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The New Zealand government and SkyCity Entertainment Group are giving themselves another fortnight to cut a deal on the terms for the casino and hotel operator to build a $402 million convention centre in Auckland in exchange for regulatory concessions. Both parties agreed to extend the deadline to reach a final agreement until the end of the month, after initially …

Stocks climbed as the latest data on US retail sales and jobs bolstered hope that the world’s largest economy might be on track for a sustainable recovery. Retail sales rose a better-than-expected 0.6 percent last month after a 0.1 percent gain in April, data from the Commerce Department showed. Polls by Bloomberg News and Reuters had called for a 0.4 …

Pyne Gould, the asset management firm controlled by George Kerr, says it will return to profit this year on gains from assets sales after an impairment-driven loss in 2012. Profit will be about $30 million in the year ending June 30, from a loss of $47.7 million a year earlier, the Auckland-based company said in a statement. The profit gain …

Hallenstein Glasson Holdings, the clothing chain, said full-year profit may drop as much as 12 percent after a slow start to winter hurt returns from its Glasson stores in Australia, where rivals have cut prices aggressively. Profit may be $18.5 to $19.5 million in the 12 months ending August 1, from $21 million a year earlier, the Auckland-based retailer said …

The New Zealand dollar rose before the Reserve Bank’s policy statement as investors weighed the prospects for a gradual reduction in momentary stimulus in the US and the greenback dropped against most major currencies. The kiwi gained to 79.59 US cents, from 78.76 cents at 5pm yesterday. The trade-weighted index edged up to 74.06 from 73.45 yesterday. The dollar index, …

Wall Street fell as investors found little to soothe their nervousness over a potential downgrade of the US Federal Reserve’s bond-buying program. In late afternoon trading in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.84 percent, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 0.74 percent and the Nasdaq Composite lost 1.03 percent. “There just isn’t much news to offset …

The New Zealand dollar was little changed in local trading as investors await Reserve Bank governor Graeme Wheeler’s response to a 6.1 percent slide in the currency against the greenback since his last review. The kiwi traded at 78.76 US cents at 5pm in Wellington from 78.65 cents at 8am and 78.80 cents yesterday. The trade-weighted index fell to 73.45 …

Companies expecting to benefit from a lower New Zealand dollar may get only a short reprieve as the kiwi appreciates towards the end of the year buoyed by the prospect of an improving economy and higher interest rates, according to a BusinessDesk survey. The local currency has dropped about 5 percent this year as improving data out of the US …

New Zealand’s government wants to trim “super profits” from land banking which it says is the biggest impediment to housing affordability in Auckland. New Zealand’s Reserve Bank is concerned rising house prices where supply is failing to meet demand, particularly in Auckland, is threatening financial stability. Housing Minister Nick Smith is relying on an accord with Auckland City Council to …

New Zealand’s ultra-fast broadband initiative is threatened by a regulatory process that is “weird” to foreign investors, could ultimately be redundant, and is producing the opposite of the intended effect of splitting Telecom in two, says Chorus chief executive Mark Ratcliffe. Ratcliffe used a speech to a Commerce Commission conference on proposals to regulate prices for unbundled bitstream access to …