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New Zealand’s capital city will be open for business tomorrow after a 6.5 magnitude earthquake hit the Cook Strait, while scientists say there’s a one-in-five chance of a similar-size temblor this week. Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown told a media briefing today it will be up to employers to determine whether their staff should come in. Portions of the city were …

Vodafone New Zealand, which bought phone company TelstraClear for $840 million last year, gained 19,000 mobile customers in the second quarter, snapping nine straight quarters when it shed clients. Auckland-based Vodafone had 2.326 million mobile customers as at June 30, up from 2.307 million customers three months earlier, according to its London Stock Exchange-listed parent’s quarterly result. Vodafone amalgamated the …

Shell Exploration New Zealand, Todd Energy and Austria’s OMV plan to pick up the Kan Tan IV oil rig next year to drill at least one, perhaps two, more exploration wells in the formerly giant Maui gas field off Taranaki. The definite well, Ruru-2, will re-drill Ruru-1 on the southeastern edge of the field, the drilling of which was suspended …

A 6.5 magnitude earthquake in New Zealand’s Cook Strait has closed Wellington financial trading rooms and shut down portions in the capital city as local authorities assess the damage. Wellington trading desks at Bank of New Zealand and ANZ Bank New Zealand are closed as corporates in the capital join the rest of the city in checking buildings following a …

Precinct Properties New Zealand, which counts its 10 office towers in Wellington’s central business district as 40 percent of its $1.6 billion portfolio, says it has suffered no major damage from yesterday’s 6.5 magnitude earthquake. The city was shaken by the quake at 5.09 pm yesterday, the peak of a swarm of earthquakes centred off the coast of the upper …

The kiwi dollar is holding below levels the Reserve Bank is forecasting for the third quarter though that’s unlikely to be enough to change its view of the interest rate outlook this week. The central bank will keep the official cash rate at 2.5 percent on Thursday, according to a Reuters survey of 16 economists. The bank will hike the …

New Zealand shares fell for a third session, led by Tower as institutional investors re-weight their portfolios ahead of MightRiverPower’s addition to the top 50 index next week. The NZX 50 Index fell 25.079 points, or 0.6 percent, to 4538.306. Within the index, 31 stocks fell, 10 rose and nine were unchanged. Turnover was a lower-than-average $119.4 million. MRP fell …

The government employed Financial Markets Authority chairman Simon Allen to help negotiate its $402 million convention centre-for-gaming concessions deal with SkyCity Entertainment Group. Allen, a former investment banker who has chaired the market watchdog since May 2011, took a key role in talks with the casino and hotel group, according to papers released by Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment …

The New Zealand dollar is heading for a 2.1 percent weekly gain against the greenback as investors pare their bets on the world’s reserve currency in a week where US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke reiterated that the central bank is set on winding back its money printing programme. The kiwi rose to 79.12 US cents at 5pm in Wellington …

Godfrey Hirst, the biggest carpet maker in Australia and New Zealand, plans to cut at least 50 of the 85 jobs at its Dannevirke plant. The company told staff it planned to cut the jobs by the end of September, alongside a proposal for remaining staff to move to shift work with reduced hours, according to First Union, which represents …