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The New Zealand dollar may rise this week as sentiment turns against the US dollar even as data shows the world’s largest economy is improving. The local currency may trade between 80.80 US cents and 84.50 cents this week, according to a BusinessDesk survey of 11 traders and strategists. Nine expect the currency to advance while two say it may …

Bennetts Group, the family-owned tertiary textbook company, has acquired the assets of Jasons Travel Media from the receivers for an undisclosed sum. The travel and accommodation guide publisher last month told its lenders to appoint a receiver because of the company’s deteriorating financial position. Jasons Travel was in talks with its lenders earlier this year after breaching its banking covenants, …

Freightways, New Zealand’s largest listed courier and data management company, has bought two document shredding firms, one on either side of the Tasman, for an aggregate $13 million. The Auckland-based company bought Australia’s Advance Security Destruction Services and Hastings-based Docushred, effective from the start of this month, and expects the acquisitions to immediately add to earnings, it said in a …

The New Zealand dollar jumped 1 US cent from local trading on Friday after key US employment data failed to meet the expectations of some short-term traders who had bet the data would print even higher. The kiwi touched 82.93 US cents this morning, its highest level in more than two weeks, and was trading at 82.82 US cents at …

Utilico Investments, a UK investor managed by Infratil director Duncan Saville’s ICM, has reduced its stake in Infratil after participating in the Wellington-based company’s buyback and selling shares on market. Utilico’s holding reduced to 11.8 percent from 13.3 percent after it sold 6.6 million shares in last week’s buyback at $2.38 apiece and sold 5 million shares in March at …

Reserve Bank governor Graeme Wheeler is expected to leave the official cash rate unchanged in his final review of 2013, while giving financial markets little reason to change their view that the tightening cycle will start in the first quarter. By March the OCR is expected to be at 2.75 percent, rising to 3 percent in the June quarter and …

Telecom Corp, the country’s biggest telecommunications company, has sold its Australian AAPT unit for A$450 million to ASX-listed internet service provider, TPG Telecom, beating initial expectations of what the unit would go for. The Goldman Sachs-managed sale is expected to be completed on Feb. 28, and was at a multiple of about 6.4 times AAPT’s recurring annualised earnings before interest, …

Investors will have to make it through another week of the “will they, won’t they taper this month”-guessing game before US Federal Reserve policymakers next meet on December 17-18. Clues might come on Monday when Richmond Fed Bank President Jeffrey Lacker speaks at the economic outlook conference in Charlotte; St Louis Fed Bank President James Bullard talks on the economy …

New Zealand property values rose at a 9.2 percent annual pace in November, and continue to be driven by a shortage of houses in Auckland and Christchurch, although there appears to be some slowdown in buyer interest, according to state valuer Quotable Value. Property values in the Auckland area rose at an annual 15.2 percent pace, ahead of the 14.5 …

Bank of New York Mellon Corp, which has US$1.5 trillion of assets under management, has reduced its holding in Chorus after the telecommunications network company said it would be hurt by the regulator’s decision to lower the price it can charge retailers for its copper-based broadband service. New York-based BNY Mellon, which is also the world’s largest custody bank with …