New Zealand households’ employment confidence turned positive for the first time since the third quarter of 2011, as Canterbury and Auckland dragged up an otherwise gloomy nation. The Westpac McDermott Miller Employment Confidence Index rose to 100.7 in the first quarter from 99.1 three months earlier on a scale where 100 separates optimists from pessimists. Employment data is being keenly …

Canadian investor NorthWest International Healthcare Properties Real Estate Investment Trust plans to lift its stake in Vital Healthcare Property Trust to just under a quarter over the coming 12 months. The Vital Healthcare cornerstone shareholder and manager intends to buy up to 15.4 million units, or 5 percent, in the property trust, taking its total interest to 24.99 percent, it …

KiwiRail, the state-owned railway, will close its Coastal Pacific train service between Picton and Christchurch for the winter months to stem losses running at $3 million a year. The tourist train needs to sell 130 seats to breakeven though last winter some services carried just 30, said Deborah Hume, general manager, passenger, in a statement. The losses reflect “a significant …