Prime Minister John Key has been handed a cast-iron excuse to rid his government of its troublesome Justice Minister, Judith Collins, using an email supplied anonymously to his office yesterday which appears to show Collins conspiring with the Whaleoil blog run by National Party activist Cameron Slater to unseat the then head of the Serious Fraud Office, Adam Feeley, in 2011. Collins was …

Pumpkin Patch, which slashed its earnings forecast earlier this year, will take a $12 million charge to write down the value of stores and IT software, while posting underlying profit in line with guidance. The children’s clothing chain said a provision for the write down of IT software and store assets will be reflected in its 2014 results, taking total reorganisation costs …

The New Zealand dollar slipped as the US dollar edged up following better-than-expected US economic data which lifted optimism about a recovery in the world’s largest economy. The kiwi weakened to 83.82 US cents at 8am in Wellington, from 83.91 cents at 5pm yesterday. The trade-weighted index was at 79.01 from 79.06 yesterday. The US dollar index, which measures the greenback against …