Cash market trades on the NZX jumped by 33 percent in January from the same month last year, driven by share transactions. Total trades rose to 69,281 and the value of trading rose 66 percent to $2.3 billion, NZX said in its monthly shareholder metrics. The average daily value of trading rose 51 percent to $106 million. The NZX 50 …

New Zealand labour costs rose in line with expectations in the final three months of 2012 as the gathering pace of Canterbury’s reconstruction effort saw the building and construction sector underpin gains. Private sector salary and ordinary time wages rose 0.5 percent in the three months ended Dec. 31, as expected, and maintaining the same pace of growth from a …

The New Zealand dollar rose against the euro as European political reports renewed concerns about the region’s debt crisis and pushed the common currency down from a two-year high against the greenback. The New Zealand dollar rose to 62.49 euro cents from 62.03 cents at 5pm in Wellington yesterday. It traded at 84.46 US cents from 84.55 cents. The euro …