Elders, the ASX-listed agribusiness company, has rejected an offer from Ruralco Holdings for its rural services business, which includes a half stake in New Zealand’s Elders Rural Holdings. The Australian company put its Rural Services division up for sale last October. Its board reviewed various proposals for both the rural business and its Futuris Automotive unit over the weekend, it …

The New Zealand dollar declined in volatile trading as improving US economic data before this week’s Federal Reserve meeting spurred some investors to increase their bets that the central bank may start to reduce stimulus in the world’s largest economy. The kiwi slid to 79.90 US cents from 80.80 cents at 5pm yesterday. In the past 24 hours, the local …

Wall Street advanced, though gave up some of its earlier gains, following a Financial Times report that US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will signal the central bank is close to easing its US$85 billion-a-month bond-buying program. In late afternoon trading in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.41 percent, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index advanced 0.31 …