The New Zealand dollar rose to a week high as sentiment improved, turning investor attention to riskier assets such as the kiwi. The kiwi touched 82.82 US cents this morning, and was at 82.68 cents at 8am in Wellington from 82.38 cents at 5pm yesterday. Concern about emerging market weakness has abated, pushing up European and US equities, US interest …

Tower chairman Michael Stiassny took a swipe at Australian rival Insurance Australia Group’s bid to buy Wesfarmers’ trans-Tasman underwriting businesses, saying the market dominance creates “significant risk.” IAG has sought clearance from Australasian antitrust regulators to buy the WFI and Lumley Insurance brands as well as a 10-year distribution agreement with Coles for A$1.85 billion, something Tower’s Stiassny says is …

New Zealand agribusinesses looking for investors will be able to turn to crowdfunding once new legislation comes into effect in April. The agribusiness-focused crowdfunding platform, Snowball Effect, is the first of its kind in New Zealand, and intends to give small to medium sized businesses access through their website to funding from investors looking for equity. Snowball Effect’s launch coincides …