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The New Zealand dollar will probably take its lead from the US this week, where traders will be looking for guidance from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke on future monetary stimulus. The local currency may trade between 76 US cents and 79.50 cents this week, according to a BusinessDesk survey of 10 traders and strategists. Four expect the New Zealand …

Would-be West Coast coking coal miner Bathurst Resources has taken another small step closer to open cast mining on the Denniston Plateau following the High Court’s rejection of an appeal on a side issue from the Royal Forest & Bird Protection Society of New Zealand. Justice John Fogarty’s judgment, issued July 11, finds no merit in Forest & Bird’s attempt …

Genesis Energy bond investors have opted to sell 27.7 percent, or about $77.8 million, of the state-owned power company’s hybrid bonds rather than accept a lower interest rate. The company flagged in May that it would modify the bonds and trim the issue by about $75 million to $200 million after Standard & Poor’s changed its criteria for assessing the …

China’s Bright Dairy & Food can build its stake in Synlait Milk back up to 41 percent once the dairy processor has joined the stock exchange later this month. The Takeovers Panel granted an exemption to the Synlait Milk shareholder for Bright Dairy to keep its stake at 41 percent by purchasing shares on-market if the initial public offer diluted …

All eyes are set for the latest round of US corporate earnings after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke finally managed to reassure investors that the central bank’s stimulus effort is not going to evaporate any time soon. Markets had been pricing in a tapering of the Fed’s US$85 billion a month bond-buying program since late May after Bernanke said as …

New Zealand’s Reserve Bank, concerned about spiralling house prices causing financial instability, could force lenders to limit borrowings as early as next month, economists say. Submissions on the Reserve Bank’s proposal to restrict bank lending on low-equity loans closed on July 3. A summary of submissions, along with the central bank’s response, is likely to be published ahead of an …

State-controlled power company MightyRiverPower will join the benchmark NZX 50 index later this month as the sixth biggest company on the stock market. With MRP’s inclusion in the index from July 22, four of the country’s 10 largest NZX companies by market capitalisation will be electricity sector players, with Meridian Energy’s $3.3 billion or so float hanging over the market …

The New Zealand dollar is heading for a 2.1 percent weekly gain against the greenback after the local currency jumped to a three-week high yesterday when investors reassessed whether the US Federal Reserve will start slowing down its money printing programme. The kiwi rose as high as 79.68 US cents this week, trading at 78.68 cents at 5pm in Wellington …

The Productivity Commission has New Zealand’s regulatory regimes in its sights with the launch of an inquiry aiming to improve the design and operation of the nation’s watchdogs and rule-makers. Finance Minister Bill English and Regulatory Reform Minister John Banks want the commission look across the diversity of the country’s regulatory system with a view to draw conclusions and recommendations …

New Zealand’s annual inflation may have returned to 14-year lows in the second quarter as a record high currency weighed on prices of imported clothing, competition drove down telecommunications costs and fuel costs fell. The consumer price Index rose 0.3 percent in the second quarter for an annual pace of 0.8 percent, according to a Reuters survey of 10 economists …