The New Zealand dollar advanced as investors increased their holdings of the local currency following a sell off earlier in the week on concern about the impact of a food contamination scare on the New Zealand economy. The kiwi rose to 79.56 US cents at 8am in Wellington from 78.94 cents yesterday. The trade-weighted index gained to 75 from 74.66. …

Wall Street slid for a third day amid comments from Cleveland Fed President Sandra Pianalto that the US jobs market had shown “meaningful improvement”. In late afternoon trading in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.37 percent, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index dropped 0.42 percent and the Nasdaq Composite Index shed 0.40 percent. Shares of Home Depot, …

Fonterra Cooperative Group, the world’s biggest dairy exporter, has launched an investigation into a food contamination scare after accounting for the potentially tainted product. Chief executive Theo Spierings told a briefing in Auckland all affected whey protein and its derivatives had been contained internationally, and he was satisfied the contamination scare had stabilised. The dairy company has launched an investigation …