Proposed changes to the Resource Management Act are a timid, missed opportunity and are “unlikely to contribute to the Prime Minister’s goal of making New Zealand ‘a magnet for investment’,” says BusinessNZ. The peak business lobby group says a discussion paper issued on Feb. 28 by Environment Minister Amy Adams fails to consider the erosion of private property rights that …

The New Zealand dollar fell against the yen before the Bank of Japan’s meeting today as traders trimmed short positions in the Japanese currency to guard against the central bank under-delivering on monetary easing. The kiwi fell to 78.15 yen from 78.57 yen at 5pm in Wellington yesterday. The currency rose to 84.19 US cents from 84.02 cents. The BOJ …

Wall Street sagged from the record highs reached yesterday as the latest jobs and services industry data were weaker than expected, prompting concern about the strength of the recovery in the world’s largest economy. Companies added 158,000 workers in March, ADP Research Institute data showed today, well below expectations of economists polled by Bloomberg and Reuters and the smallest increase …