New Zealand Market Report: New Zealand shares fell on concern prices have run up ahead of earnings and profit downgrades in Australia weighed on companies with businesses across the Tasman, including Mainfreight, Australia & New Zealand Banking Group, Westpac Banking Corp and AMP.The NZX 50 Index fell 7.816 points, or 0.2 percent, to 4590.839. Within the index, 25 stocks fell, 15 rose and 10 were unchanged. Turnover was $175 million... Read more

Kiwi holds gains against greenback ahead of Bernanke testimony. The New Zealand dollar held gains against the greenback in local trading as investors pondered whether Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke will give any hint of unwinding his money printing programme this year.The kiwi traded at 81.82 US cents at 5pm in Wellington from 81.70 cents at 8am, up from 81.20 cents yesterday. The trade-weighted index advanced to 77.10 from 76.65 yesterday... Read more

New Zealand inflation expectations have fallen to the lowest in 14 years, even as business managers raised their expectations for economic growth, suggesting the central bank won't have to rush to raise interest rates.Annual inflation is expected to average 1.52 percent in the coming year, the lowest since June 1999 and down from the 1.68 percent pace seen in the first quarter survey... Read more

New Zealand's $82 billion managed funds industry, which includes KiwiSaver, has been given a C- report card by international research firm Morningstar.New Zealand ranked second from the bottom in the 24-country report although its grade improved from the D- it was awarded in 2011, the last time the research was done... Read more

NZ exodus across the Tasman slows to smallest monthly pace in almost three years... Read more

Australia coughs and Kiwis catch a cold. Local firms with exposure across the Tasman face headwinds, experts say, as Australian growth slows. A softening Australian economy has forced several ASX-listed companies to downgrade their earnings prospects over the past month, and a clutch of NZX-listed companies with exposure across the Tasman are also likely to feel the pinch, analysts said... Read more

Shares of Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, which has lifted its full-year guidance three times, rose to a two-year high after brokerage First NZ Capital raised its rating to "outperform" from "neutral", citing prospects for better growth and higher margins.F&P Healthcare shares rose as high as $3.05, the highest level since May 23, 2011, when it touched $3.10. It was recently at $3, having gained 26 per cent in the past 12 months.That comes after First NZ Capital analyst Sarndra Urlich raised her 12-month price target for the stock to $3.30 from $2.50 in a report yesterday... Read more

Renaissance posts first-half loss on shrinking margins from Apple products, impairment Renaissance Corp, the retailer of Apple products and design school operator, turned to a first-half loss on disappointing sales, shrinking margins and an impairment charge at its Yoobee stores.The net loss was $3.1 million in the six months ended March 31, from a profit of $1.96 million a year earlier. Sales fell to $24.7 million from $77 million a year earlier, which was before the company shrank its balance sheet with the sale of its IT business. Year-earlier sales from continuing operations were $28 million... Read more

Sealegs ekes out full-year profit, raising prices as volume of boats sold slips. Sealegs Corp, which makes amphibious boats, posted a return to full-year profit after raising prices while sales of its vessels slipped.Profit was $204,000 in the 12 months ended March 31, from a loss of $1.86 million a year earlier, the Auckland-based company said in a statement. Sales rose about 19 percent to $16.4 million... Read more

IBM's New Zealand operation has reported a 12% bump in profit for its financial year to December 31, 2012.After-tax profit increased to $36.8 million from 2011's $32.3 million.Revenue increased 6% to $429.7 million... Read more

China meat access 'teething problem'. NZ industry appears relaxed about problems with beef trade in China New Zealand's new fast-growing beef exports to China may be the smoking gun behind our free trade partner's freeze on some Kiwi meat at its borders, but the meat industry is philosophical, suggesting the issue is par for the course with new trading partners and time will resolve it... Read more

