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Scott Technology, the industrial automation firm, says a global mining slowdown and a high New Zealand dollar are squeezing its margins in the short term. The strong kiwi dollar has been an ongoing battle for the company that gets 37 percent of sales in North America and just 13 percent in its home market. Dunedin-based Scott cited the currency’s strength …

Goodman Fielder, Australasia’s largest food company, says the rebound predicted for the second half won’t be enough to lift full-year earnings as it grapples with soaring milk prices and rivalry in baking goods. The shares dropped 7.4 percent. Normalised earnings before interest and tax in 2014 will be “broadly in line” with the previous year’s A$185.6 million, assuming no change …

Campaigners against the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade negotiations want the negotiating texts made public to help ensure the process fails, says Trade Minister Tim Groser. “Those people who are opposed to the agreement want access to the texts so they can blow it apart,” he said in an interview with BusinessDesk ahead of a speech today to the ABAC Business Leaders …

Xero, the cloud-based accounting software developer, has appointed former Microsoft chief financial officer Chris Liddell as its new chairman and ex-PayPal executive Peter Karpas to lead its North American unit. The Wellington-based company’s appointment of Liddell as chair is effective from today, with ex-KiwiBank chief Sam Knowles resigning as chair and director. US-based Bill Veghte, who runs HP’s enterprise group, …

New Zealanders spent less on their credit and debit cards in January, snapping three months of gains, with apparel showing the sharpest decline. The value of electronic card spending on retail fell 0.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted $4.54 billion in January, according to Statistics New Zealand. Core retailing, which excludes spending on fuel and auto-related items, dropped 0.8 percent …

Tougher sentences handed out to former directors of Lombard Finance & Investments were part of a regime to protect investors, and a major factor in underlying the seriousness of the case, according to the Crown. Former Justice Ministers Doug Graham and Bill Jeffries, former PR man for the Queen Lawrie Bryant and Lombard’s ex-boss Michael Reeves were appealing to the …

The New Zealand dollar weakened against the Australian dollar ahead of reports today which may show the Australian economy is picking up pace. The kiwi slipped to 92.31 Australian cents at 8am in Wellington from 92.54 cents at 5pm yesterday. The local currency was little changed at 82.62 US cents from 82.75 cents yesterday as investors await the inaugural testimony …

Wall Street began the week lower as investors awaited Tuesday’s testimony of the US Federal Reserve’s new chairman, Janet Yellen, to gauge the central bank’s take on the recent weakness in employment data and the overall outlook for the US economy. Yellen, who took the helm on February 1, will provide the Fed’s semi-annual testimony to the House Financial Services …

New Zealand stocks fell, paced by SkyCity Entertainment Group, amid speculation the impending earnings season may show the impact of a high kiwi dollar. Hallenstein Glasson Holdings led the index lower after figures showed weak clothing sales. The NZX 50 Index fell 7.730 points, or about 0.2 percent to 4833.058. Within the index, 25 stocks fell, 12 rose and 13 …

The New Zealand dollar was little changed as investors mulled the significance of a weaker-than-expected US jobs report on Friday ahead of Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen’s inaugural testimony in front of policymakers this week. The kiwi traded at 82.75 US cents at 5pm in Wellington from 82.83 cents at 8am and 82.90 cents at the close of trading in …