Smiths City, the Christchurch-based retailer, boosted first-half profit 13 percent even as its revenue dipped in the face of a competitive retail environment. Net profit rose to $1.9 million, or 3.61 cents per share, in the six months ended Oct. 31, from $1.6 million, or 3.2 cents, a year earlier, the retailer said in a statement. Revenue slipped 1.1 percent …

New Zealand’s inbound migration remained elevated in November as new migrants kept arriving and fewer locals drifted across the Tasman. The country gained a seasonally adjusted net 2,800 new migrants in November, down from the 10-year high of 3,000 in October, according to Statistics New Zealand. On an actual basis, there was an inflow of 3,700, up from 1,700 a …

The Environmental Protection Authority is being accused of “breathtaking incompetence” for glitches and non-publication of some 18 documents relied on by the public in making submissions on the first application ever received for a seabed ironsands mining permit. The EPA this morning extended the deadline for submissions on the application by Wellington-based Trans-Tasman Resources, which is seeking permission to mine …