Christmas shoppers used plastic cards to spend up on pretty much everything except fuel, according to Statistics New Zealand. The value of electronic card spending in retail industries rose 0.3 percent in December from November. It was the third consecutive monthly increase. The value of total electronic card transactions rose by 0.4 percent in December. The data suggested a more …

Canterbury stands out in the latest Westpac McDermott Miller employment confidence survey, in which confidence overall stalled. The Westpac McDermott Miller Employment Confidence Index rose to 99.1 in the December 2012 quarter from 98.9 in the September quarter. Canterbury registered an index of 113.5, up from 110.9, and the highest of the regions surveyed. “Employment confidence in Canterbury has risen …

ew Zealand Oil & Gas’s pursuit of a more diversified global portfolio will take an important step with the spudding of the Parit Minyak-2 well onshore in Sumatra, Indonesia in a little under a fortnight. NZOG has a 22.5 percent interest in the Kisaran block, in the prolifically productive central Sumatran region. The planned well, to which NZOG will contribute …