New Zealand shares rose, pushing the NZX 50 Index back toward its five-year highs, led by PGG Wrightson and NZ Oil & Gas as commodity prices rose and investors continued to be drawn to the relatively attractive dividend yields. The NZX 50 gained 0.46 points, or 0.01 percent, to 4246.40, edging back to the five-year high 4252.65 reached on Jan. …

The New Zealand dollar rose to a 2 ½-year high against the Australian dollar before the Reserve Bank of Australia’s monetary policy review tomorrow, while largely ignoring Prime Minister John Key’s comment that the kiwi is overvalued against the greenback. The kiwi rose as high as 81.39 Australian cents, the highest since July 2010, and traded at 81.10 Australian cents …

Kiwifruit growers Satara Cooperative Group and EastPack are set to resume merger plans shelved after the outbreak of the Psa vine bacteria two years ago. The deal will see Satara grower shareholders receive one EastPack share for each dollar paid-up of the transactor or investor share, and receive a 5 cent fully imputed special dividend, valuing the deal at 65 …