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Fonterra Cooperative Group, the country’s biggest company, was fined $300,000 for breaches of the Animal Products Act during last year’s whey protein concentrate incident. Judge Peter Hobbs fined Fonterra $60,000 for three separate charges and $120,000 for a fourth charge in the Wellington District Court. The judge took a starting point of $375,000, before mitigating factors including Fonterra’s early guilty …

Genesis Energy shares will list on April 17 at $1.55 a share, at the high end of the value range of $1.35 to $1.65 a share nominated for the sale of up to 49 percent of New Zealand’s largest electricity and gas retailer by customer numbers. The issue price was announced this evening at the Beehive by Finance and State-Owned …

New Zealand stocks advanced, led by electricity shares as investors anticipate the National Party may win this year’s election, boding well for the sector under threat of increased regulation and lower earnings should a Labour-Greens coalition gain power. The NZX 50 Index rose 16.363 points, or 0.319 percent, to 5142.896. Within the index, 23 stocks rose, 20 fell and six …

The New Zealand dollar is heading for a 1.8 percent weekly gain against the greenback and near new post-float highs on a trade-weighted basis amid speculation China’s government will take action to shore up a sluggish economy, adding to an upbeat outlook for local growth. The kiwi rose to 86.85 US cents at 5pm in Wellington from 85.32 cents at …

Fonterra Cooperative Group needs to make it far clearer to farmers and other investors how its business model operates, says Deutsche Bank after the dairy exporter shored up a slump in half-year profits by intervening in the regulated price it pays for milk at the farm gate. Deutsche Bank retains its ‘sell’ rating on Fonterra Shareholders Fund units, with a …

The Commerce Commission plans to determine a final price for what Chorus can charge users of its copper line services by Dec. 1. The shares gained 4.6 percent, making it the best performing stock on the benchmark NZX 50 Index today. The regulator will conduct the final pricing principle for Chorus’s unbundled bitstream access and unbundled copper local loop services …

Scott Technology, the industrial automation firm, reported a 63 percent slump in first-half profit as a strong New Zealand dollar eroded the company’s export earnings and stiff competition pushed down margins. Net profit dropped to $820,000, or 1.3 cents per share, in the six months ended Feb. 28, from $2.2 million, or 6.2 cents, a year earlier, the Dunedin-based company …

Dairy prices will probably decline over the last few months of the New Zealand season as farmers ramp up milk production to benefit from record payouts. Prices generally hold up on lower volumes heading into the end of the season in May, however volumes will be higher than normal this year as farmers had favourable growing conditions in the lead-up …

Commerce Minister Craig Foss has beefed up the number of KiwiSaver default providers that members are automatically enrolled into when they sign up to the government sponsored scheme. Westpac Banking Corp, Bank of New Zealand, KiwiBank and Grosvenor Financial Services will join AMP Financial Services, Australia & New Zealand Banking Group, ASB Bank, Mercer and Fisher Funds from the start …

The New Zealand dollar soared to its highest in more than two and a half years after Reserve Bank deputy governor Grant Spencer signalled to an investment conference in Hong Kong that a higher kiwi won’t prevent the bank from future interest rate hikes. The kiwi touched 86.85 US cents overnight, and was trading at 86.72 cents at 8am in …