Topics

New Zealand commodity prices fell for a second month in June, led by dairy products and beef, though the slide in the kiwi meant prices actually rose in the local currency. The ANZ Commodity Price Index fell 3.7 percent last month, following a 1.6 percent decline in May. Whole milk powder declined 9 percent and skim milk powder fell 8 …

Fonterra Cooperative Group, the world’s biggest dairy exporter, plans to spend $27 million to double storage capacity at its Te Rapa site, which is currently under-capacity. The Auckland-based cooperative expects to save an annual $5 million in operating costs from a new dry store at the Waikato site, where its base capacity it at just 60 percent of standard season …

The New Zealand dollar edged up as investors increased their holdings in the local currency after a 6.7 percent slide last quarter amid expectations super-loose monetary conditions in the US will end this year. The kiwi rose to 78.01 US cents from 77.70 cents at 5pm in Wellington yesterday. The trade-weighted index increased to 73.98 from 73.75 yesterday. The New …

Manufacturing data from the US was better than expected, as were those from Europe, but China’s data offered another sign that growth in the world’s second-largest economy is dimming. In the US, the Institute for Supply Management’s index of national factory activity gained to 50.9 in June from 49 in May. A reading above 50 signals expansion. In late afternoon …

The NZX 50 index fell 0.3 percent after trading on New Zealand’s stock market resumed after a three-hour outage over connectivity issues. The benchmark index dropped 14 points when markets reopened at 3pm in New Zealand, and was recently at 4413.521, down 0.6 percent on the day. The stock market operator will investigate the outage, and will report back to …

The New Zealand Superannuation Fund, which invests to fund the country’s universal state pension, will place $40 million in a new $150 million venture capital fund to finance fast-growing small to medium-sized businesses with global potential. The funds will be placed with Auckland-based Pioneer Capital, which already holds stakes in recently listed software company SLI Systems, boutique brewer Moa beer, …

All trading on New Zealand’s stock market has been halted due to technical issues in the second major outage this year. A spokeswoman for the NZX confirmed the stock exchange has halted trading, and is investigating the problem. Reuters reported the stock exchange operator said it had connectivity issues and suspended trading on all markets while it looked at the …

The New Zealand dollar may decline this week on speculation about the removal of asset purchasing stimulus in the US and on concern Chinese growth may be faltering. The local currency may trade between 75 US cents and 80 cents this week, with a lower bias, according to a BusinessDesk survey of nine traders and strategists. Five expect the kiwi …

The New Zealand government and SkyCity Entertainment Group are taking another five days to finish up a deal for the casino and hotel operator to build a $402 million convention centre in Auckland in exchange for regulatory concessions. The parties have extended their negotiations for a second time, and expect the deal to be wrapped up by 11pm on July …

US labour data will be the focus of investors desperately trying to get a handle on the likelihood and timing of a Federal Reserve easing back of its bond-buying program, after a week of comments by central bank officials failed to provide further clarity. While last week’s slew of speeches helped stem the steep slide of both equity and bond …