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The New Zealand dollar, which has dropped along with other so-called commodity currencies on concern China’s economic growth is slowing, held near its lowest levels in seven months before Fonterra Cooperative Group’s annual results, which may include a cut to its payout forecast. The kiwi traded at 81.25 US cents at 5pm in Wellington, from 81.28 cents at the start of the day …

Prices for beef used in hamburger patties in the US are likely to hold at elevated levels after surging to a record in the past year as drought-ridden American farmers rebuild their herds, boding well for kiwi farmers, an analyst says. The price for US imported 95CL bull beef, the raw ingredient for meat patties, has surged 59 percent to US$3.18 a pound in the past year, …

The Official Assignee has filed papers in the High Court opposing the automatic discharge of high-profile property developer Terry Serepisos from bankruptcy next month. The government agency, which administers all bankruptcies, filed a notice in the High Court in Wellington objecting to the lifting of Serepisos’s bankruptcy, a spokesman said in an emailed statement. “This means that he will not …

Kathmandu Holdings, which today posted a 4.5 percent decline in annual profit, said Australasian earnings should rise in the coming year although overall profit at the outdoor equipment retailer may be dented by investment spending. Net profit fell to $42.2 million, or 20.8 cents a share, in the year ended July 31, from $44.2 million, or 21.9 cents, a year earlier, the Christchurch-based …

GeoOp chief executive Leanne Graham has resigned 11 months after the small business app developer listed on the New Zealand Alternative Index and will take a new role with the company leading its push into the US. The shares dropped 11 percent. Graham will move to the US to become executive strategic adviser for America, which currently makes up 8 percent of the company’s customer base, the …

Initial shareholders of SLI Systems, the search engine developer, have sold 6.8 percent of the company at the end of a 16-month lock-up period at 23 percent below last year’s offer price. The shareholders sold some 4.2 million of the 40.1 million locked-up shares at $1.15 apiece yesterday, the Christchurch-based software developer said in a statement. That’s below the $1.50 price the shares sold at …

New Zealand Refining, the nation’s only oil refinery, said two unions representing 160 of its workers, or about half its workforce, have served notice of a two-day strike next month, a move that could result in $8 million to $9 million of lost processing fees. First Union and the New Zealand Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union gave notice of strike action covering …

Investors in OPI Pacific Finance are still in the dark over the value of a potential deal with the failed lender’s former auditor after ASX-listed Crowe Horwath rejected the OPI receiver’s version of the settlement. Last week, Crowe Horwath, which became liable for the settlement through its acquisition of Lower Hutt-based accounting firm Sherwin Chan & Walshe, said it had reached a deal …

The New Zealand dollar fell alongside the Australian and Canadian dollars on concern slowing growth in China would reduce demand for the countries’ commodities. The kiwi slipped to 81.28 US cents at 8am in Wellington, from 81.56 cents at 5pm yesterday, while the Australian dollar fell to 88.75 US cents from 89.35 cents, and the Canadian dollar dropped to 90.64 US cents …

Equities on both sides of the Atlantic declined, along with commodities including nickel, copper, and oil after an unexpected drop in US existing home sales and comments by China suggesting it might not aim to bolster economic growth as much as expected. In late afternoon trading in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.43 percent, the Standard & …