New Zealand’s current account deficit widened more than anticipated in the three months to Dec. 31, clocking in at $10.5 billion for the 2012 calendar year, or 5 percent of gross domestic product. Contributing to the rise was an increase in dividends paid to foreign investors, although foreign earnings by New Zealand companies in the quarter reached a five year …

Prices of dairy products surged to the highest in two years in Fonterra’s latest GlobalDairyTrade auction as drought curtails production in the North Island. The GDT-TWI Price Index rose 14.8 percent compared to the last sale two weeks ago, the biggest increase since the Sept. 1, 2010, sale and the seventh straight gain. The average winning price rose to US$4,683 …

Concern about Europe’s squabbling over a palatable plan to save Cyprus from financial collapse weighed on Wall Street, even as the latest US housing data showed further signs of a sustainable recovery in the industry. Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades said that lawmakers are likely to reject a plan to tax bank deposits, even as it was amended to protect those …