Labour says the Government's explanation of why New Zealand meat is being blocked from entering China is "contradictory", creating suspicion that there is something else behind the issue.Yesterday officials from the Ministry of Primary Industries admitted that while the problem related to technical issues with paperwork, a week after learning about the block they still did not know exactly what the problem was... Read more

Former Solid Energy Chairman John Palmer fought against Treasury's wish to have an independent advisor appointed to the company's board last year as the state owned coal miner's problems mounted, official documents show.Treasury this afternoon released a new batch of documents which trace its dealings with the company including details of an ill-tempered exchange between Palmer and Treasury deputy secretary John Crawford just a few days before Palmer left the company in August last year. ... Read more

Solid Energy based failed strategy on non-existent analysis, papers show... Read more

Stricken state owned coal miner Solid Energy's future appears bleak according to a recently completed report on the company, Prime Minister John Key indicated yesterday.Key said corporate advisers KordaMentha had just completed their report on the company which is on the brink of collapse after being crippled by low coal prices and almost $400 million in debts... Read more

Investors urged to keep Mighty River shares After a choppy start, professional investors expect Mighty River Power shares to start chipping higher in the next two months as index-tracking funds buy into the stock.The bet comes after the shares on Monday dipped below the pre-IPO price of $2.50 for the first time since they listed, though they pared back to close at $2.52 yesterday.... Read more

Independent research commissioned by would-be undersea phosphate miner Chatham Rock Phosphate has raised the company's share price to a target value of $2 from $1.87 last September as the timetable firms for mining from early 2015.... Read more

Shareholders of Central Plains Water, set up to draw water for irrigation from Canterbury's Rakaia and Waimakiriri rivers, have indicated their commitment to the equity component of a looming $140 million capital raising.The equity component hasn't yet been finalised but is likely to be 30 percent to 40 percent of the total, said chief executive Derek Crombie. That means shareholders would be tapped for up to $56 million. The company expects to lodge a prospectus by the end of June.... Read more

The Warehouse is about to embark on a radical new expansion strategy using television.Chief executive Mark Powell told yesterday's Retail Australasia Summit & Expo in Auckland how, after two years, the business had been repositioned and was ready for its next giant leap.Direct television would be used to reach more customers who would be able to buy online and via call centres, Powell said, telling of plans to build a 100-year business via a number of different platforms.... Read more

Goodyear & Dunlop Tyres, the local unit of the biggest US tyre maker, plans to sell its New Zealand retail business for an undisclosed sum to locally-owned Beau Ideal.... Read more

Goldmining giant to explore more of Waihi Global mining giant Newmont is searching for gold beneath the entire Waihi township after successfully arguing the case for a small existing permit to be doubled in size.The 280-hectare exploration patch covers almost the entire town including residential and commercial property... Read more

New Zealand Oil & Gas chairman Peter Griffiths has thrown his support behind legislative moves to make directors liable if the companies they govern fail to meet health and safety obligations.The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and the Institute of Directors yesterday released health and safety governance guidelines for directors outlining best practice and advice for company boards... Read more

A Christchurch city councillor says the city could offload non-core assets, including its own offices, to help pay its share of big-ticket rebuild projects.Cr Tim Carter said last night that less important assets were expendable if it helped ease the council's debt burden in funding anchor projects such as the new convention centre and roofed sports stadium... Read more

Ageing population big retail challenge. The rapidly aging population poses challenges to retailers, with 1.1 million New Zealanders estimated to be aged over 65 by 2031, an industry chief says... Read more

Lengthy council consent process proving costly. Belgian Beer Cafe Torenhof owner Mark McGuinness says businesses will fail in the rebuild of Christchurch because of the red tape surrounding council consent requirements.He is considering legal action for cost recovery for the lengthy period dealing with council requirements... Read more

Startups attract $3 million investment The Demo Day investment showcse held at the conclusion of the 12-week Lightning Lab accelerator in Wellington last week saw startups offered at least $3 million by investors who attended... Read more

