By Jonathan Underhill July 28 (BusinessDesk) – NZX, the stock market operator, said advertising in its portfolio of agricultural publications dropped 17 percent in the first half, reflecting the slump in dairy prices and the impact of drought. The company’s agricultural titles include New Zealand Farmers Weekly, the nation’s biggest newspaper for farmers, Country-Wide and New Zealand Dairy Exporter. Agricultural information accounted for …

The Labour Party is giving conditional support for the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership, with party leader Andrew Little saying Labour is “pro-free trade” but will only support TPP if it contains “key protections” for New Zealanders. “Labour supports free trade,” he said. “However, we will not support a TPP agreement that undermines New Zealand’s sovereignty.” The Labour caucus had agreed five ‘bottom line’ …

Meat processor Silver Fern Farms has suspended trading of its shares on the Unlisted exchange until further notice as it continues with its capital raising initiatives. The company said it would make no further comment at this stage. Shares in the co-operativee last traded at 35 cents, valuing SFF at $35.1 million The farmer-controlled co-operative has more than 6,200 shareholders …