The New Zealand dollar extended its slide, falling below 84 US cents as financial markets digested the implications of weaker-than-expected Chinese growth which has weighed on equity markets and commodities. The kiwi dollar fell to 83.91 US cents from 85.05 cents at 5pm in Wellington yesterday. The trade-weighted index fell to 77.27 from 78.16. China’s economic growth slowed to 7.7 …

Stocks on both sides of the Atlantic slumped along with commodities, as disappointing data from China, the world’s second-largest economy, sparked concern about the pace of global growth. China’s gross domestic product increased 7.7 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, according to the National Bureau of Statistics in Beijing. That’s down from 7.9 percent in the previous …

Kordia, the state-owned communications company, has sold internet service provider Orcon to a local business group led by Vivid Networks’ Warren Hurst. The price paid in the privatisation has not been disclosed. The deal closed on Friday, the state-owned enterprise said in a statement today. Buyer interest in the ISP intensified in recent months, and Kordia signalled a pending announcement …