The regime governing New Zealand’s ultra-fast broadband roll-out risks “the real probability of repeated political intervention as those in public office exercise their legislated powers to safeguard taxpayer investments and secure their political objectives.” That warning comes in a briefing paper from Victoria University’s Institute for the Study of Competition and Regulation, which is convening a day-long seminar to probe …

Xero, the cloud-based accounting software firm, has doubled its market capitalisation in just four months, rising above $2 billion today, having still to turn a profit. The shares rose 3.9 percent to $17.40 on turnover of some $935,000, valuing the company at $2.04 billion and adding to its 120 percent jump this year. That makes it the 11th biggest company …

Freightways, the courier and data management company, said profit before one-time items rose 6 percent in 2013 and similar profit growth is expected in 2014, lagging analyst estimates of 10 percent growth in the coming year. The shares fell 2.9 percent to a one-month low. “The expected performance is consistent with Freightways most recent outlook comments that it expects to …