Students carve out market with Meat Mail Two students who started selling boxes of meat to their Dunedin peers last year have trebled their client base, hired staff and are now eyeing markets further north... Read more

Public perceptions of how competitive the retail electricity sector is have improved, though to less-than-emphatic levels.A survey of 750 people - 82 per cent of them bill payers - by UMR Research, commissioned by the Electricity Authority, found 64 per cent deem electricity retailers competitive.That was up from 56 per cent in a similar survey two years ago... Read more

Christchurch Airport chief executive Jim Boult is quitting his job.In a letter to stakeholders today, Boult announced he would not renew his contract at the end of this year, meaning he would depart in December.Boult was appointed as interim chief executive in early 2009 after serving three months as Crown appointee to the Christchurch International Airport Ltd (CIAL) board... Read more

Real estate agent fined fraction of possible penalty. A former Coromandel real estate agent who forged his clients' initials on a document has been fined $700, a fraction of the penalty he could have faced under new legislation.John Lloyd of Tairoa denied he forged the document and then relied on it to enforce a contract... Read more

Opinion - Mike O'Donnell: Wellington - end of business as usual? "If Wellington does have a growth issue it's about finding enough bright young things to feed into fast-growing companies that increasingly serve a global clientele."... Read more

Australian Market Report: Australian shares fell today, with banks taking a breather from recent sharp gains while a series of profit warnings took a heavy toll on mining services firms.Investors were also cautiously awaiting comments from US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke for any hint of a sooner-than-expected reduction in bond-buying stimulus. Dr Bernanke will appear later on Wednesday before the Congressional Joint Economic Committee.The S&P/ASX 200 index dropped 28.9 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 5180.1, while the broader All Ordinaries fell 29.2 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 5190.1.... Read more

The Australian dollar regained ground on Tuesday as suspense grew over whether the US Federal Reserve chief would signal his intention to start tapering the bank's bond-buying program.The dollar rose to 98.28 US cents in late trade, from 97.93 US cents earlier. It had already gained 0.8 per cent on Monday, further recovering from a 11-month trough of 97.11 US cents set last week... Read more

Treasury secretary Martin Parkinson has backed his department's budget forecasts, saying the government had no influence on the numbers, which were best professional estimates."Treasury does not provide the government with a range of numbers," Dr Parkinson said... Read more

Treasury 'surprised' by commodities slump Treasury secretary Martin Parkinson concedes his department has struggled to keep pace with a ‘‘tumultuous’’ decade for the Australian economy... Read more

The central bank has given no clues whether more reductions are on the cards after low inflation allowed it to cut the cash rate to a record low at its May board meeting.The Reserve Bank of Australia said that inflation was expected to remain within its target range of two to three per cent for the next few years."The board decided that some of that scope to ease policy should be used at this meeting,'' the RBA said in its May 7 board meeting minutes, released on Tuesday... Read more

The corporate watchdog is under pressure to ditch proposals to crackdown on high frequency trading (HFT) activity on the stock market, with the Australian Securities Exchange saying the measures would not boost market confidence. In a submission to the corporate watchdog, the ASX said the proposal to target ‘small and flickering’ orders to restore market confidence was, based on ASIC's own analysis, not "a problem that needs a policy response at this time". ... Read more

Glencore Xstrata's head of aluminum, Gary Fegel, is set to leave the company, three sources said, the first high-profile departure since commodity trading giant Glencore closed its purchase of miner Xstrata this month.... Read more

Boart axes 1000 jobs as downturn hits... Read more

More than $150 million has been wiped from the value of mining engineer Transfield Services as cost cutting in the mining sector sent its shares to a record low.The company has slashed its profit forecasts and fast-tracked additional cost saving measures, including job cuts, in response to weaker demand for its services... Read more

Shares in Mutiny Gold have soared on news the company has doubled the exploration footprint at its Deflector gold project in the Murchison region.“Mutiny advises recent exploration activities have identified significant extensions to the mineralised host structure of the high-grade Deflector gold-copper deposit, more than doubling the previously known footprint,” the company said in a statement... Read more

