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Orion Health Group, the health software developer, will join the benchmark NZX 50 index later this month, ousting energy explorer New Zealand Oil & Gas, after the stock market operator’s latest quarterly review. Orion will enter the index on March 23, having met ranking and liquidity requirements for index inclusion, NZX said in a statement after the close of trading. …

By Paul McBeth March 11 (BusinessDesk) – The New Zealand dollar fell on speculation Reserve Bank governor Graeme Wheeler may signal further delays to interest rate hikes tomorrow and amid concern a threat to contaminate infant formula may hurt orders for the nation’s dairy products. The kiwi dropped to 72.37 US cents at 5pm in Wellington from 72.62 cents at 8am …

By Fiona Rotherham   March 11 (BusinessDesk) – Market regulators, the NZX and the Financial Markets Authority, say they’re confident the approach they took to disclosure of the 1080 contamination threat by listed companies involved was appropriate in the “unusual circumstances”, but they will be checking for any suspected market manipulation or insider trading.   Under the NZX Main Board …

Foley Family Wines, majority owned by American businessman and vineyard owner Bill Foley, posted a first-half operating profit as sales increased 14 percent. Underlying profit, which strips out fair valuation changes for harvested grapes, was $661,000 in the six months ended Dec. 31, compared to a loss of $96,000 in the previous comparable period, the Marlborough-based company said in a statement. Sales increased to $15.6 …

By Fiona Rotherham March 11 (BusinessDesk) – Chinese consumer reaction to the threat to contaminate New Zealand infant formula with 1080 poison has been muted so far, but the Taiwanese have been more strident, said Massey University marketing specialist Associate Professor Henry Chung. Chung, who has studied the Chinese market for more than 20 years, is currently in Taiwan and monitoring …

SBS Bank, New Zealand’s largest building society, has agreed to buy 50 percent of Staples Rodway Asset Management (SRAM)  as part of a strategy to build scale in wealth management and lift its presence in the North Island. Financial details of the transaction are confidential, said Wayne Evans, chief executive of SBS Group, which owns SBS Bank. The deal will add to SBS’s growth …

State-owned coal miner Solid Energy is preparing for more redundancies at its Stockton mine, near Westport, as slumping global prices for coking coal threaten its long term viability and force it anew into talks with its banks to restructure its borrowing. Plans under way to stem those losses were in preparation and “reductions will be inevitable on the basis of those …

The Inland Revenue Department is happy with lead provider Accenture to overhaul its 30-year-old information technology system in a major transformation of its business which so far is running under budget and on time. IRD commissioner Naomi Ferguson told Parliament’s finance and expenditure committee the government’s tax gatherer has spent $83 million to date on its business transformation programme, and …

The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority, which was tasked with overseeing the rebuild of the country’s second-biggest city, is upbeat about the prospects for anchor projects in Christchurch’s central business district, but won’t provide business cases for the developments until commercial contracts have been signed off Acting chief executive John Ombler told parliament’s finance and expenditure committee the CBD projects are …

Woosh Wireless’s financial statements have been tagged by its auditor as the internet service provider narrowed its annual loss by clamping down on costs to offset falling sales. The Auckland-based company narrowed its loss to $1.32 million in the year ended Aug. 31, from an earlier loss of $2.59 million it said in its financial statements lodged with the Companies Office. Sales fell 22 percent …