The New Zealand dollar fell as signs of a pickup in US economic growth spurred demand for the greenback. The kiwi dropped as low as 79.63 US cents early this morning, dipping below 80 cents for the second time in a week, and recently traded at 80.17 cents from 80.55 cents at 5pm in Wellington yesterday. The trade-weighted index slipped …

Wall Street slumped as investors locked in profits in anticipation of a potential downgrade to the US Federal Reserve’s US$85 billion-a-month bond-buying program. In late afternoon trading in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.75 percent, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index declined 0.78 percent and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.84 percent. Fed Bank of Kansas City …

Cloud-based accounting firm Xero has toppled Port of Tauranga as the highest priced local stock on the NZX as it charts another notch in its belt, having more than tripled in the past 12 months. The Wellington-based company’s shares rose 0.7 percent today to $14.10, passing the port company, whose stock fell 2.7 percent to $13.90 in afternoon trading. That …