MightyRiverPower’s Metrix metering business has walked away from a deal with Infratil-controlled Trustpower that would have supplied the power company’s 242,000 electricity customers with smart meters. The Auckland-based company decided not to proceed with the contract after reviewing the systems development to date and ongoing requirements, it said in a statement. The contract was expected to start this year, before scaling …

A draft of part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal leaked to the Politico website suggests the US is demanding increased protections for pharmaceutical companies, restricting access to the lower-cost generic versions of drugs that agencies such as New Zealand’s Pharmac buy. The draft copy of the intellectual property chapter of the trade agreement as it stood on May 11, before the Guam negotiating …

The New Zealand dollar touched a fresh five-year low after dairy prices fell to a six-year low in the GlobalDairyTrade auction overnight, paced by whole milk powder, the nation’s key export commodity. The kiwi touched 67.27 US cents and was trading at 67.41 cents at 8am in Wellington, from 67.95 cents at 5pm yesterday. The trade-weighted index dropped to 70.73 from …