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The New Zealand government has pushed out its targeted return to surplus for a year as falling dairy prices and a low inflation environment has kept a lid on its rising tax take, but is still dangling a possible tax cut in 2017, the next election year and promising to try and achieve the surplus pledge on which it campaigned …

Ewan Wilson, the founder of failed mid-1990s Kiwi Travel International Airlines, is eyeing up investors to take on at least some of the regional air routes being abandoned by Air New Zealand, with the principals of imported used car dealers 2 Cheap Cars the first to put up their hands. A name for the company, Kiwi Regional Airlines, has been accepted by …

MightyRiverPower, the first of the state-owned power companies to be partially privatised last year, will quit its geothermal investments in Chile and Germany, while sticking with its interests in the US. The Auckland-based company reviewed its international geothermal investments earlier this year and has decided to embark on a sale process for its assets in Germany and Chile, which are no …

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 …