The government has agreed to stricter monitoring rules for financial service providers, giving regulators the ability to probe deeper into the affairs of firms and block anyone who doesn’t pass muster. Cabinet plans to strengthen the financial service providers registration (FSPR) scheme by granting regulators new investigative powers and the ability to remove providers from the register, Commerce Minister Craig …

Orcon, the internet service provider owned by state-owned Kordia, has attracted “intensified” buyer interest in recent months and an announcement is expected to be made in “coming weeks”. Kordia, which rolled Orcon into its network business last year, has been in talks with several parties for a potential sale of the ISP, it said in an emailed statement. The merged …

The New Zealand dollar rose, and has regained much of the ground shed after the US non-farm payrolls report on Friday, as the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index edged toward a record high, stoking risk sentiment. The kiwi rose to 82.59 US cents from 82.11 cents at 5pm in Wellington yesterday. The trade-weighted index climbed to 76.20 from 75.88. The …