Air New Zealand, the national carrier, will scrap its pre-selected travel insurance option after receiving a formal warning from the Commerce Commission, which is cracking down on businesses misleading consumers with ‘opt out’ additional products. The Auckland-based airline has agreed to no longer pre-tick travel insurance on its online ticketing system from April after a warning from the anti-trust regulator, the commission said in a …

New Zealand shares fell, led by Meridian Energy ahead of its second instalment receipt coming due in May. Spark New Zealand and Fletcher Building declined. The NZX 50 Index fell 17.31 points, or 0.3 percent, to 5856.772. Within the index, 25 stocks fell, 19 rose and six were unchanged. Turnover was $141 million. Meridian dropped 4.9 percent to $2.025. The partially privatised energy company listed on …

The New Zealand dollar dropped after the Reserve Bank said it’s looking at ways to restrict lending on residential property investments, stoking speculation it would then have more room to cut interest rates. The kiwi fell to 75.52 US cents at 5pm in Wellington from 75.88 cents immediately before the release, to be little changed from 75.55 cents yesterday. The trade-weighted index was at …