Norton Gold Fields has celebrated the official opening of its Enterprise open pit mine on the outskirts of Kalgoorlie.... Read more

Shares in Santos closed 1.6 per cent higher after the company said oil production started ahead of schedule at its $490 million Fletcher Finucane project off the West Australian coast.Santos expects to produce 15,000 barrels daily in the first year of production... Read more

Leighton looks offshore to appease investors The nation's largest construction business has declared it will turn to Asia for growth, moving away from an "Australian-centric approach"... Read more

QBE avoids tornado fallout. The catastrophic Oklahoma tornado could have a damage bill of up to $US3 billion ($3.05 billion), raising the prospect of another wave of claims for insurance companies.But locally-listed QBE, which makes about a third of its profits in the United States, looks set to avoid most of the financial fallout from the tornado that destroyed entire neighbourhoods on Tuesday... Read more

Ruralco blames hot weather for loss. Hot and dry conditions have burned agribusiness Ruralco's earnings, sparking a half-year loss only a year after it yielded a $10 million profit.Managing director John Maher said warmer weather had dried up the demand for agricultural chemicals and suppressed livestock prices... Read more

Stockland is looking to raise $400 million through an institutional placement to reduce debt and expand its retail development program.It comes a week after the group unveiled its strategic direction for the coming years with a focus on its retail and residential operations.Under the terms of the deal, underwritten by UBS, Stockland will offer 103 million new securities representing 4.7 per cent of issued capital at $3.88 per security. That was a 2.5 per cent discount to its closing price of $3.98 on Tuesday.The placement will be conducted via a book build.... Read more

Tradies call for rescue after builder collapse. Tradies caught out by the collapse of National Buildplan Group have called for a financial ''rescue'' package and an investigation into the failure of the company.The call comes as administrators struggle to sort through the construction company's finances, with unsecured creditors including tradies, subcontractors and suppliers owed at least $18 million when National Buildplan entered administration in early April... Read more

Retrenched BlueScope workers 'ripped off' by Government rescue fund (+video) Steel workers are bitterly disappointed a Government rescue fund designed to ease the blow of job losses in the industry has failed to create hundreds of positions it promised to deliver... Read more

Wine sales to Britain break billion-pound mark... Read more

Rentals still strong for Thorn Group The Radio Rentals businesses posted record rentals and revenue for the 12 months to March 31.Thorn Group reported revenues of $203 million for the 12 months but net profit was flat at $28 million due to the cost of developing new products.... Read more

Small business warns unemployment will rise if the ACTU's wage claim succeeds Unions and the small business lobby are at loggerheads over a pay rise for the country's lowest paid workers.The Australian Council of Unions (ACTU) says a $30.00 per week increase in the minimum wage is necessary to prevent the country's lowest paid workers from falling further behind... Read more

Tinkler mansion put up for sale... Read more

Le Neve Groves alleges signature forged in $33m share sale Former childcare multi-millionaire Le Neve Groves says she was so busy at work she took almost two weeks to start seriously investigating a mystery sale of $33 million of her own shares in 2008... Read more

AGL fined $1.5m for door-knocking lies. A door-to-door salesman spruiking AGL's electricity and gas services in the Melbourne suburb of Coburg in late 2011 has cost the energy giant nearly $1.5 million in penalties for lying to consumers.... Read more

US private equity firm KKR is to sell its entire 12 per cent stake in Seven West Media.The decision to sell the stake, worth about $265 million, was announced after the close of the stock exchange on Tuesday.KKR - formerly called Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts - cut its ties to Seven after an almost seven-year partnership.... Read more

Seven West names TV boss as new CEO. Seven West Media has named TV boss Tim Worner as its new chief executive, replacing Don Voelte.The former Seven News Perth journalist will start in the new role on July 1, heading up a media company which comprises the Seven Television Network,... Read more

