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State-owned Solid Energy struggled to find a new chairman when John Palmer announced his intention to leave early last June, because of the parlous state of the business, Treasury papers show. “The current position of the company is also adding complexity to the process of appointing a new chair of the Solid Energy board,” Treasury commercial transactions group manager Chris …

New Zealand visitor arrivals climbed 9 percent last month as Chinese visitors more than doubled from a year ago amid celebrations of the Lunar New Year. Short-term visitor arrivals rose to a seasonally adjusted 223,410 in February from 204,950 a year earlier, according to Statistics New Zealand. The number of Chinese visitors rose 106 percent to 208,704, and arrivals from …

Postie Plus Group, the retailer whose shares have plunged 38 percent this year, is reeling from a wider first-half loss as it deals with major problems at its outsourced distribution centre, burning through cash in the process. The Auckland-based retailer made a net loss of $1.8 million, or 4.61 cents per share, in the six months ended Feb. 3, from …

he New Zealand dollar gained against the greenback and the euro as stronger-than-expected growth figures yesterday made the local economy a standout in a world of sluggish growth and data showed euro-zone manufacturing shrank further. The kiwi rose to 83.30 US cents from 82.73 cents at 5pm in Wellington yesterday. The trade-weighted index rose to 76.48 from 76.16. The New …

Stocks on both sides of the Atlantic fell as worse-than-expected euro zone manufacturing data bolstered concern its economic recovery might take longer than feared. The Markit Eurozone PMI Composite Output Index dropped to 46.5 in March, from 47.9 in February, according to the flash estimate. Flash Germany Manufacturing PMI dropped to 48.9 in March, a three-month low and down from …

Shares in Methven fell 2.3 percent after chief executive Rick Fala will leave the tapware manufacturer in September. The shares fell 3 cents to $1.30, matching its lowest level this year on March 11. Fala leaves after 15 years in charge, and will stay on the board as an independent director. His decision to stay on the board comes after …

New Zealand shares fell after global transport group Mainfreight said full-year earnings would miss analyst estimates and Xero snapped a stellar run, falling from a record high as some investors took profits. The NZX 50 Index fell 6.92 points, or 0.2 percent, to 4342.50. Within the index, 23 stocks fell, 21 gained, and six were unchanged. Turnover was $165 million. …

The New Zealand dollar climbed to a three-week high after government figures showed the economy grew 1.5 percent in the final three months of 2012, almost twice the Reserve Bank’s forecast. The kiwi rose to 82.67 US cents at 5pm in from 82.27 cents at 8am and the same price yesterday. The trade-weighted index gained to 76.12 from 75.78 yesterday. …

The Serious Fraud Office is running two investigations relating to the Canterbury rebuild, with the SFO saying there’s evidence of other insurance fraud not serious enough for it to get involved. Separately, a unit of Fletcher Building defended its auditing of rebuild related invoices. The white-collar crime investigator has been keeping tabs on the $30 billion rebuild, which it expects …

Peter Masfen, a long-term backer of Pacific Edge, has sold 10 million shares in the Dunedin-based bladder cancer detection test inventor, taking advantage of a price that reached a record high this week on progress in the US market. The PH Masfen Charitable Trust trimmed its holding to 5.4 percent from the 8.988 percent stake his interests last disclosed in …