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Westland Milk Products, the Hokitika-based dairy cooperative, has overtaken rival Fonterra Cooperative Group in cutting its forecast payout to farmers, citing falling global dairy prices and the persistent strength in the kiwi dollar. The cooperative revised its payout forecast to between $5.40 and $5.80 per kilogram of milk solids before retentions in the 2014/15 season, down from between the $6 and …

The New Zealand dollar rose after Fonterra Cooperative Group yesterday said it would maintain its milk price forecast, expand its local processing capacity and form a partnership to help sell its products in China, New Zealand’s largest trading partner. The kiwi gained to 83.75 US cents at 8am in Wellington, from 83.67 cents at 5pm yesterday. The trade-weighted index was at 78.98 from 79 …

Investors flocked to a US auction of US$35 billion in five-year notes as European bond yields sank to record lows amid bets that the European Central Bank will add more stimulus in an effort to prop up the flagging euro-zone economy. “It was a fantastic auction,” Ray Remy, head of fixed income in New York at Daiwa Capital Markets America, …

Fonterra Cooperative Group will offer a premium of at least 20 percent for a one-fifth stake in Beingmate Baby & Child Food as part of a $615 million investment in a partnership to drive baby food sales into China. Fonterra will offer 18 yuan a share for Beingmate stock in a partial tender offer that will be supported by chairman Wang Zhentai, …

New Zealand food prices declined in July, adding weight to speculation that softer inflation will prompt the Reserve Bank to keep the benchmark interest rate on hold until next year. The food price index fell 0.7 percent from June, its first decline in four months, as discounting led to lower prices for beef and processed meat, Statistics New Zealand said. The …

Ridgecrest NZ, a property investor, has won an appeal in the Supreme Court over insurance cover provided by IAG New Zealand for a Christchurch building damaged in four successive earthquakes. The closely held Ridgecrest had originally taken its case to the High Court after a dispute with the local unit of Insurance Australia Group about the nature of its policy. Ridgecrest had …

Ebos Group is unlikely to repeat a trebling of annual profit fuelled by last year acquisition of the Symbion pharmaceutical wholesaler and distributor in Australia, where regulatory changes are putting pressure on the sector. The $1.1 billion cash and scrip Symbion purchase in June 2013 was a game-changer for the Christchurch-based healthcare and animal care manufacturer company, more than tripling annual revenue in a deal that gave Symbion’s …

Air New Zealand shares rose to a two-month high after the government-controlled national carrier boosted annual profit 45 percent on increased passenger numbers and capacity, and said it will double shareholder returns with a special dividend. The shares rose as high as $2.20, and were recently up 1.4 percent at $2.18, having climbed 31 percent this year, outpacing a 6.4 percent gain in the NZX All Index …

Genesis Energy, New Zealand’s largest energy retailer, posted a 53 percent drop in full-year profit, beating its prospectus forecast and affirmed it was on track to meet its targets for 2015 even in the face of heightened retail competition for electricity and gas. Profit was $49.2 million in the 12 months ended June 30, down from $104.5 million a year earlier, the …