Topics

Prices of dairy products posted their biggest gain since early April in Fonterra Cooperative Group’s latest GlobalDairyTrade auction, led by a jump in whole milk powder, the biggest product by volume. The GDT-TWI Price Index rose 4.9 percent compared to the last sale two weeks ago. The average winning price rose to US$4,828 a tonne, the biggest gain since April …

The New Zealand dollar gained ahead of US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Benanke’s congressional testimony as speculative investors pare back their bets on the greenback, and was bolstered by Reserve Bank of Australia minutes talking down that nation’s inflation outlook. A strong gain in local dairy prices rounded out a bullish start for the currency. The kiwi rose to 78.97 …

Wall Street retreated from record highs as investors were disappointed with corporate earnings such as from Coca-Cola and awaited Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s testimonial before Congress, beginning tomorrow. Shares of Coca-Cola dropped, last down 1.8 percent, after the company said quarterly profit sagged 4 percent. “Our second-quarter volume results came in below our expectations, reflecting an ongoing challenging global …

Contact Energy and state-owned Genesis Energy are the two power companies most at risk if the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter closes, says a senior Standard & Poors analyst, Richard Creed. In an interview televised on the Reuters Insider programme, Creed, who is S&P’s director of corporate and infrastructure ratings in Australia, picked all the listed power companies in the New …

Contact Energy and state-owned Genesis Energy are the two power companies most at risk if the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter closes, says a senior Standard & Poors analyst, Richard Creed. In an interview televised on the Reuters Insider programme, Creed, who is S&P’s director of corporate and infrastructure ratings in Australia, picked all the listed power companies in the New …

New Zealand shares fell, snapping an eight-day advance, as Diligent Board Member Services and Xero fell, while concerns about a weak Australian dollar weighed on Michael Hill International and Fletcher Building ahead of earnings season. The NZX 50 Index dropped 29.695 points, or 0.6 percent, to 4576.545. Within the index, 25 stocks fell, 11 rose and 14 were unchanged. Turnover …

New Zealand corporate earnings may fall short of investors’ expectations with the reporting season for June balance dates bearing down next month. Locally-listed companies’ valuations may start coming off the boil as the price-to-earnings ratio gets ahead of profits, and investors may be disappointed when firms publish their results next month, AMP Capital Investors (New Zealand) head of equities Guy …

Governance software purveyors Diligent Board Member Services continue to attract the attention of NZX regulators, who issued a ‘please explain’ notice today after a 17.3 percent drop in the company’s share price in the last four days. The inquiry is only the second this year from NZX Market Services under Section 10.1.1 of the NZX Listing Rules relating to the …

GFNZ Group, the finance company formerly known as Geneva Finance, says it has concluded talks on a series of funding transactions worth $27.5 million that will allow it to repay debenture holders, existing bank and other debt. The core part of the new arrangements is a $30 million securitized debt facility with Westpac Banking Corp, the company said. It also …

The lowest annual pace of inflation in 14 years is relieving pressure on the Reserve Bank to have to raise interest rates this year, as rising construction costs stay contained. The consumer price index rose 0.2 percent in the three months ended June 30, just shy of the 0.3 percent expected in a Reuters survey of economists, for an annual …