Up to 20 government departments will cut short leases for temporary accommodation taken after the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes and return to the Christchurch central business district en masse in 2016. Prime Minister John Key announced the commitment to helping repopulate the quake-hit city’s traditional urban core in a speech to the Canterbury Employers Chamber of Commerce, just days after …

Stronger consumer spending on durable goods resumed in August after a blip in July, led by a 2.8 percent increase in spending on durable goods. “This month’s increase in core retail was driven by durables and was the largest since June 2011,” acting industry and labour statistics manager at Standards New Zealand, Tehseen Islam, said in a statement. The two …

The New Zealand dollar rose after weaker US jobs data prompted some investors to pull back expectations for the Federal Reserve to start tapering its bond buying programme this month. The kiwi advanced to 80.09 US cents at 8am in Wellington from 79.96 cents at the New York close last week and 79.09 cents at 5pm in Wellington Friday. The …