New Zealand services sector activity, which accounts for about two thirds of the economy, rose for a second month in April to reach the highest in more than six years, led by new orders and sales. The BNZ-BusinessNZ performance of services index rose 0.4 points to a seasonally adjusted 58.9 in April from 58.3 in March and up from 55.4 …

Abano Healthcare won a bid to sack rebel shareholder Peter Hutson and his wife Anya from their audiology joint venture, Bay International. The Employment Relations Authority ruled the Abano directors on the Bay board had the right to end the employment agreements of the Hutsons, who own half the audiology firm, Abano said in a statement. The ruling doesn’t affect …

The board of Goodman Fielder will unanimously back a A$1.37 billion takeover bid by Singapore-based Wilmar International and Hong Kong-listed investment firm First Pacific Co in the absence of a better offer. Wilmar, the world’s biggest palm oil processor, and First Pacific will pay 70 Australian cents a share to take over the Australasian food ingredients maker, sweetening an earlier …