New Zealand lamb wool prices fell from a four-year high at auction last week as a rising local currency made the fibre more expensive for overseas buyers.   The price for clean lamb wool slipped 2.3 percent to $6.50 per kilogram from the previous week’s auction, which was the highest since February 2011, according to AgriHQ. The average price for …

2Degrees, New Zealand’s third-largest mobile telecommunications provider, is to acquire Christchurch-based internet service provider, Snap, to allow it to compete more effectively for business customers by offering a full range of mobile, broadband and fixed-line voice telephony using the internet.   The purchase, for an undisclosed sum, formally links the two companies, which have been in a selling partnership arrangement for the …

New Zealand consumer confidence rose in the first three months of the year, as Kiwis enjoyed cheaper fuel prices and lower fixed home-loan rates, and became more upbeat about the near-term outlook for the economy.   The Westpac McDermott Miller Consumer Confidence Index rose to 117.4 in the latest survey from 114.8 three months earlier. The present conditions index gained 1.8 points to …