The New Zealand dollar jumped to a one-month high against the British pound after the Bank of England dashed the hopes of some investors who had expected it to signal a tightening in monetary policy. The kiwi touched 51.72 British pence early this morning, and was trading at 51.62 pence at 8am in Wellington, from 51.38 pence at 5pm yesterday. The local …

Wall Street slipped from record highs as some investors took the opportunity to lock in profits on a day without immediate impetus to drive valuations higher and disappointing corporate results such as from Deere. With about an hour of trading left in the day in New York, the Dow slid 0.38 percent, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 0.19 …

Matthew Olde, who helped manage MightyRiverPower’s IPO, has been tapped by the government-controlled energy provider to become chief executive of its Metrix metering business. The Auckland-based company is targeting growth through its Metrix service, which provides electricity retailers and companies with ‘smart’ meters, and is currently New Zealand’s second largest provider of meters, MRP said in a statement. Olde has …

Morrison & Co, the Wellington-based investment manager that founded Infratil in 1994, says clients taken on since then are potential partners of the listed fund and provide a wider scope for assessing business opportunities. Morrison & Co Infrastructure Management was paid a management fee of $19 million by Infratil for the year ended March 31, down from $19.7 million a year …

Knauf, the German building materials company, failed to get Fletcher Building’s use of the “Batts” trade mark for building insulation thrown out on the grounds that it is a common name in general public use. In a 113-page High Court judgement, Justice Brendan Brown refused a request to revoke the trade mark, although he limited Fletcher’s claim of infringement of …

New Zealand food prices rose in April, snapping two declines, as eggs and dairy products lifted grocery bills in the month, though inflation remained contained as the strong kiwi dollar kept a lid on imported prices. The food price index advanced 0.6 percent in April following a 0.3 percent fall in March, according to Statistics New Zealand. Food prices increased …

The opposition Green Party has fleshed out a proposal to set up a government-backed investment bank backing ‘green capital’ projects, which it would fund by hiking tax rates on oil companies by more than half. Co-leader Russel Norman today announced his party’s green investment bank policy, which would look to drive greater investment in the clean-tech sector, at a cost …

Infratil, the energy, airport and transport investor, posted a 5.3 percent drop in pretax earnings, meeting guidance, on a weaker contribution from Trustpower and Infratil Energy Australia Group. The company reiterated earnings will grow in 2015. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and fair value movements were $500 million in the year ended March 31, down from $528 million a year …

Auckland International Airport, the nation’s busiest gateway, plans to sell $150 million of seven-year bonds that will trade on the NZX, completing the long-term debt funding of last month’s capital return. A seven-year bond would mature in 2021, making it the longest maturity the airport company has listed on the NZX Debt Market and adding to its five existing exchange-traded …

The New Zealand dollar fell to a week low as the greenback strengthened against its major counterparts in anticipation the world’s largest economy is improving. The kiwi touched 86.02 US cents over the weekend, and was trading at 86.16 cents at 8am in Wellington, from 86.10 cents at the New York close and 86.35 cents at 5pm on Friday. The trade-weighted index edged …