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The New Zealand dollar was little changed after figures showed Australia’s economy got a boost from increased consumer spending, offsetting the decline in its resources sector. The kiwi traded at 75.55 US cents from 75.58 cents at 8am, up from 75.26 cents yesterday. The local currency increased to 96.59 Australian cents from 96.35 cents yesterday. Australian Bureau of Statistics figures showed the country’s economy …

Woolworths has taken a near $28.3 million haircut on its investment in Warehouse Group after James Pascoe, the retail group owned by David and Anne Norman, bought the Australian supermarket chain’s stake in New Zealand’s largest listed retailer. James Pascoe paid $87.1 million to acquire Woolworths 30.55 million Warehouse shares at $2.85 a piece in an off-market sale, substantial shareholder notices lodged with NZX yesterday show. That’s …

Carter Holt Harvey’s cladding sheets and systems used through 880 school buildings were “inherently defective” and the Ministry of Education is entitled to sue the building products maker, the Court of Appeal heard today. In the second day of a three-day hearing, the ministry’s counsel, Jim Farmer QC, told Justices Tony Randerson, Lynton Stevens, and Mark Cooper that the product …

Economic reform in China, one of New Zealand’s largest trading partners accounting for 22 percent of exports, is a lower priority than trying to save the future of the Communist party, according to Wall Street Journal columnist Andy Browne.  Speaking at a WSJ-organised event in Auckland on the future of New Zealand-China relations, Browne said the Chinese economy, the world’s second largest, is under …

APN News and Media, the Australian publisher of The New Zealand Herald newspaper, has put off the public share float for its newly consolidated kiwi business, NZME, as it announced an annual profit fall of 11 percent for its New Zealand operations..  Last year, the Sydney-based company bundled its New Zealand business, which include The New Zealand Herald, The Radio Network and GrabOne, under the …

Livestock Improvement Corp, a farmer cooperative that sells bull semen and provides a dairy genetics database, posted a 10 percent gain in first-half profit on increased demand for its products and services.  Profit rose to $29.7 million in the six months ended Nov. 30, from $26.9 million a year earlier, the Hamilton-based company said in a statement. Sales climbed 18 percent to $159 million. …

“Governments that understand the need for reform must find a way of countering this lazy, reactive style of politics, just as John Key’s government has done in New Zealand.” In its first two terms the Key administration made an effort to reduce the size of government, enhance the scope for growth and tackle seemingly intractable problems in tax, welfare and …

Michael Kidd, a former partner of high-flying businessman Alex van Heeren in ventures including the Huka Lodge, is seeking a US$25 million interim payment in a long-running dispute over the division of assets when their 16-year business partnership ended in 1991. In an interlocutory hearing in the High Court at Auckland, South Africa-based Kidd is seeking both the interim payment and a …

The economic upswing is one thing, but the New Zealand economy is also going through a material transition. We’re moving from legacy to opportunity, amidst the demands of rebuilding our second-largest city, housing shortages in our largest city, demographic shifts, global wobbles and an overvalued currency. We present six themes intertwined with this journey. A common sub-theme is the heightened importance of …

Proud New Zealander David McLean has been appointed chief executive of Westpac New Zealand after performing an “outstanding” job acting in the role since August 2014 following the resignation of Peter Clare. McLean’s appointment will be highly popular with bank executives and staff. A “people person” he is credited with bringing the bank together again after a bruising period under …