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Standard & Poor’s has downplayed the threat of looming price regulation to access Chorus’s switchgear on its ageing copper lines, saying the final ruling will probably be amended given the highly political nature of the fibre network. The regulator yesterday released a draft determination that would cut what Chorus can charge internet service providers for accessing its unbundled copper network …

Delegat’s Group is flagging a small increase in annual earnings for 2013, though it’s warning that the strong kiwi dollar is making life hard for the wine-maker. The company forecasts operating profit of $27 million in the 12 months ending June 30, 2013, managing director Jim Delegat told shareholders in Auckland. That’s a 6 percent lift in earnings from 2012. …

As Canada prepares to engage as a full participant in the Trans-Pacific Trade (TPP) negotiations for the first time, a comprehensive report by Canadian trade specialist Peter Clark suggests that the advance hype about the TPP being a high quality comprehensive deal is “hogwash”.  Clark, President of Grey, Clark, Shih and Associates, says “There is already evidence of many deficiencies, …

Brazilian oil company Petrobras is to hand back exploration licences it holds for deep sea oil and gas prospects in the Raukumara Basin, off East Cape, in what appears a reaction to a string of difficulties which have seen the global scale oil major report losses for the first time in 13 years. Prime Minister John Key told reporters for …

Reserve Bank governor Graeme Wheeler has scotched claims by the Green Party that he has a bias in favour of the country’s Australian-owned banks, and defended statements saying the lenders’ return on equity is still below pre-crisis levels. Wheeler, who delivers his maiden monetary policy statement on Thursday, released bank profitability figures given to the Greens, which he used to …

New Zealand commodity prices rose for a fourth straight month in November, led by pelts, beef and wood pulp. Lamb prices fell to a 31-month low. The ANZ Commodity Price Index rose 1 percent last month with 10 commodity prices gaining, four declining and three unchanged. A firmer New Zealand dollar meant the gain in the ANZ NZD Commodity price …

ASX-listed streaming and on-demand video supplier Quickflix has cut a deal with Freeview to secure a channel on the free-to-air set-top-box. Quickflix, which has lost three board members and its chief executive in recent weeks, will launch a service on Freeview next year, offering ‘all you can view’ subscription offering as well as pay-per-view for new release titles, it said …

Investors in Ross Asset Management face a “gruesome legal fight” to recover their funds if investigations by regulators show fund principle David Ross was running a Ponzi scheme, says investor spokesman Bruce Tichbon. The receivers of the Ross group yesterday applied to the High Court to liquidate the companies and a hearing date has been set for Dec. 17. Receivers …

Opening Ceremony Li Xiangyang, Director General of the National Institute of International Strategy (CASS) welcomed participants and the audience to the event and opened the day’s proceedings. The first keynote speaker was Huang Haotao, Secretary General of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Prof Huang focussed on the many achievements over the past 40 years of diplomatic relations and the …

Major cities in New Zealand continue to offer overseas expatriates world-class living standards and working conditions, Mercer’s 2012 Quality of Living Survey has found. Auckland has maintained its position, for the fourth year in a row, as the third best city in the global rankings, followed by Wellington at 13th place. Across the Tasman, Sydney has ranked as the tenth …