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Trade Me Group, New Zealand’s biggest internet auction site, has bought Wellington-based online credit card payments firm Paystation for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of the month, and included two related firms, web developer Face and server hosting unit Netspace Services, Wellington-based Trade Me said in a statement. The purchase price was confidential, but …

The former directors of Feltex Carpets have been found not liable for alleged disclosure failings in the failed carpet-maker’s 2004 prospectus in a representative lawsuit on behalf of 3,639 former shareholders.     In a reserved judgment in the Wellington High Court, Justice Robert Dobson  said while there was “some justification” for a number of the criticisms of the content of the prospectus, …

New Zealand service sector activity expanded in August, with employment at its highest level since the survey began in 2007, though retail trade was subdued in the month.     The BNZ-BusinessNZ performance of services index slipped 0.5 points to 57.9 in August, and was up from 53.7 in the same month a year earlier. The service sector, which accounts …

GE Capital, the finance company owned by US firm General Electric, is selling its New Zealand and Australian consumer finance businesses, including GE Money, GE CreditLine, GEM Visa card and the Countdown OneCard Visa credit card. In New Zealand, GE Money has assets worth $1.4 billion, employing 800 staff with some 530,000 customers, according to its website. Its credit cards fall under GE Finance …

CSR Building Products (NZ), the unit of the ASX-listed building products maker, faces a bill of up to $9.5 million after cutting a deal with the government to settle looming legal action over the nation’s leaky schools, a fraction of the near billion dollar writedown taken on New Zealand’s state-owned schools. The New Zealand unit of CSR took a $9.5 million …

Warehouse Group, New Zealand’s largest listed retailer, expects earnings to rise this financial year following an 18 percent drop in 2014 as it benefits from investments in refurbishing its stores and adding new businesses. The Auckland-based retailer said adjusted profit, which excludes one-time items and is the basis for dividend payments, fell to $60.7 million, or 18.6 cents a share, in the 52 weeks ended July …

Irish media group Independent News & Media is backing the board of APN News & Media to grow shareholder value, as the Australasian publisher and broadcaster considers carving out its New Zealand unit. The Dublin-based company, which is controlled by Irish billionaire Dennis O’Brien, will support any moves by APN to increase the value of its 18.6 percent stake in the trans-Tasman …

New Zealand house sales fell in August as a lack of listings compounded the chilling effects of rising interest rates and mortgage loan restrictions, and as the upcoming general election adds another uncertainty for buyers. The number of houses sold fell 16 percent to 5,481 in August from the same month a year earlier, and were down 7 percent from …

New Zealand food prices rose in August, paring the previous month’s fall, as more expensive tomatoes, lettuce and broccoli offset discounted breads. The food price index rose 0.3 percent last month, paring a 0.7 percent fall in June, according to Statistics New Zealand. The index was 0.7 percent higher than August 2013, bolstered by a rise in restaurant and ready …

The government will fold the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority into the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet early next year as it begins a long-term withdrawal from its hands-on involvement in the Christchurch rebuild. In a speech to the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce, Prime Minister John Key announced the plan, in anticipation of CERA’s legislated April 2016 expiration date. The move …