Opinion/Analysis - Michael Pascoe: The superannuation industry's peak body wants a 15 per cent tax applied to lump sum superannuation withdrawals, rising to 30 per cent for withdrawals over a certain, yet to be defined, limit. Yes, we are a long way from a stable and settled superannuation system, despite all the talk about needing “certainty”... Read more

Opinion - Malcolm Maiden: China's State Grid powers up in Australia... Read more

U.S. Market Report: Stocks nudged higher Tuesday as investors looked ahead to comments due from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke tomorrow.Bernanke will discuss his outlook for the economy in testimony before Congress Wednesday. The Dow Jones industrial average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq were up between 0.3% and 0.4% after drifting along the breakeven line for much of the morning.... Read more

North/South Americas Market Report: North and South American markets are mixed today. The Bovespa is up 0.79% while the S&P 500 gains 0.35%. The IPC is off 1.35%... Read more

European Market Report: European markets finished higher today with shares in London leading the region. The FTSE 100 is up 0.71% while France's CAC 40 is up 0.33% and Germany's DAX is up 0.19%... Read more

Asian Market Report: Asian markets finished mixed as of the most recent closing prices. The Shanghai Composite gained 0.22% and the Nikkei 225 rose 0.13%. The Hang Seng lost 0.54%... Read more

Commodities Report - Oil: Brent crude oil futures fell below $104 per barrel on Tuesday in New York, as investors worried that the U.S. Federal Reserve might scale back its bond buying program, which could push the dollar higher and hinder energy demand... Read more

Commodities Report - Gold: Gold, down in seven of its last eight sessions extended earlier losses on Tuesday on a firm dollar, weak technical signals and speculation that the U.S. Federal Reserve might rein in its stimulus programme... Read more

Risk of vicious circle for gold as hedging returnsThe curse of hedging that blighted gold in the 1990s is making a comeback, and threatens to loom over the market like Banquo's ghost... Read more

The U.S. Justice Department on Monday asked a federal judge to deny Standard & Poor's motion to dismiss a government lawsuit against the ratings agency, saying its statements on certain financial products were fraudulent and not mere "puffery".In a $5 billion suit, the U.S. government has accused S&P, owned by McGraw Hill Financial Inc, of issuing inflated ratings on faulty products to drum up business before the 2008 financial crisis, despite assurances that its judgments were objective... Read more

Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William C. Dudley said he has not decided whether the Fed’s next move should be to enlarge or shrink its bond buying program as he called for a fresh look at its eventual retreat from record asset purchases.“Because the outlook is uncertain, I cannot be sure which way -- up or down -- the next change will be,” Dudley said in prepared remarks for a speech today in New York... Read more

Herbalife announced Tuesday that it has hired PricewaterhouseCoopers as its new auditor.KPMG resigned as Herbalife's independent auditor last month after discovering that one of its partners was providing illegal stock tips to a friend about the auditing firm's clients, including Herbalife (HLF)... Read more

Senate panel peels back Apple's offshore taxes Apple Inc's chief executive officer defended the company's tax record at a Tuesday Senate hearing where lawmakers said the maker of iPads, iPods and Mac computers kept billions of dollars in profits in Irish subsidiaries to avoid U.S. taxes.... Read more

U.S. court studies wiretaps in Rajat Gupta insider case... Read more

Ireland says it is not to blame for low Apple tax rate Ireland said it was not to blame for Apple Inc's low global tax payments after the US Senate said the company paid little or nothing on billions of dollars in profits stashed in Irish subsidiaries.In a 40-page memorandum released ahead of an appearance by Apple CEO Tim Cook before Congress on Tuesday, a Senate subcommittee identified three subsidiaries that have no "tax residency" either in Ireland, where they are incorporated, or in the United States, where those companies are managed.... Read more

Sprint Nextel Corp raised its buyout offer for wireless service provider Clearwire Corp to $3.40 per share, but the new bid was not high enough to impress some investors.Clearwire shares almost immediately traded around the new offer price, having consistently traded well above the old $2.97-per-share bid... Read more

