New Zealand Market Report: New Zealand shares fell after Telecom said competition in fixed-line sales meant full-year earnings would be at the bottom end of guidance, while Ryman Healthcare rose after chalking up another year of plus-15 percent earnings growth.The NZX 50 Index fell 10.29 points, or 0.2 percent, to 4636.02. Within the index, 26 stocks fell, 18 rose and six were unchanged. Turnover of $195 million was boosted by 1.7 percent of Trade Me changing hands.... Read more

The New Zealand dollar came off its recent lows as Finance Minister Bill English's Budget kept the operating surplus target for 2014-15 intact and as support for the greenback stumbled after US manufacturing data missed expectations yesterday.The kiwi rose to 82.48 US cents at 5pm in Wellington from 82.25 cents at 8am, and 82.13 cents yesterday. The trade-weighted index gained to 77.60 from 77.13.... Read more

Rating agencies happy with NZ fiscal position after budget... Read more

Budget 2013: Chch rebuild 'key driver' of growth. Some $18 billion of new residential housing in Canterbury, accounting for almost half the region's rebuild, will be the key driver behind New Zealand's 2.5 per cent annual rate of growth over the next four years.The Treasury sees gross domestic product growth of 2.5 per cent in the year ended March 31, slipping to 2.4 per cent in 2014 before rising to 3 per cent and 2.6 per cent the following two years, according to its Budget forecast. That will taper off in 2017 to an annual pace of 2.2 per cent... Read more

Finance Minister Bill English has given the tick of approval to the Reserve Bank's new set of tools to cool asset bubbles, the most pressing of which is the country's heated property market.The minister has signed a memorandum of understanding with central bank governor Graeme Wheeler granting the bank regulator the ability to require lenders to hold more capital on their balance sheets against certain assets, or restrict the level of low-equity home loans, English said in a statement... Read more

House market still too hot to hold. Housing experts have welcomed drastic moves to streamline the consent process where house prices are unaffordable, but warn they are unlikely to turn the market.Parliament went into urgency yesterday as the Government unveiled the Housing Accords and Special Housing Areas Bill as part of the Budget, a three-year measure to force land on to the market... Read more

NZ Budget causes stir across the Tasman. New Zealand is forecasting a budget surplus a year earlier than Australia but Australian Treasurer Wayne Swan says he is "completely dumbfounded" anyone would suggest that was because of a better economic performance.Finance Minister Bill English handed down his 2013 budget today, just two days after Swan handed down his Australian version.English confirmed the government will achieve a surplus in 2014/15, albeit a slim $75 million.... Read more

Meridian Energy has been confirmed as the next state-owned energy company to be partially floated on the stock exchange later this year.Government also announced in today's Budget that $1.5 billion from the asset sales programme would be channelled into hospitals, schools, Kiwirail, and irrigation over the next year... Read more

Meridian told to sort out Tiwai Pt before float. The future of the Tiwai Pt aluminium smelter must be finalised before Meridian Energy floats on the NZX, say market players."If it's not dealt with, they can price it, but I'm sure they'll want to deal with it," said one market source.Tiwai's owners are seeking to negotiate the power supply contract with Meridian, or close down the plant.... Read more

Accident Compensation Corp levies are projected to be cut progressively to give businesses savings of $1 billion a year by 2015-16, roughly cancelling out the impact of fiscal drag on the government's accounts.The Budget documents show fiscal drag - where rising incomes move taxpayers into higher tax brackets and drag in more tax revenue - of about 0.2 percent, of $420 million a year in the current financial year, rising to 0.3 percent by 2016/17, or around $700 million.In a statement for the budget, ACC Minister Judith Collins says "the government is confident that a decrease in ACC levies is sustainable."... Read more

The New Zealand Debt Management Office will cut its borrowing programme by $3 billion over the next two years as the government looks to clamp down on its growing interest bill and build a buffer for future shocks.The DMO will cut its short-term Treasury bills on issue by $1 billion in the 2013/14 financial year and will reduce bond issuance by $2 billion the following year, the department said in a statement. The office expects net borrowing of $9 billion in the current financial year, a $3 billion reduction next year, and net issuance of $5 billion and $7 billion the following two years... Read more

New Zealand manufacturing expanded at its fastest pace for three years in April, bolstered by new orders.The BNZ-BusinessNZ performance of manufacturing index rose 1.1 to 54.5 in April from March. That's its highest April level since 2010. A reading above 50 indicates expanding activity, while a reading below 50 implies a contraction. The index has averaged 54.8 so far this year, suggesting healthy and consistent activity, BusinessNZ said... Read more

Property chiefs give mixed review. Industry leaders fear rental rises and threat to old buildings, but affordability push praised. Residential rents could rise and historic buildings might be abandoned, say property chiefs who have mixed feelings about real estate changes in the Budget... Read more

Wellington Airport says airline revenue jump reflects noise charge, lack of international fee. The airport, which is 66 percent owned by Infratil and 34 percent by Wellington City Council, released its annual results today, showing net profit rose about 81 percent to $16.2 million in the 12 months ended March 31.Total revenue climbed 6.8 percent to $106 million, of which landing and terminal charges rose 9.8 percent to $62.6 million. Revenue from property rent and lease income was little changed in the latest year at $10.8 million and retail and trading activity sales rose to $32.8 million from $31.6 million... Read more

