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BusinessDesk - Latest News [Page 1446]

Business Roundtable, NZ Institute agree to merge

Friday, 16 December 2011, 3:09 pm | BusinessDesk

Dec. 16 (BusinessDesk) – The Business Roundtable and the New Zealand Institute have agreed to merge to create a new public policy think tank, saying the country isn’t big enough to support two such bodies. More >>

Rival private equity firm snaps up CBA loan to MediaWorks

Friday, 16 December 2011, 2:52 pm | BusinessDesk

Dec. 16 (BusinessDesk) – TPG Capital, the private equity firm that floated Australian retailer Myer in 2009, has bought a $70 million loan to MediaWorks, making it the biggest lender to the struggling media group. More >>

Chch quakes made up 11% of insurers' tough year

Friday, 16 December 2011, 12:36 pm | BusinessDesk

Christchurch quakes made up 11% of insurance industry’s second-worst year for disaster losses More >>

No Pike River sale this side of Christmas, receiver says

Friday, 16 December 2011, 12:26 pm | BusinessDesk

Dec. 16 (BusinessDesk) – The receiver for Pike River Coal doesn’t expect to sign a sale agreement before Christmas as negotiations with international parties interested in the sealed coal mine continue. More >>

Midday update: IAG to buy the ‘good bits’ of quake-hit AMI

Friday, 16 December 2011, 12:25 pm | BusinessDesk

Dec. 16 (BusinessDesk) – Australian insurer IAG will pay $380 million for the AMI, the Christchurch insurer whose reserves were wiped out by claims from the Canterbury earthquakes and had to be rescued in a government bail-out earlier this year. However, ... More >>

NZ house costs driven by ‘cottage industry’ scale

Friday, 16 December 2011, 12:06 pm | BusinessDesk

Dec. 16 (BusinessDesk) – New Zealand’s high cost of houses is driven mostly by a lack of new land being released for development in fast-growing areas and a construction sector that operates inefficiently because much of it works as a “cottage industry,” ... More >>

Fonterra’s Kotahi JV unlikely to curb competition: regulator

Friday, 16 December 2011, 11:30 am | BusinessDesk

Dec. 16 (BusinessDesk) – Fonterra Cooperative Group’s Kotahi freight alliance with Silver Fern Farms won’t make much impact on competition in the transport market and will not need to be authorised by the antitrust regulator. More >>

IAG agrees to buy AMI for $380M, govt to take on liabilities

Friday, 16 December 2011, 11:10 am | BusinessDesk

IAG agrees to buy AMI for $380M in deal that sees government take on liabilities More >>

Interest sparked in ailing Kirkcaldie’s retail business

Friday, 16 December 2011, 9:59 am | BusinessDesk

Dec. 16 (BusinessDesk) – Kirkcaldie & Stains, the Wellington department store, has received a letter expressing interest in company’s retail assets out of the blue. More >>

NZ dollar gains after Spanish bond sale, better data

Friday, 16 December 2011, 8:48 am | BusinessDesk

Dec. 16 (BusinessDesk) – The New Zealand dollar rose from a three-week low after a successful Spanish bond auction and healthier-than-expected US and European data eased fears the global economy is heading for a slowdown. More >>

While you were sleeping: Spanish bonds in demand

Friday, 16 December 2011, 7:24 am | BusinessDesk

Dec. 16 (BusinessDesk) - Healthy appetite for another Spanish debt auction and better-than-anticipated economic data including an unexpected drop in the number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits last week underpinned stocks. More >>

MARKET CLOSE: NZ shares fall to two-week low; Contact drops

Thursday, 15 December 2011, 6:03 pm | BusinessDesk

Dec. 15 (BusinessDesk) - New Zealand shares fell, pushing the NZX 50 Index to a two-week low, as the government flagged which of Contact Energy's state-owned rivals would be taken public first and Chorus, the network company spun off from Telecom, extended ... More >>

NZ dollar falls on concern global growth may falter

Thursday, 15 December 2011, 5:24 pm | BusinessDesk

Dec. 15 (BusinessDesk) – The New Zealand dollar dropped below 75 US cents for the first time in almost three weeks amid heightened fears over the global economy after China talked down the prospects for its exports next year. More >>

‘Nothing materially untruthful’ in Hanover prospectus: Muir

Thursday, 15 December 2011, 4:25 pm | BusinessDesk

Dec. 15 (BusinessDesk) – Former Hanover Finance chairman Greg Muir says there was “nothing materially untruthful” in the December 2007 prospectus that’s led to the Financial Markets Authority pushing ahead with civil proceedings against the ... More >>

Property boom link to spending not as close as thought: RBNZ

Thursday, 15 December 2011, 4:01 pm | BusinessDesk

Dec. 15 (BusinessDesk) –The correlation between New Zealand’s residential property boom and consumer spending in the past decade wasn’t as close as commonly assumed, according to a report in the Reserve Bank’s latest bulletin. More >>

Treasury sets terms for managers of SOE sales

Thursday, 15 December 2011, 3:36 pm | BusinessDesk

Dec. 15 (BusinessDesk) – Investment banks vying for $100 million in fees from the sell-down of state assets will need to have access to strong trans-Tasman distribution networks or prove they can raise funds if they want to be included in the Treasury’s ... More >>