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Tower, the insurer which sold its health, life, and investment units to focus on general insurance, has talked down yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling on how to value the replacement costs of a house, saying it doesn’t expect a material impact on the firm’s future settlement payments. Justices John McGrath, William Young, Susan Glazebrook, Terence Arnold and Mark O’Regan yesterday ruled …

The New Zealand dollar fell against the yen, which gained against most major currencies as crude oil sank to a five-year low, as investors sought a haven from poor global risk sentiment. The kiwi fell to 90.94 yen from 91.92 yen in late local trading yesterday. The New Zealand dollar declined to 77.32 US cents from 77.43 cents. West Texas Intermediate for …

Wall Street swung from gains to losses as investors took positions as US Federal Reserve policy makers prepared to start a two-day meeting on Tuesday, and as oil prices continued their free-fall. Oil tumbled further after United Arab Emirates said oil exporters would not cut output even if prices slide as low as US$40 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate for …

New Zealand shares fell in a global sell-off, paced by Xero, Westpac Banking Corp and Meridian Energy as falling oil and dairy prices and a hostage situation in Sydney weighed on investors. The NZX 50 Index fell 15.882 points, or 0.3 percent, to 5499.072. Within the index, 25 stocks fell, 18 rose and seven were unchanged. Turnover was $110 million. Last week, Wall Street recorded its worst …

The New Zealand dollar fell as traders mulled the prospects for an optimistic US Federal Reserve primed to raise interest rates when it reviews policy this week, which would stoke demand for the greenback. The kiwi fell to 77.43 US cents at 5pm in Wellington from 77.61 cents at 8am and 77.76 cents on Friday in New York. The trade-weighted index …

Port of Napier posted a 14 percent gain in annual profit to a record after increasing container and bulk cargo volumes, allowing New Zealand’s fourth-largest container port to increase dividends to its Hawke’s Bay Regional Council owner. Profit rose to $13.4 million in the 12 months ended Sept. 30, from $11.8 million a year earlier, according to the company’s annual report. …

The University of Canterbury can claim $550 million to cover the damage wrought by the series of earthquakes in 2010 and 2011 after reaching an agreement with its insurers. The university will receive an additional $247 million to claims already paid or agreed to be paid, taking its total claim to just over half a billion dollars under the Universities NZ collective insurance …

The US dollar’s weighting has slipped in the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s new trade-weighted index, which adds the Chinese yuan to a line-up of 17 currencies skewed to Asia and intended to more accurately reflect New Zealand’s modern trade profile. The expanded TWI represents the biggest overhaul of the currency basket since it was introduced in the 1970s  as …

Tauranga-based electricity company Trustpower says it remains committed to its renewable energy projects in Australia, in spite of the uncertainty created by the review of the Renewable Energy Targets policy by the federal government. Meridian Energy canned a 34 Megawatt hydro scheme in Northern Queensland last week, citing the uncertainty created by a long-running review of the RET, which Prime …

Kiwi Income Property Trust unitholders have overwhelmingly voted in favour of corporatisation, completing a year-long transformation that saw the property trust taking management in house by buying out Commonwealth Bank of Australia. A total of 99.9 percent of votes cast were in favour of turning the trust into a company, which is to be called  Kiwi Property Group Ltd. Its units …