Tower, the insurer that’s 34 percent owned by Guinness Peat Group, posted a 67 percent jump in full-year profit and said it will return $120 million to shareholders after the sale of medical insurance business. The shares climbed 4.2 percent as the market opened. Profit rose to $55.8 million in the 12 months ended Sept. 30, from $33.4 million a …

New Zealand business confidence rose this month as firms became more upbeat about the outlook for profits, hiring and investment. Canterbury was the most upbeat region. A net 26 percent of respondents in the ANZ Bank Business Outlook expect general business conditions to improve in the year ahead, up from 17.2 percent in the previous month’s survey. Those expecting a …

The New Zealand dollar gained after comments from US House of Representatives Speaker and senior Republican John Boehner stoked optimism policymakers will set aside their differences and bypass the fiscal cliff of US$607 billion in automatic tax hikes and spending cuts, stoking investor confidence and pushing stocks higher. The kiwi dollar rose to 82.34 US cents at 8.30am in Wellington …