Minutes from the latest US Federal Reserve meeting and corporate earnings from companies including Coca-Cola and Wal-Mart will be scrutinised for clues to justify the newfound confidence about the US economic outlook. In the past five days, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 2.3 percent, as did the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, while the Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 2.9 …

The New Zealand dollar touched a month-high after a weaker economic report in the US dented demand for the greenback. The kiwi touched a high of 83.85 US cents on Friday night, and was trading at 83.77 cents at 8am in Wellington from 83.64 cents at the New York close and 83.39 cents in Wellington Friday. The trade-weighted index advanced …

New Zealand property sales fell 4.3 percent in January from a year earlier while the median price slipped from the record high set in December, which may reflect high loan-to-value lending restrictions and seasonal factors, the Real Estate Institute says,. There were 4,719 dwellings sold nationally in January, down from the same month last year and a 17 percent drop …