Abano Healthcare, the specialist medical investor, is calling on a consortium mounting a hostile takeover bid to put a price on the audiology unit it plans to dump for a nominal value if the acquisition succeeds. The healthcare firm’s board has requested the bidders, made up of the company’s biggest shareholder and former director Peter Hutson, Australian private equity firm …

The New Zealand dollar advanced against its Australian counterpart ahead of business confidence surveys in both countries today which may show the divergent paths of the two economies. The kiwi rose to 88.22 Australian cents at 8am in Wellington from 87.95 cents at the 5pm market close yesterday. The local currency advanced to 83.30 US cents from 82.85 yesterday. The …

US stocks fell, while Treasuries rose, amid continuing concern about the ongoing impasse over US federal government funding and the potential risk of a debt default. In afternoon trading in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.57 percent, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index shed 0.49 percent, and the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.68 percent. Declines in Visa, …