The New Zealand dollar slipped back below 83 US cents after US growth figures came in lower than economists were expecting, weighing on commodities. The International Monetary Fund said it may cut its US forecast if spending cuts kick in on March 1. The kiwi dollar fell to 82.73 US cents from 83.15 cents at 5pm in Wellington yesterday. The …

– Postie Plus Group, which last year avoided breaching its banking covenants, is in talks with its banks again after posting a wider first-half on dwindling sales and thinner margins and bracing for an annual loss. The shares tumbled. The Auckland-based company made a pretax loss from continuing operations of $2.56 million in six months ended Feb. 3, compared to …

State-owned national electricity grid operator Transpower returned to a first-half profit after taking a smaller unrealised hit on its financial instruments than a year earlier, and its earnings margins are tracking ahead of its annual target. The Wellington-based company made a profit of $70.7 million in the six months ended Dec. 31 from a loss of $51.5 million a year …