Topics

The New Zealand dollar fell before the release of US consumer prices for June, amid speculation inflation in the world’s biggest economy may have accelerated enough to bring forward the timing of interest rate hikes. The kiwi traded at 86.74 US cents at 5pm in Wellington, from 86.89 cents at the start of the day and from 87.12 cents yesterday. The trade-weighted index declined to …

Shares in A2 Milk Co jumped 9.8 percent from a 15-month low on news the milk marketer has won Chinese regulatory approval to export its a2 Platinum infant formula. Milk processor Synlait Milk is still waiting for registration. The Auckland-based company has been included in the list of approved imported brands issued by the China General Administration of Quality Inspection and Quarantine, it said in a statement. The …

Electricity and gas consumers will be about $33 million a year better off if a draft decision by the Commerce Commission to reduce the returns allowable to monopoly electricity and gas network owners and national grid operator Transpower is upheld, although the impact at the household level will be tiny. The commission released a draft decision on the long-running battle over the appropriate weighted average cost …

Moa Group, the unprofitable boutique beer maker, increased first quarter sales volumes 95 percent after moving to a more direct distribution structure in New Zealand, its largest market. Beers sales volumes rose to 264,000 litres in the three months ended June 30, from 135,000 litres in the year earlier period, the Auckland-based company said in a statement. Moa didn’t detail its first quarter …

The New Zealand dollar slipped as investors weigh the negative signs of a slowing economy against the lure of rising interest rates. The kiwi edged lower to 86.89 US cents at 8am in Wellington, from 87.12 cents at 5pm yesterday. The trade-weighted index declined to 80.91 from 81.05 yesterday. The New Zealand dollar fell last week following more upbeat testimony from Federal Reserve …

The Trans-Pacific Partnership is a step backwards to the days before the World Trade Organisation when the the US and Europe controlled the global trading system to the detriment of developing economies, says a former director-general of the WTO, Supachai Panitchpakdi of Thailand. In New Zealand for a meeting of the honorary advisers to the Asia-New Zealand Foundation, Supachai told …

New Zealand Post, the state-owned mail delivery service, is wants to sell its Australian Couriers Please unit in its latest move to rejig its ailing business. The Wellington-based SOE has hired 333 Capital for the sale of the Australian courier business, which operates metropolitan delivery across the Tasman. Couriers Please has about 570 couriers and more than 130 staff, NZ …

Motor Trade Finances, the Dunedin-based auto-finance firm, rejected a takeover offer from Heartland New Zealand earlier this year, and is warning its shareholders to be wary of any communication from the bank. The finance company, which has a loan book of some $438 million, has been in talks with Heartland for a considerable period over a potential takeover bid, with …

The New Zealand dollar is in for a quiet start to the week as traders look ahead to the looming Reserve Bank decision on interest rates on Thursday where a hike is expected. The kiwi traded at 86.85 US cents at 8am in Wellington, from 86.97 cents at the New York close and 86.77 cents at 5pm in Wellington on Friday. The …

New Zealand stocks fell as in a global sell-off as news of a passenger jet plane shot down over Ukraine and Israel’s invasion into Palestine’s Gaza strip spooked investors, driving demand for so-called ‘safe haven’ assets such as gold and bonds. Xero led the market lower, paced by fellow growth stocks. The NZX 50 Index fell 3.46 points, or 0.1 percent, to …