New Zealand shares rose as investors turned to equities in search of growth on optimism local companies will benefit from a reviving economy. The NZX 50 Index gained 49.517 points, or 1 percent, to 4,864.391. Within the index, 33 stocks rose, 10 fell and seven were unchanged. Turnover was $109 million. “Investors are purely chasing growth,” said Grant Williamson, a …

Fiji Airways, the Pacific nation’s national airline, wants to latch on to New Zealand’s accelerating economy as part of a push to more than double operating earnings over the next five years. The Nadi, Fiji-based company plans to add four new planes, lifting capacity by 35 percent and expand its workforce by 29 percent in the next five years as …

The New Zealand dollar slipped ahead of a key US employment report later today which analysts are tipping to be better than expected, bolstering expectations the Federal Reserve will continue to pull back its monetary stimulus this year. The kiwi weakened to 82.43 US cents at 8am in Wellington from 82.57 cents at 5pm yesterday. The trade-weighted index dropped to …