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New Zealand shares rose, pushing the NZX 50 Index to a new five-year high, as expectations of a pickup in building activity lifted companies such as Fletcher Building, Steel & Tube Holdings and Cavalier. PGG Wrightson rose to a 17-month high. The NZX 50 rose 15.54 points, or 0.4 percent, to 4119.08, the highest since November 2008. Within the index, …

Nelson-based Brightwater Group, which last year threatened redundancies over delays to Bathurst Resources’ proposed coal mine on the Denniston Plateau, has been ordered to pay more than $77,000 to in lost wages and compensation over the way it laid off four staff in 2010. Employment Relations Authority member Helen Doyle found the engineering firm ran a flawed and predetermined process …

custom research paper writing service The next United States New Zealand Pacific Partnership Forum promises to be a “truly global dialogue, focused on ‘defining what’s next’  for the NZ-US relationship in a pivotal year for the region.“ US NZ Council CEO and president Bill Maroni says 2013 will be a year of change and increasing focus on the Asia Pacific …

Some $1.28 billion of investment funds could be looking for a high-yielding home in the next few months amid speculation ANZ New Zealand and a local unit of National Australia Bank will call hybrid notes they sold in 2008 when interest rates were high. ANZ has $835 million of perpetual callable subordinated bonds with a first call date of April …

New Zealand commodity prices rose for a fifth straight month in December, led by a surge in pelt prices and gains for aluminium and beef, though a strong New Zealand dollar eroded the benefits to local producers. The ANZ Commodity Price Index rose 1 percent in to be 7 percent up since July last year. The index is still 14 …

Shares in Summerset Group climbed 0.9 percent to $2.28 after the retirement village operator and developer beat the sales forecasts published in its initial public offer document last year. The Wellington-based group sold 331 occupation rights for more than $100 million to village residents in the 2012 calendar year, from 231 sales and resales a year earlier, the company said …

Departing Satara Cooperative Group boss Tom Wilson has taken a stab at Zespri International’s brokerage fees at the expense of growers in his last update to shareholders. The Te Puke-based kiwifruit and avocado grower is still in talks with Zespri, which controls the nation’s kiwifruit exports, over its 6 percent brokerage rate on gross sale proceeds and 6 percent of …

The Commerce Commission has given itself an extra two months to consider competition issues raised by Vector’s proposed purchase of Contact Energy’s gas metering business, following submissions claiming the move will create a “virtual monopoly” in gas metering in Auckland.   While Vector’s application for clearance of the purchase by the competition watchdog attracted only two submissions, the commission has …

New Zealand property values rose 5.7 percent last year, driven by gains in Auckland and a recovery in Christchurch, and the housing market in the country’s biggest city is set to keep climbing, according to Quotable Value. Property values were 1.5 percent in the three months ended Dec. 31 from the same period a year earlier, rounding out the annual …

An appearance by Alex Jones on Piers Morgan’s show has sparked debate after a lively exchange between the two media personalities on gun control.  Jones was top of Twitter Wednesday evening following the show in which he presented Morgan with a petition signed by 100,000 Americans ordering Piers be deported from the United States in response to Morgan’s vocal anti-gun stance within …