The New Zealand dollar fell below 83 US cents after minutes of the US Federal Reserve’s last policy meeting showed several members favoured an end to quantitative easing this year, earlier than the Fed’s stated timeline of 2015. The kiwi dollar dropped to 82.89 US cents from 83.21 cents at 5pm in Wellington yesterday. The trade-weighted index was at 74.71 …

 Wall Street held onto yesterday’s gains sparked by the US budget deal, but was cautious about extending the rally as attention turned to the next political hot potato overhanging financial markets — the nation’s debt ceiling. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner plans to leave the administration at the end of January, even if President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans haven’t reached …

w Zealand shares rose on the first trading day of 2013, following gains on Wall Street, as investors drove up companies that have featured on broker lists for 2013, such as PGG Wrightson and Ryman Healthcare. The NZX 50 Index rose 15.85 points, or 0.4 percent, to 4082.36. Within the index, 33 stocks rose, eight fell and nine were unchanged. …