Snakk Media, the latest brainchild of Hyperfactory co-founder Derek Handley, wants to raise up to $2 million through a share purchase plan near the bottom of an independent adviser report’s valuation range. The Auckland-based company will sell shares at 12 cents apiece, a 20 percent discount to the average trading price over the past 30 days, and near the lower …

THE COSTS OF AUSTERITY. With recent debate over austerity and its likely costs, last night’s fiscal debt and deficit data for Europe made for interesting reading. Encouragingly, the Eurozone general government budget deficit fell to 3.7% of GDP in 2012 from 4.2% in 2011, the lowest since 2008, comparing favourably with deficits for the US and UK (over 8% of GDP) …

Wall Street advanced, propelled by Microsoft and Caterpillar. Gains in Microsoft shares, last up 4.1 percent, bolstered momentum after reports that ValueAct Capital had taken a US$2 billion stake in the company. Shares of Caterpillar also rose, last up 3.3 percent. While the company reported earnings that fell short of expectations and downgraded its 2013 forecast, investors took heart from …