Prices of dairy products extended their decline from a record high as a resurgent US dollar weighed more generally on commodity prices and concerns abated about the impact of drought in the North Island... Read more

Briscoe shares rise on confidence. Shares in Briscoe Group are trading at their highest price in at least two years, after the retailer said it was confident of continued profit growth at its annual general meeting today.Briscoe shares are priced at $2.60 this afternoon, after opening at $2.55. Since May 2011, shares in the group, which includes Briscoes, Rebel Sport and Living & Giving, have topped out at $2.55... Read more

Ryman Healthcare, the retirement village operator whose shares have jumped by more than a third this year, boosted annual profit 13 per cent as increased sales of units lifted its fee income and as the value of its property portfolio continued to climb.Net profit rose to $136.7 million, or 27.5 cents per share, in the 12 months ended March 31, from $120.8 million, or 24.3 cents, a year earlier, the Christchurch-based company said in a statement. Underlying profit, which strips out unrealised movements in the value of its property portfolio and non-cash items, advanced 19 per cent to $100.2 million... Read more

Ryman Healthcare expansion depends on Melbourne... Read more

MRP senior managers in line for $1.2m in bonus shares... Read more

Telecom now expects the costs of restructuring its business - which includes cutting up to 1230 staff - to be between $100 million and $130 million.This is up from estimates in March which put the cost between $70 million and $80 million.In a statement to the market today, Telecom said the increase reflects estimated non-cash adjustments - such as write-offs on assets - associated with stopping some business activitiesTelecom said it expects half of the restructuring costs ($50 million to $65 million) to be non-cash in nature.... Read more

Telecom turnaround 'could take years' Telecom has warned investors that its peers overseas usually required "three to four concerted years of precise, consistent execution" to deliver strong market and financial results.Chief executive Simon Moutter said that was not intended to mean it would necessarily take that long for him to get Telecom to where he wanted it to be... Read more

Telecom's Gen-i has agreed to sell its Davanti Consulting business in a management buy-out the latest step to trim down IT services unit.Davanti Principal Consultants' Justin Hamilton, Matt Farrar and Robert Carter have signed a conditional agreement for Gen-i's Davanti unit for an undisclosed sum, and is expected to settle on May 31, Telecom said in a statement.Gen-i faces margin pressures and is switching its focus to big data and cloud-based services. Telecom has already announced 120 jobs were going from its Gen-i Australia unit... Read more

Cash-strapped Solid Energy is paying more than $25,000 a week to lease its palatial Christchurch head office, variously dubbed 'The Palace' and 'The Grandstand'.Responding to questions from The Westport News, communications manager Bryn Somerville revealed the lease would cost "a little over $1.3 million" this financial year... Read more

Lifestyle blocks hit record high price. Lifestyle properties south of Auckland are in demand from ex-patriates and fleeing city dwellers, the Real Estate Institute's latest rural figures show.The national median price for lifestyle blocks rose 12 per cent, setting a new record high of $518,500 in the three months to April compared to the same period a year ago. Turnover was also up by 16 per cent on a year ago, with the strongest levels in the Auckland region, said REINZ spokesman Brian Peacocke.Lifestyle blocks were also selling well in Canterbury and the Waikato. ... Read more

Loss-making start-up companies which invest heavily in research and development will be targeted for tax breaks under a scheme announcing a range of small concessions and new initiatives to more effectively tax foreign-owned companies and property investors.The scheme is intended to allow "small, R&D-intensive start-ups" to claim tax losses on research and development spending, which is currently not available. Eligibility criteria don't yet exist and will be defined in an issues paper next month, followed by public consultation... Read more

Supreme Court throws Dotcom disclosure lifeline The Supreme Court says Kim Dotcom and his Megaupload associates can appeal again for the disclosure of US Government evidence in its internet piracy case against them.In a decision just released, the court says the approved ground for appeal is: was the Court of Appeal correct to hold that the disclosure orders made in the District Court and upheld by the High Court were wrongly made?... Read more

Prison for fraudulent MTF loans. Four men were sentenced in the Auckland District Court today after being convicted of fraudulently obtaining loans from Dunedin-based finance company Motor Trade Finances (MTF).... Read more

Opinion - Maria Slade: How close do Kiwis want to cosy up to business? You've got to love the Greens. They're like Parliament's social conscience, the Jiminy Cricket on its shoulder if you will... Read more

Opinion - Pattrick Smellie: Plain sailing, but it's no America's Cup cat. Compared to the last four Budgets, this year's reflects an economy moving out of recession and into calmer waters.The global financial crisis is still a risk, but we're not in the maelstrom any more. For now, at least... Read more

Australian Market Report: Australian shares reversed early gains and ended lower as sliding metal prices weighed on mining stocks, offsetting early leads spurred by new record highs on Wall Street.The S&P/ASX 200 dropped 26 points, or 0.5 per cent, at 5165.7, while the broader All Ordinaries ended 29.1 points, or 0.6 per cent, lower at 5144.2... Read more

