New Zealand’s seasonally adjusted first-quarter wholesale trade sales slipped 0.4 percent from the previous quarter, led by a decline in machinery and equipment. The decline follows a revised 2.3 percent gain in the fourth quarter, Statistics New Zealand said. Wholesale sales of machinery and equipment, which include consumer electronics, telecommunication equipment, professional and scientific equipment, and agricultural machinery, slid 4.8 …

The New Zealand stock exchange operator, NZX, is splitting its head of regulation job to separate regulatory decision making from overall policy development in an attempt to strengthen its regulatory role. Joost van Amelsfort, a senior associate corporate/commercial at Simpson Grierson, has been appointed to the new job as head of market supervision from Aug. 4, Wellington-based NZX said in …

New Zealand shares fell, with a2 Milk Company leading the NZX 50 Index lower after its milk processor Synlait Milk cut its forecast annual profit by $7.5 million. Pacific Edge dropped for a sixth consecutive day after announcing its full-year loss had widened 44 percent. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare rose to an eight-year high. The benchmark index fell 4.726 points, or 0.09 percent, to 5178.435. Within the index, 14 stocks …