New Zealand consumer confidence rose as households’ pessimism about the state of their own affairs was the least gloomy in five years. The Westpac McDermott Miller Consumer Confidence Index rose 8.6 points to 111.1 in the December quarter, the highest level since September last year. A reading above 100 means optimists outnumber pessimists. The present conditions index rose 6.2 points …

Fonterra shareholders voted to re-elect incumbent directors John Wilson and Nicola Shadbolt to the Fonterra board. They will be joined by new director Blue Read, a former chairman of the Fonterra Shareholders’ Council from 2007 – 2010. Read, aged 57, lives and farms near Urenui in Northern Taranaki.? Blue is the current Chairman, New Zealand Co-operative Business Association, and has …

The Reserve Bank has approved Heartland New Zealand’s application to be a licensed bank, ending a long wait for the lender. The central bank said Heartland has become New Zealand’s 22nd registered bank in a brief statement. Securing a banking licence has been a key plank of Heartland’s strategy in a shift away from a new regulatory regime that imposed …