week on rallying equity markets, offshore demand for yield and a favourable outlook for the local economy. The kiwi dollar recently traded at 84.53 US cents and earlier rose to 84.92 cents. It may trade in a range of 83.50 cents to 85.50 cents this week with a bias to the …

New Zealand commodity prices rose for a sixth straight month in January led by increasing pelt prices, though the strength of the kiwi dollar ate into the benefits for local producers. The ANZ Commodity Price Index rose 0.3 percent last month to a 10-month high 272.6. In local currency terms, the index fell 0.5 percent to 177.2, its second monthly …

A Timaru High Court hearing set for May on whether Aorangi Securities or the Hubbards own $60 million of disputed assets is key to whether investors in the failed group get most of their money back or only a third of the funds, the statutory managers say. The Aorangi investors have so far received 15 cents in the dollar, or …

The chief executive of state-owned coal miner Solid Energy, Don Elder, is to follow most of the company’s previous board of directors and hundreds of staff out the door, announcing his resignation after 12 years in the post. Elder’s departure had been likely ever since last August, when he announced a shock $40 million loss in the year to June …

Tru-Test Group, the agri-tech group that ranked 16th on the TIN100 survey of the country’s top research and technology firms, has bought milk storage and refrigeration firm Dairy Technology Services from local manufacturer NDA Group for $73 million. The Auckland-based company bought the company after raising $5.4 million in a two-for-nine renounceable rights issue at 96 cents apiece, which it …

Satara Cooperative Group, the Te Puke-based kiwifruit and avocado company, may post a full-year loss before tax after an asset revaluation review found it had double-counted its cool stores. The company would reduce the value of land, buildings and plant by $5 million to $33.4 million if it takes all the adjustments in the 2012 year, it said in a …