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New Zealand’s services sector growth slowed last month after a surge in activity in October, and is another indicator underlining what’s been a tepid economic recovery. The BNZ-Business New Zealand performance of services index fell 4 points to 54.1 in November. A reading above 50 indicates a sector is growing and a reading below 50 indicates contraction. The survey comes …

The New Zealand dollar looks set to breach 85 US cents for the first time in 15 months provided third-quarter growth figures don’t disappoint and Washington remains stalled on fiscal cliff talks. The kiwi dollar recently traded at 84.60 US cents from 84.56 cents in New York on Friday. The trade-weighted index rose to 75.45 from 75.31. The local currency …

New Zealand consumer confidence rose as households’ pessimism about the state of their own affairs was the least gloomy in five years. The Westpac McDermott Miller Consumer Confidence Index rose 8.6 points to 111.1 in the December quarter, the highest level since September last year. A reading above 100 means optimists outnumber pessimists. The present conditions index rose 6.2 points …

Fonterra shareholders voted to re-elect incumbent directors John Wilson and Nicola Shadbolt to the Fonterra board. They will be joined by new director Blue Read, a former chairman of the Fonterra Shareholders’ Council from 2007 – 2010. Read, aged 57, lives and farms near Urenui in Northern Taranaki.? Blue is the current Chairman, New Zealand Co-operative Business Association, and has …

The Reserve Bank has approved Heartland New Zealand’s application to be a licensed bank, ending a long wait for the lender. The central bank said Heartland has become New Zealand’s 22nd registered bank in a brief statement. Securing a banking licence has been a key plank of Heartland’s strategy in a shift away from a new regulatory regime that imposed …

Shares in Trade Me have been halted as Australian publisher Fairfax Media sells its remaining 51 percent in the New Zealand online auction site. The shares have been halted to let a bookbuild take place for the sale of Fairfax’s shares, Trade Me said, without disclosing a price. Media reports have put the sale price at A$3.05 a share, a …

New Zealand Post, the state-owned postal service, agreed to sell its 35 percent stake in Datacom Group to the New Zealand Superannuation Fund for $142 million to repay debt and bolster its capital. NZ Post’s credit rating was cut to A+ from AA- in October as the state-owned enterprise searches for new revenue streams in the face of dwindling demand …

newzealandinc.com was live at New Zealand’s Rocket Pitch?competition?organized by The Icehouse and Geeks on a Plane – access all of our coverage of the start-up showcase from the event hub including exclusive interviews, company profiles and more. Organized by 500 Startups, a startup incubator and investment fund led by celebrity entrepreneur and angel investor Dave McClure, Geeks on a Plane …

The New Zealand dollar rose to a four-year high against the yen after Japan’s Liberal Democratic party swept to power, mustering enough support to enact sweeping economic reforms and weaken the currency. The kiwi dollar jumped to 71.33 yen, the highest since September 2008, from 70.57 yen in New York on Friday. The kiwi traded at 84.54 US cents from …

Global efforts to get a new deal to combat climate change are foundering because they are based on the competitive mindset of trade negotiations rather than collaborative problem-solving, says Green Party climate change spokesman Kennedy Graham. Speaking at a Victoria University-hosted briefing on the outcomes of the latest round of global climate change talks in Doha, Graham said trade and …