New Zealand’s economy grew just ahead of expectations in the second three months of the year as the fastest growth in the services sector for seven-and-a-half years offset shrinking activity in the primary sector when global commodity prices were coming of highs. Gross domestic product expanded 0.7 percent in the three months ended June 30, ahead of the 0.6 percent …

The New Zealand dollar dropped to a seven-month low after the Federal Reserve raised its expectation for the level of interest rates by the end of next year, boosting the lure of the greenback.  The kiwi touched 80.73 US cents, and was trading at 80.96 cents at 8am in Wellington, from 81.84 cents at 5pm yesterday. The trade-weighted index fell to 78.09 from …

The hunt for the Islamic State killers of British and American hostages has been hampered by Edward Snowden’s leaks about western spycraft according to claims reported in The Times on September 6. The Times report says intelligence officials, MPs and academics said revelations about the ability of GCHQ, the government’s eavesdropping centre, and America’s National Security Agency to intercept emails, …