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Rod Duke, majority shareholder and managing director of Briscoe Group, has refused comment on market speculation that he may take control of struggling childswear retailer Pumpkin Patch.  Pumpkin Patch hired Goldman Sachs late last year to advise on its capital and funding requirements and said a share issue was an option after warning it could breach banking covenants if Christmas …

Don’t act so surprised, Your Highness. You weren’t on any mercy mission this time. Several transmissions were beamed to this ship by Rebel spies. I want to know what happened to the plans they sent you. In my experience, there is no such thing as luck. Partially, but it also obeys your commands. I want to come with you to …

Landcorp, New Zealand’s largest corporate farmer, plans to increase returns from sheep, signing a three-year contract with NZ Merino to manage its entire wool clip and seeking board approval next month to build a new shed to trial milking some of the flock. The state-owned enterprise indicated last July it was taking a serious look at milking sheep as a way of getting a …

The New Zealand dollar slipped as stocks on Wall Street rallied ahead of economic data that’s expected to show a faster pace of growth in the world’s biggest economy. The kiwi declined to 77.24 US cents at 8am in Wellington from 77.49 cents yesterday. The trade-weighted index decreased to 78.41 from 78.53 yesterday. Stocks on Wall Street rose, with the Dow …

Wall Street rose as gains in shares of Intel and IBM outweighed declines in shares of Chevron and Exxon Mobil, as investors positioned themselves for the end of the year. “It’s going to be pretty tough to divine anything meaningful from the market this week with Christmas coming up on Thursday and with trading desks half-staffed,” Michael James, a Los …

Greg Hall A visit from Silicon Valley investors Sam Altman and Scott Nolan had Auckland’s startup community buzzing, with the pair coming to town as a part of a half-work/half-holiday tour of New Zealand. They’ve already seen some of what New Zealand has to offer, and on Friday joined a selection of NZ  innovators at Spark City to talk about …

 Fairfax Media plans to raise about A$96 million by selling its Perth-based  radio station 96FM to APN News & Media and merging its remaining radio assets with Macquarie Radio Network.  APN will acquire 96FM for A$78 million using cash and existing debt facilities, subject to regulatory approvals, rounding out its suite of state capital stations in Australia. Meanwhile, Fairfax will merge …

New Zealand jetpack maker, Martin Aircraft Co, has secured more than twice the $25 million funding it has been seeking in a proposed initial public offering on the Australian Stock Exchange to commercialise its single person flying machines, with a commitment of A$50 million ($53 million) to fund a 30 month commercialisation plan, from Hong Kong Stock Exchange-listed KuangChi Science.  In return, KuangChi Science …

New Zealand’s annual migration rose to a record for the fourth consecutive month in November, led by fewer kiwis crossing the Tasman, more returning from Australia, and a sharply rising number of student arrivals from India.  The country gained a net 49,836 migrants in the year ended Nov. 30, the biggest ever annual gain, according to Statistics New Zealand. Annual …