After five years under investigation for insider trading, Steven Cohen is considering proposing a deal to prosecutors that would shut his $15 billion hedge-fund firm to outside investors, according to a person familiar with his thinking... Read more

Dimon keeps JPMorgan chairman title after bruising battle... Read more

Best Buy Co Inc reported lackluster sales in the first quarter and warned that efforts to entice shoppers could squeeze profits in the near term.The news overshadowed its better-than-expected, first-quarter profit and sent shares of the world's largest consumer electronics chain down 4 percent on Tuesday... Read more

Home Depot Inc reported higher-than-expected quarterly results and raised its sales and profit outlook for the year on Tuesday as the world's largest home improvement chain benefited from a nascent recovery in the U.S. housing market.The news pushed the retailer's shares up as much as 3.4 percent to an all-time high and gave fresh evidence that the U.S. housing market was improving after years of weakness... Read more

Solar industry groups urge U.S., EU, China to avert trade war... Read more

EU Says Chinese FTA Possible, but Wants Market Opening The European Union is willing to deepen trade ties with China but wants to see concessions from Beijing first,... Read more

EU wants to exclude utilities from U.S. trade talks... Read more

Europe faces lost decade - CarneyMark Carney, the incoming Bank of England Governor, has warned that Europe could face a decade of stagnation unless it takes the kind of bold measures seen in Japan. In words that will underline his status as a monetary activist and fuel speculation that he will try to relaunch quantitative easing (QE) when he arrives in the UK, Mr Carney applauded Japan’s “bold policy experiment” to boost dramatically its own QE programme.... Read more

Burberry profits rise as Asian sales grow... Read more

Marks & Spencer profits fall after clothing strugglesMarks & Spencer has suffered a 14pc drop in annual profits following a sharp decline in clothing sales over the last year.... Read more

Interflora wins trademark case against Marks & Spencer... Read more

Vodafone Group Plc plans to retain a a 2.1 billion-pound ($3.19 billion) dividend from U.S. venture Verizon Wireless rather than returning it to shareholders as it reported the first full-year revenue decline since 2005.Verizon will use the cash -- the third dividend since the partnership with Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) restarted payments in 2012 -- to pay for wireless spectrum and fund its business, the Newbury, England-based company said today. Revenue for the 12 months through March fell 4.2 percent to 44.4 billion pounds... Read more

Carnival cruise firm's shares fall after discounts threaten profits. Shares in cruise company Carnival have fallen more than 7% after it issued a profit warning - its second in just three months.Carnival, which operates ships under brands such as P&O and Costa Cruises, said full year revenues, which were expected to be flat, would now fall 2-3%.It blamed the drop on a higher-than-expected rise in voyage cancellations... Read more

Rupee falls to near six-month low on stock losses, importer demand... Read more

Essar Energy Plc on Tuesday signed a $1 billion financial cooperation agreement with the China Development Bank and PetroChina International Co. Ltd., according to a document seen by Reuters... Read more

Japan April exports seen up but trade deficit to persist... Read more

Two executives at Japan's Denso Corp have agreed to plead guilty to conspiring to fix prices of electronic auto parts sold to Toyota and will cooperate with an ongoing criminal investigation, the U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday... Read more

Lanxess strike: South African miners shot with rubber bullets Ten South African miners have been injured after security guards fired rubber bullets at a crowd of striking workers, police say.Police spokesman Thulani Ngubane said the miners had been taken to hospital... Read more

Opinion/Analysis - Larry Elliot: Will IMF repeat its anti-austerity call?George Osborne has been doing his utmost to get the IMF mission to change its view during talks over the past fortnight... Read more

Opinion/Analysis - Linda Yueh: China's ambitious plans for its huge reserves... Read more

Opinion - Paul R. La Monica: The market doesn't lie: Housing recovery is real... Read more