Manufacturing data from the US was better than expected, as were those from Europe, but China’s data offered another sign that growth in the world’s second-largest economy is dimming. In the US, the Institute for Supply Management’s index of national factory activity gained to 50.9 in June from 49 in May. A reading above 50 signals expansion. In late afternoon …

The NZX 50 index fell 0.3 percent after trading on New Zealand’s stock market resumed after a three-hour outage over connectivity issues. The benchmark index dropped 14 points when markets reopened at 3pm in New Zealand, and was recently at 4413.521, down 0.6 percent on the day. The stock market operator will investigate the outage, and will report back to …

The New Zealand Superannuation Fund, which invests to fund the country’s universal state pension, will place $40 million in a new $150 million venture capital fund to finance fast-growing small to medium-sized businesses with global potential. The funds will be placed with Auckland-based Pioneer Capital, which already holds stakes in recently listed software company SLI Systems, boutique brewer Moa beer, …