WSJ’s Off Duty brings you the newest and most unique in leisure, lifestyle and pop culture. From Spider-Man on Broadway to Olympic athletes, Olympic fencers and Fenway Park: Here is a look at the best of Off Duty from 2012.

New Zealand shares rose, snapping a three-day slide as equity markets across the Asia-Pacific region generally gained. Xero resumed its climb after two US funds gave the company equity capital and Chorus clawed back from its regulator-induced plunge. The NZX 50 Index rose 16.11 points, or 0.4 percent, to 4023.36. Within the index, 23 stocks rose, 14 fell and 13 …

The New Zealand dollar rose to a nine-month high on a trade-weighted basis after Reserve Bank governor Graeme Wheeler kept the benchmark interest rate unchanged and warned about the threat of inflation in the housing market. The trade-weighted index rose as high as 74.15, the highest since Feb. 20, and traded at 74.03 at 5pm in Wellington from 73.52 yesterday. …