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New Zealand food prices recorded their biggest drop since October 2011 last month, led by declines in prices of apples, tomatoes, kumara, mandarins and chocolate bars. Prices fell 1.3 percent in March from February and declined 0.4 percent from March 2012, according to Statistics New Zealand. The monthly decline was the biggest in 17 months. Food prices make up about …

The receivers of failed construction firm Mainzeal are weighing up their options to get the best price for Mainzeal House on Auckland’s Victoria St. PwC’s Colin McCloy and David Bridgman “are currently considering the best way to realise the property,” which is valued at some $12.3 million, according to their first report on 200 Vic Ltd, a Mainzeal entity. The …

The New Zealand dollar continued its rally, topping 86 US cents and charting a new record on a trade-weighted basis as the nation’s economic fundamentals and demand for high yields in a low-rate world drove demand. The kiwi rose to 86.32 US cents from 85.92 cents at 5pm in Wellington yesterday. The trade-weighted index rose to 79.36 from 79.11. Stocks …

Steven Joyce today welcomed the launch of a New Zealand television documentary series: Dragons in the Land of the Long White Cloud in Beijing. The series promotes New Zealand as an education destination for Chinese students, giving prospective students and their families an insight into what life as an international student is like. “Taking a snapshot of New Zealand into …

A pōwhiri and festival are to be held in Auckland to celebrate Maori and Chinese cultural bonds, and to consummate the relationship between the two cultures. The Minister of Māori Affairs, alongside hosts Ngāti Whātua o Orākei, and Auckland Chinese community leaders announced details of the ‘Taniwha & Dragon’ festival during the Prime Minister’s visit to China to celebrate 40 …

The NZ Herald’s report China Business 2013 profiles many of the New Zealand and Chinese companies featured during the Prime Minister’s official visit to China.  

Guinness Peat Group’s wind-down may face a bump in the road after the UK Pensions Regulator indicated it’s taking a look at two of the pensions schemes the investment firm is responsible for. The group, which expects to rebrand under the name of its UK threadmaker unit, Coats, later this year, has been told by the British regulator the watchdog …

Guinness Peat Group chairman Rob Campbell, who was brought into the investment firm to oversee its wind-down, has joined the board of rental campervan operator Tourism Holdings. The appointment takes the number of independent directors on the Tourism Holdings board to five of the six-strong board, and the company expects to make another addition in coming months, said independent director …

Wall Street climbed to fresh highs as investors bet that the pace of the economic recovery, both at home and abroad, will sustain corporate profit growth. The initial catalyst for today’s rally was another piece of good news from China. Reports showed that the nation’s imports increased more than expected last month, rising 14.1 percent, while export growth eased to …

Guinness Peat Group, the investment company liquidating its holdings, has agreed to sell 19.9 percent of ASX-listed property developer CIC Australia to Peet Ltd for about $15 million. Peet today announced a cash takeover for all the shares in CIC for 60 Australian cents apiece or A$76 million, it said in a statement to the ASX. CIC has seven active …