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BusinessDesk
Independent, Trustworthy New Zealand Business News
The Wellington-based BusinessDesk team provides a daily news feed for a serious business audience.
BusinessDesk - Latest News [Page 1405]
NZ building activity picks up in December quarter
Monday, 5 March 2012, 10:49 am | BusinessDesk
March 5 (BusinessDesk) – New Zealand building activity picked up in the final three months of 2011 as construction in Canterbury began to emerge, with the region’s rebuild looming as a major economic stimulus. More >>
Barfoot bemoans lack of listings in Auckland as sales rise
Monday, 5 March 2012, 10:40 am | BusinessDesk
March 5 (BusinessDesk) – Auckland house sales rose to the highest level for the month of February in five years but listings are at a five-month low, restraining activity in New Zealand’s largest city, says Barfoot & Thompson. More >>
Jeffries quits as Insured Group chair after Lombard ruling
Monday, 5 March 2012, 10:01 am | BusinessDesk
March 5 (BusinessDesk) – Bill Jeffries has resigned as chairman and director of Insured Group after he was among four directors of the failed Lombard Finance found guilty of making untrue statements in investment documents. Jeffries plans to appeal ... More >>
NZX share trading dips in February as debt transactions rise
Monday, 5 March 2012, 9:35 am | BusinessDesk
March 5 (BusinessDesk) – Trading in shares on the NZX fell last month, by value, while transactions involving debt securities rose, according to the exchange’s monthly metrics. More >>
NZ dollar holds near 2-week low, central bank meetings loom
Monday, 5 March 2012, 9:01 am | BusinessDesk
March 5 (BusinessDesk) – The New Zealand dollar held near a two-week low in the lead-up to a slew of central bank meetings this week, including the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, where traders will be looking for any shift in direction. More >>
Auckland port stand-off deepens
Friday, 2 March 2012, 6:12 pm | BusinessDesk
March 2 (BusinessDesk) – Ports of Auckland management and the Maritime Union of New Zealand are still at loggerheads over putting more staff on casual contracts after two days of mediation. An extra week of strike action looming over the hub. More >>
MARKET CLOSE: NZ shares rise to 5-month high
Friday, 2 March 2012, 5:51 pm | BusinessDesk
March 2 (BusinessDesk) – New Zealand shares rose, pushing the NZX 50 Index to a five-month high, with Port of Tauranga leading the advance as it enjoys business lost by strike-bound rival Ports of Auckland. More >>
NZ dollar gains as traders rethink low interest rates
Friday, 2 March 2012, 5:42 pm | BusinessDesk
March 2 (BusinessDesk) – The New Zealand dollar gained as traders revisited their expectations for the Reserve Bank’s existing low interest rate policy, and started betting on higher yields in the next 12 months, ahead of next week’s central bank ... More >>
Stay of execution for Otago Rugby Union for rescue talks
Friday, 2 March 2012, 5:00 pm | BusinessDesk
March 2 (BusinessDesk) – Plans to put the Otago Rugby Union into liquidation are on hold for a week while “all of the union’s key partners” consider a “possible recovery package.” More >>
Glenn buys into Eric Watson’s bloodstock, property, Warriors
Friday, 2 March 2012, 4:49 pm | BusinessDesk
March 2 (BusinessDesk) – Former global logistics boss Owen Glenn has set up a joint venture with Eric Watson which will split ownership of the former financier’s property, bloodstock and league assets. More >>
MONEY TALKS: Investing in farms
Friday, 2 March 2012, 4:24 pm | BusinessDesk
It took its time, but we’re starting to see some decent dairy investment offerings coming to market. More >>
Lyttelton Port defers cruise berth development as cost soars
Friday, 2 March 2012, 3:54 pm | BusinessDesk
March 2 (BusinessDesk) - Lyttelton Port has deferred plans to build a cruise berth after a review of development projects showed the region’s earthquakes had forced design changes that would drive up the cost by 40 percent. More >>
Treasury head urges public servants to revolt
Friday, 2 March 2012, 3:36 pm | BusinessDesk
March 2 (BusinessDesk) – Treasury Secretary Gabriel Makhlouf has used his first major public speech to call on public servants to speak up and seek change where it’s needed, as the government challenges its agencies to do more with less for ... More >>
“It wasn’t that complex” – Ex-DataSouth CEO on $103m fraud
Friday, 2 March 2012, 2:44 pm | BusinessDesk
March 2 (BusinessDesk) – The whistle-blowing chief executive at IT supplier DataSouth has spoken out about the crazy few months she spent with the company, before it imploded under a Ponzi-style scheme run by the company’s owner, Gavin Bennett, in February ... More >>
NZ commodity price index holds steady in February
Friday, 2 March 2012, 2:00 pm | BusinessDesk
March 2 (BusinessDesk) – The ANZ commodity price index of New Zealand exports was unchanged during February, with declines in some areas balanced by gains in others. More >>
Garbage find sparks Ebos fight with Aussie rival, ex-staffer
Friday, 2 March 2012, 1:18 pm | BusinessDesk
March 2 (BusinessDesk) – Medical equipment distributer Ebos Group has won access to Team Medical Supplies’ books after using “covert surveillance” to find its own confidential files in the trash of an ex-employee who now sits on the Australian ... More >>
RBNZ to keep OCR unchanged; increases flicker on horizon
Friday, 2 March 2012, 12:34 pm | BusinessDesk
March 2 (BusinessDesk) – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand is expected to keep its benchmark interest rate at a record low next week in the face of benign inflation, though hints of an increase are starting to flicker on the horizon. More >>
MIDDAY UPDATE: NZ dollar gains with stocks; OCR seen on hold
Friday, 2 March 2012, 12:07 pm | BusinessDesk
March 2 (BusinessDesk) – The New Zealand dollar rose above 84 US cents as strengthening global equity markets helped stoke risk appetite and demand for currencies such as the kiwi and the Australian dollar. More >>
Westpac says ‘time to fix’; wait a bit, says ANZ
Friday, 2 March 2012, 10:27 am | BusinessDesk
March 2 (BusinessDesk) – Westpac economists have renewed their advice to home borrowers to fix their mortgage interest rates now because interest rates can only rise from here as the Christchurch rebuild starts putting inflationary pressure on the economy. More >>
Maple-Brown Abbott among funds selling Goodman Fielder
Friday, 2 March 2012, 10:01 am | BusinessDesk
March 2 (BusinessDesk) – Maple-Brown Abbott, the Sydney-based fund manager, is among investors to sell down their holding in Goodman Fielder as Singapore’s Wilmar International built a 10.1 percent stake. More >>
