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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 1453]
History repeats as Contact buys Whirinaki peaker plant
Tuesday, 6 December 2011, 9:41 am | BusinessDesk
Dec. 6 (BusinessDesk) – Contact Energy has once again become the owner of 150 Megawatts of fast-start, diesel-fueled peaker plant at its site at Whirinaki, north of Napier, 11 years after first putting almost exactly the same plant on the market as surplus ... More >>
Cerebos says it won’t lift Comvita offer from $2.50 a share
Tuesday, 6 December 2011, 9:33 am | BusinessDesk
Dec. 6 (BusinessDesk) – Cerebos says it won’t lift its $2.50-a-share offer for Manuka honey products maker Comvita, making it more likely the $71.6 million proposal will fail when it closes on Dec. 22. More >>
NZ dollar rises near 2-week high on Franco-German EU plan
Tuesday, 6 December 2011, 9:06 am | BusinessDesk
Dec. 6 (BusinessDesk) – The New Zealand dollar rose to near a two-week high after Europe’s powerhouses France and Germany reached agreement to amend the European Union treaty, allowing for tighter controls on member states to help solve the debt ... More >>
While you were sleeping: Tighter EU treaty plan
Tuesday, 6 December 2011, 7:30 am | BusinessDesk
Dec. 6 (BusinessDesk) - Stock markets on both sides of the pond showed approval for plans by France and Germany to amend the European Union treaty that would allow for tighter controls on member states to help solve the fiscal crisis. More >>
MARKET CLOSE: NZ shares rise, paced by Fletcher; Chorus down
Monday, 5 December 2011, 5:54 pm | BusinessDesk
Dec. 5 (BusinessDesk) - New Zealand shares rose, paced by Fletcher Building, after construction figures that weren't as weak as feared. Chorus extended its slide, driven by index-weighted funds. More >>
Kerr’s Torchlight wins bid for Aussie property fund contract
Monday, 5 December 2011, 5:42 pm | BusinessDesk
Dec. 5 (BusinessDesk) – George Kerr’s Torchlight Investment Group, a subsidiary of Pyne Gould Corp specialising in squeezing value from distressed assets, has won its bid for the management contract of an Australian property fund which invests ... More >>
Treasury drops 2013 growth forecast to 3%
Monday, 5 December 2011, 5:14 pm | BusinessDesk
Dec. 5 (BusinessDesk) – Economic turmoil emanating from Europe has prompted the Treasury to drop its forecast for growth in 2013 from 3.4 percent to 3.0 percent. More >>
NZ dollar falls ahead of Merkel, Sarkozy meeting
Monday, 5 December 2011, 5:07 pm | BusinessDesk
Dec. 5 (BusinessDesk) – The New Zealand dollar declined ahead of a meeting between Europe’s power brokers to lay the groundwork for a deal to rein in Europe's burgeoning sovereign debt. More >>
Govt spending cap and charter schools mark ACT coalition
Monday, 5 December 2011, 4:16 pm | BusinessDesk
Dec. 5 (BusinessDesk) – The National-led government will legislate within the current parliamentary term to cap core government spending as part of the coalition agreement signed today with the one Member of Parliament for the Act Party, John Banks. More >>
SMELLIE ON SMEs: NZ businesses more optimistic than Aussies
Monday, 5 December 2011, 3:49 pm | BusinessDesk
Dec. 5 (BusinessDesk) – It was just a few months ago that this column was welcoming what seemed to be a warming in business conditions that, to these jaundiced eyes, looked like a slight but real economic recovery. One Eurozone crisis later, and it’s ... More >>
Dunne lands Revenue Minister’s job for third straight term
Monday, 5 December 2011, 3:10 pm | BusinessDesk
Dunne lands Revenue Minister’s job for third straight term after agreeing to support National More >>
RBNZ should keep rates low for up to 18 months, Moody’s says
Monday, 5 December 2011, 1:54 pm | BusinessDesk
Dec. 5 (BusinessDesk) – Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard should ensure New Zealand has “accommodative” monetary policy settings for up to another 18 months as the economy gradually recovers from its deepest recession in two decades, according to ... More >>
NZ Dollar Outlook: Kiwi may fall before Europe’s summit, OCR
Monday, 5 December 2011, 1:16 pm | BusinessDesk
Nov. 28 (BusinessDesk) – The New Zealand dollar may fall in a week dominated by last-ditch talks among European leaders to resolve their debt crisis and central bank interest rate reviews both at home and in Australia. More >>
Aussie miner targets 'virgin area' on West Coast
Monday, 5 December 2011, 1:14 pm | BusinessDesk
Dec. 5 (BusinessDesk) – West Australian rare earths and precious metals explorer Strategic Elements says its exclusive concession in dense West Coast forest represents “practically a virgin area untouched by modern exploration” with enormous mineral ... More >>
Big increase in reserves at Frasers Underground mine
Monday, 5 December 2011, 12:47 pm | BusinessDesk
Dec. 5 (BusinessDesk) – OceanaGold Corp’s Frasers Underground mine in Otago will be open for at least another three years, until 2017, based on a substantial increase in gold reserves following further exploration. More >>
Midday update: Houses start moving in Auckland: Barfoot
Monday, 5 December 2011, 12:23 pm | BusinessDesk
Dec. 5 (BusinessDesk) - Auckland’s largest real estate franchise, Barfoot & Thompson, say sales rose 23 percent in November over October, for the second highest average price on record. The average price of $567,489 was also the highest ever ... More >>
NZ home building activity holds at lowest level in 18 years
Monday, 5 December 2011, 11:58 am | BusinessDesk
Dec. 5 (BusinessDesk) – New Zealand residential building activity was little changed in the third quarter at its lowest level in about 18 years. More >>
APN downgrades annual profit forecast
Monday, 5 December 2011, 11:42 am | BusinessDesk
Dec. 5 (BusinessDesk) - APN News & Media has downgraded its profit forecast for calendar 2011 citing weakness in advertising markets in Australia and New Zealand as well as the natural disasters which hit its first half results. More >>
NZ operating deficit wider than forecast in first 4 months
Monday, 5 December 2011, 11:08 am | BusinessDesk
Dec. 5 (BusinessDesk) – New Zealand’s operating deficit was bigger than forecast in the first four months of the government’s fiscal year as the tax take on personal income came up short of expectations. More >>
Auckland property sales, prices rose last month: Barfoot
Monday, 5 December 2011, 10:53 am | BusinessDesk
Dec. 5 (BusinessDesk) – Home sales in Auckland climbed 23 percent in November from October and the average selling price rose 2.5 percent, according to real estate firm Barfoot & Thompson. More >>
