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A visiting competition expert says regulating petrol prices doesn’t work, and that international attention is now turning to the role refineries play in the industry. Justus Haucap, who holds the chair of competition theory and policy at the University of Dusseldorf, told a seminar in Wellington of an economic laboratory experiment he was involved with to shed light on the …

Major electricity users and most electricity companies are gearing up to challenge a radical new Electricity Plan changing the way they pay for access to the national grid. resume writing service Papers published on the EA’s website show a combination of confusion and opposition to the proposals, which the industry regulator unveiled in October, cutting through more than a decade …

Face-to-Face is a new feature from newzealandinc.com where we sit down for a chat with young business leaders from around the globe. We’ll be running a special series of these from China where we talk to young New Zealanders doing big things on the ground here. The first in newzealandinc.com’s Face to Face China series is with the director of …

The property market may be taking off, but there is no sign of the manufacturing sector doing the same, according to the latest BNZ-Business New Zealand Performance of Manufacturing Index. The December PMI was barely in positive territory at 50.1, up 1.3 points from November, but down on the readings in December 2011 and 2010. BNZ described the overall index …

Publisher Fairfax Media is moving more sub-editing work from Australia to New Zealand in a bid to reduce costs. Fairfax has already moved sub-editing work from the Newcastle Herald, the Illawarra Mercury and community titles to New Zealand, resulting in the loss of 66 jobs in Australia. On Wednesday it said it will move the copy sub-editing of its Financial …

The New Zealand dollar firmed slightly on approval of a temporary increase in the US debt ceiling, which came after a mixed session overnight. The kiwi was at 84.18 US cents at 8am, up from 84.05 cents at 5pm. It traded as high as 84.41 cents overnight. News that the US House of Representative voted on Wednesday US time to …

Wall Street extended gains after the US House voted in favour of a plan that allows the Treasury to borrow beyond the US$16.4 trillion limit until May 19 to avoid the threat of default. Republicans are seeking cuts to spending in return. “The bill we are passing today, we think, will give us the ability to have a debate that …

New Zealand shares eked out another rise as the broadly positive tone since New Year continued, with substantial volumes noted in some key stocks. The NZX50 Index was up 0.64 points, or 0.01 percent, to 4187.72. Within the index, 23 stocks rose, 14 rose and 13 were unchanged. Turnover was $ 133.213 million. “There seems to be some reasonable volume …

The New Zealand dollar firmed against the Australian dollar after a weaker-than-expected inflation report increased the chances of a an official interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank of Australia. The kiwi was at 79.78 Australian cents at 5pm, up from 79.53 Australian cents at 8am. The aussie dollar weakened on news that the headline consumers price index rose 0.2 …

A $40 million government procurement deal to supply wallboard for the Christchurch rebuild is being used as a way to inject competition into New Zealand’s high-cost home building market. With home affordability a hot political issue, and lack of competition for building supplies identified as a key issue by a Productivity Commission report, the government has announced it will split …