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A joint task force between the central government and the local governments of the North Island east coast’s Tairawhiti region will look at future transport infrastructure needs, Transport and Economic Development Ministers Gerry Brownlee and Steven Joyce have announced. The government has come under political pressure to require the loss-making state rail operator, KiwiRail, to keep open the rail link …

New Zealand consumers are the most confident they’ve been in 32 months and the happiest citizens live in the South Island, according to the ANZ-Roy Morgan NZ consumer confidence survey for February. Consumer confidence rose 2.7 points to 121 this month with the biggest pick up being in kiwis’ perceptions of the broader economy over the next five years, which …

Former Capital + Merchant Finance director Trevor Janes passed the smell-test on his appointment to head the Accident Compensation Corp board’s investment committee after officials had a look at it. In response to questions from Labour Party MP Phil Twyford, ACC chair Paula Rebstock told Parliament’s transport and industrial relations committee that officials undertook due diligence into Janes’ role at …

New Zealand Post became the latest major employer to announce job cuts as it closes its Datamail centre in Petone, Wellington, at the cost of 70 jobs, and axes 30 jobs in Auckland. Datamail, which prints junk mail for advertisers, will close the Petone site in mid-2014, will offset the cuts with the creation of 30 new positions in its …

Japanese drinks giant Asahi has filed papers in the Federal Court of Australia in Melbourne over the $1.5 billion price tag on its Independent Liquor purchase from private equity firms Pacific Equity Partners and Unitas Capital. Asahi Holdings (Australia) and Independent Liquor (NZ) today filed an originating application in the court, alleging the private equity firms made false representations about …

New Zealand food prices rose for the first time in five months in January, led by fruit, vegetables and grocery items such as biscuits, yoghurt and bread. The food price index climbed 1.9 percent in January, following a 0.2 percent decline in December, according to Statistics New Zealand. All five categories of food measured rose in the latest month. Fruit …

New Zealand manufacturing grew at the fastest pace in eight months in January, with the strongest growth in Canterbury/Westland probably reflecting demand for building materials, but employment in the sector is shrinking. The BNZ-Business New Zealand Performance of Manufacturing Index climbed 4.8 points to 55.2 last month, the highest since May last year and the highest for the month of …

Australian wool merchant Lempriere has reached the 90 percent target of Wool Services International, allowing it to mop-up the remaining shares. The Melbourne-based company reached 90.9 percent of acceptances yesterday, according to a substantial security holder notice, meeting its minimum acceptance and letting it compulsorily acquire the remaining shares in the company. Lempriere launched the takeover last year, offering 45 …

American computer network provider Emulex Corp says it had received acceptances for 88.4 percent of the shares of New Zealand-based, London AIM exchange-listed Endace, and will extend its offer to Feb 26 to allow it to mop up remaining shares, if possible. If Emulex reaches 90 percent acceptances, it has the option to trigger the compulsory acquisition provisions of the …

While the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index touched a fresh five-year high shortly after opening, it failed to hold those gains as investors sought to assess the impact of President Barack Obama’s second-term initiatives. With a focus on renewing America’s middle class, President Obama announced in his State of the Union address last night plans to lift the minimum wage …