Harbour Asset Management, the Wellington-based boutique fund manager, has emerged as a substantial security holder in Tower following yesterday’s placement to sell Guinness Peat Group’s stake in the general insurer. Harbour Asset holds 12.95 million shares, or about 6.3 percent of Tower, it said in a statement to the NZX. First NZ Capital handled the placement of GPG’s 33.6 percent …

The New Zealand dollar jumped against the greenback overnight as investors weigh the imminent prospects of a partial US government shutdown later today should Congress fail to reach agreement on funding. The kiwi rose to 83.03 US cents at 8am in Wellington, from 82.84 cents at the 5pm market close in Wellington yesterday, making it the strongest performer versus the …

Stocks fell on both sides of the Atlantic, while US Treasuries gained as the midnight deadline to reach an agreement on continuing to fund the US government approached with no deal in sight. At the centre of the standstill is President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act, which Tea Party activists in the Republican Party are determined to block. Congress is …