he New Zealand dollar surged to its highest in four and a half years against its Australian counterpart as New Zealand’s rising interest rates and growth outlook increase the lure of the nation’s currency. The kiwi advanced to 84 Australian cents from 83.58 at 5pm on Friday. It earlier touched 84.25 cents, the highest since January 2009. The trade-weighted index …

Investors will eye Federal Reserve officials Eric Rosengren and Sandra Pianalto in the coming day for further clues on the timing of a taper of bond buying under the US central bank’s quantitative easing policy. In a bid to bolster growth by keeping interest rates low, the Fed has been pursuing QE, sometimes called printing money, by acquiring bonds at …

New Zealand Sugar Company, which operates the iconic pink Chelsea Sugar refinery on Auckland’s Waitemata Harbour, boosted profit last year as it benefitted from higher exports and lower costs. The company’s profit rose 15.7 percent to $21.4 million in the year ended Dec. 31, 2012, as revenue fell 5.8 percent and costs dropped 8.8 percent, according to accounts filed with …