Standard & Poor’s has downplayed the threat of looming price regulation to access Chorus’s switchgear on its ageing copper lines, saying the final ruling will probably be amended given the highly political nature of the fibre network. The regulator yesterday released a draft determination that would cut what Chorus can charge internet service providers for accessing its unbundled copper network …

Delegat’s Group is flagging a small increase in annual earnings for 2013, though it’s warning that the strong kiwi dollar is making life hard for the wine-maker. The company forecasts operating profit of $27 million in the 12 months ending June 30, 2013, managing director Jim Delegat told shareholders in Auckland. That’s a 6 percent lift in earnings from 2012. …

As Canada prepares to engage as a full participant in the Trans-Pacific Trade (TPP) negotiations for the first time, a comprehensive report by Canadian trade specialist Peter Clark suggests that the advance hype about the TPP being a high quality comprehensive deal is “hogwash”.  Clark, President of Grey, Clark, Shih and Associates, says “There is already evidence of many deficiencies, …