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, …

New Zealand shares fell, with trading muted as some Australian states celebrated Labour Day and with no sign politicians in Washington can break their budget standoff. Fletcher Building paced the decline and Sky Network Television gained. The NZX 50 Index fell 3.34 points, or 0.1 percent, to 4756.044. Within the index, 19 stocks fell, 19 rose and 12 were unchanged. …