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Fonterra Cooperative Group  had to set the benchmark for a competitive farmgate milk price, former director Jim van der Poel told the diary exporter’s annual meeting in his exit speech. His comments came after shareholders raised concerns over the reduced forecast milk payout for the 2015 season. The forecast farmgate milk price it pays farmers was slashed in September from …

The New Zealand dollar gained after the Reserve Bank’s report on the strength of the nation’s financial system reminded the market that the central bank is still in a tightening cycle, and will continue to lift interest rates when necessary. The kiwi rose to 78.24 US cents at 5pm in Wellington from 78.09 cents at 8am and 77.48 cents yesterday. The …

The New Zealand dollar soared to the highest in more than seven years against the yen on reports Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will call a snap election, seeking a mandate for further economic reforms including an increase in sales tax. The kiwi touched 90.33 yen, its highest level since October 2007, and was trading at 90.21 yen at 8am in Wellington, from 89.06 …

Wall Street slipped, after both the Dow and the S&P 500 climbed to fresh record highs earlier in the session, as investors weighed whether the outlook for corporate earnings justified pushing equities higher still. In afternoon trading in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.08 percent, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index inched 0.04 percent lower. The …

Comvita, which produces health products derived from manuka honey, has entered into a joint venture with East Taupo Lands Trust to harvest manuka honey, securing the supply of its main ingredient. The joint venture Kaimanawa Honey GP will initially start with 3,000 hives to harvest manuka honey on Ngati Tūwharetoa trust’s land holdings, the Te Puke-based company said in a statement. Comvita will provide the beekeeping equipment and …

Anzco chairman Sir Graeme Harrison – who also leads the NZ International Business Forum – has pledged business support for a “fighting fund” to promote free trade. The Harrison pledge was made a a breakfast with Prime Minister John Key in Beijing earlier today. It appeared to be in response to the anti- TPP protests which have dominated NZ headlines …

New Zealand shares rose to a fresh record, paced by Spark New Zealand, Fletcher Building and Contact Energy, as investors continued to be drawn to equities for higher yields. Xero climbed to a month-high, as risk appetite returned to the market. The NZX 50 Index rose 51.349 points, or 0.9 percent, to 5470.339. Within the index, 23 stocks rose, 18 …

AsureQuality and PwC have inked a deal with  COFCO, China’s largest agricultural and food products supplier, to continually improve China’s food safety and quality. AsureQuality and PwC (China and NZ arms) inked the deal with Cofco this morning (Beijing time) on the side-lines of the 2014 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Beijing. The formal release says: “Drawing on leading …

The pressure will go on Barack Obama today to put his political capital on the line and get Congressional support to close out TPP. The mantra around the Apec meeting earlier today was “the finish line is in sight” when it comes to finalising negotiations on the Trans Pacific Partnership. The chapters of the TPP agreement are in place with …

It might be churlish to note that the United States wasn’t making a great deal of the anti-competitive nature of other nation’s currency settings when it was in the thick of quantitative easing That unpalatable truth hasn’t featured at all among the issues up for negotiation during the lengthy Trans Pacific Partnership negotiations. But the Financial Times is reporting that the Obama …