NZ Pork, the lobby group for the nation’s pig farmers, has lost its appeal against changes to import health standards that will allow raw meat from countries with Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) into New Zealand. The disease, also known as blue-ear pig disease, causes still-born piglets and respiratory illnesses in young pigs. It costs the US swine industry …

New Zealand’s services sector grew at the fastest pace in four months in January, adding to signs that business activity has strengthened in recent months. The BNZ-BusinessNZ Performance of Services Index rose 2.7 points to 55.5 in February, the highest reading since October last year and the high recorded for the month of February since the survey began in 2007. …

Xero, the cloud-based computing company whose shares have more than tripled in the past 12 months, isn’t yet large enough to consider a US listing, says founder and chief executive Rod Drury. The shares dipped from Friday’s record high. “A US listing is certainly something a business with global aspirations would consider,” Drury said in a statement. “We have been …