Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s speech on Wednesday will be firmly on everyone’s radar for clues on the tapering of the central bank’s bond-buying program following the latest better-than-expected US employment report.) – Labor Department data showed on Friday that employers added 195,000 new jobs to their payrolls last month, comfortably beating expectations. The unemployment rate was steady at 7.6 …

The New Zealand dollar trade weighted index is heading for a 0.9 percent weekly gain as central banks in Australia and Europe kept their easing bias amid uncertain outlooks for their respective economies. The trade-weighted index rose to 74.59 at 5pm in Wellington from 74.07 yesterday, and was up from 73.89 at the start of the week. The kiwi traded …

New Zealand officials are again seeking clarification from China after meat consignments were stalled on Chinese wharves for the second time in as many months. Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy, who is in China on a trade mission, said he learned on Thursday that China had changed meat import rules and is now requiring sign off by a veterinarian directly …