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A draft of part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal leaked to the Politico website suggests the US is demanding increased protections for pharmaceutical companies, restricting access to the lower-cost generic versions of drugs that agencies such as New Zealand’s Pharmac buy. The draft copy of the intellectual property chapter of the trade agreement as it stood on May 11, before the Guam negotiating …

The New Zealand dollar touched a fresh five-year low after dairy prices fell to a six-year low in the GlobalDairyTrade auction overnight, paced by whole milk powder, the nation’s key export commodity. The kiwi touched 67.27 US cents and was trading at 67.41 cents at 8am in Wellington, from 67.95 cents at 5pm yesterday. The trade-weighted index dropped to 70.73 from …

“While the New Zealand economy has gathered momentum over the last few years, it faces important challenges, including high private foreign liabilities, slowing demand from some trading partners, volatile international commodity prices, a strong exchange rate, and a highly-indebted farm sector. Moreover, New Zealand’s labour productivity and income per capita continue to lag behind OECD averages.” – WTO Secretariat Executive …

Fonterra Cooperative Group, which is looking to cut hundreds of jobs as part of a review aimed at stripping costs out of its business, says it has begun talks with workers in administrative roles such as finance, legal and information services. The world’s largest dairy exporter has hired business management consultant McKinsey & Co to assist in a review of its …

Kathmandu has urged shareholders to take no action on a full takeover offer from Briscoe Group pending the board’s response and has retained Goldman Sachs as an adviser.  Briscoe, the homewares and sports good retailer, yesterday offered 89.7 million of its own shares and $32.3 million cash for the 80.1 percent of the outdoor equipment and clothing chain it doesn’t already own. The …

Marlborough Lines has bought an 80 percent stake in Yealands Wine Group, New Zealand’s sixth-largest wine exporter, for $89 million. The South Island electricity lines company took control from founder Peter Yealands, who wanted to keep the winery fully New Zealand owned, the companies said in a joint statement. Marlborough Lines is debt free and had realised $100 million in cash from …

Spark New Zealand, the country’s biggest telecommunications provider, has affirmed annual guidance after the Commerce Commission today said regulated pricing on Chorus’s copper line network would largely be unchanged. The Auckland-based company, which is Chorus’s biggest customer, said 2015 financial guidance for low single digit growth in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation and for a low single digit decline …

The Commerce Commission looks likely to settle on a price close to its original decision on what telecommunications network operator Chorus can charge its customers, though it probably won’t backdate any update. The regulator today released its draft determination for what Chorus can charge on its regulated copper lines in its final pricing principle – a more rigorous process to …

The New Zealand dollar touched a fresh five-year low after dairy prices fell to a six-year low in the GlobalDairyTrade auction overnight, paced by whole milk powder, the nation’s key export commodity. The kiwi touched 67.27 US cents and was trading at 67.41 cents at 8am in Wellington, from 67.95 cents at 5pm yesterday. The trade-weighted index dropped to 70.73 from …

Dairy product prices continued their slide, paced by whole milk power, in the latest GlobalDairyTrade auction, weakening to the lowest level in six years. The GDT average winning prices dropped 5.9 percent to US$2,276 from US$2,409 at the previous auction two weeks ago. It was the lowest level since July 2009. Some 33,200 tonnes of product was sold, the highest …