Dollar in dramatic plunge. The Australian dollar has been hit by a fresh wave in selling, plunging to another 11-month low as investors continue to pile into its US counterpart.The currency fell as low as 97.98 US cents in offshore trade, a level not seen since June 2012, and down from above 99 cents around midday... Read more

Imports of goods in April rose by $118 million, or one per cent, to $20.017 billion, seasonally-adjusted, Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show... Read more

Australia's lowest jobless rate. NSW has some of the lowest jobless rates in Australia, a new breakdown of unemployment data by regions shows.Six out of the top 10 regions in Australia with the lowest unemployment rate for April were from NSW, a CommSec analysis of detailed labour force data from the Bureau of Statistics, released on Thursday, showed.The unemployment rate was just 2.1 per cent in Sydney's Northern Beaches - the lowest in Australia and a fall from 3.2 per cent in the same month last year... Read more

Brockman joins rail access battle. The battle for access to Fortescue Metals Group's railway line in the Pilbara is hotting up, with iron ore junior Brockman Mining formally applying for access today.Brockman, which is controlled by controversial Hong Kong investor Wah Nam, has applied for access to 196 km of the railway under Western Australia's railway access laws... Read more

Investment in Australia's resources sector is expected to peak at a record $85 billion this year, led by unprecedented spending in the oil and gas sector.Consulting Group Wood Mackenzie predicts spending on upstream gas will reach $48 billion this year and $50 billion in 2014, accounting for about half of all resources investment in Australia over two years.This will be followed by iron ore which is expected to make up 25 per cent of spending and coal which is likely to account for 10 per cent... Read more

The planned Anketell Point port project in the Pilbara has been approved by Federal environment minister Tony Burke, subject to 45 strict conditions.But weak iron ore prices and funding problems may keep the project shelved indefinitely.... Read more

Central Australian Phosphate's shares fell after Canadian gold miner Monument Mining withdrew from a two-way battle to take over the explorer.Monument has instead struck an $8.8 million deal to buy a 51 per cent stake in Central's Northern Territory phosphate projects.It will pay $1.5 million up front, with the deal subject to shareholder approval.Central's shares fell 5.26 per cent to 1.8 cents on Thursday.... Read more

Sandfire heats up on DeGrussa upgrade. Shares in Sandfire Resources were firmer after the miner added another 64,000 tonnes of copper and 93,000 ounces of gold to its mineral inventory after drilling at its DeGrussa project.Sandfire said the additional resource would be incorporated into its mine plan for DeGrussa, extending its minelife by about one year... Read more

Struggling listed company Penrice Soda is embroiled in fresh drama after allegations it engaged controversial Tasmanian strike-breaker Bruce Townsend to spy on and infiltrate its staff.Documents filed in the Tasmanian Supreme Court by a company linked to Mr Townsend allege he was engaged by Penrice for the ''surreptitious infiltration of the plantiff's employees and sub-contractors'' at its Adelaide factory... Read more

Glencore Xstrata AGM dumps chairman. The chairman of newborn mining and commodities giant Glencore Xstrata, John Bond, has been axed by its annual general meeting, while former BP boss Tony Hayward has been made interim chairman... Read more

Woodside Petroleum is keeping an eye on an offshore gas field in Mozambique that is five times bigger than its North West Shelf project.... Read more

Bank of Queensland boss Stuart Grimshaw pops banking stock bubble fears. Bank stocks have avoided bubble territory, says Bank of Queensland boss Stuart Grimshaw, but he predicts their shareprice gains will begin to cool.Mr Grimshaw yesterday also questioned the current investor frenzy for bank-stock dividends and whether equities in general were overvalued... Read more

Fish farmer Clean Seas Tuna's shares have risen more than 27 per cent after it forecast a $4 million to $6 million full year loss and said a profit was in sight.The result would be a significant 60 per cent reduction on last year's $15.3 million loss.The company has never posted a profit but says it is ahead of target to get one by 2015.Its shares were 27.3 per cent, or 0.3 cents higher, at 1.4 cents at 1230 AEST, having once traded at nearly $1.80 in 2008.... Read more

Navitas boosted by 'investor belief'. Navitas chief executive Rod Jones yesterday cited growing investor belief in the educational provider's recovery story as a key factor in its recent share price surge.With the run inflating Navitas' price earnings ratio to nearly 30, Mr Jones said the group was trading at a "pretty heavy" multiple but one which "partly reflects what people perceive will happen in the next couple of years"... Read more

Takeover target GrainCorp says it remains upbeat on its full-year sales outlook despite posting a 34 per cent plunge in net profit for the first half, with costs related to a sweetened bid from United States suitor Archer Daniels Midland hitting its bottom line. At the company's annual general meeting today, it said net profit had slumped to $88.2 million for the six months to March 31, down from $133.7 million in the previous corresponding period... Read more

Virgin Australia shares have dived after the airline warned that its earnings will be lower this financial year due to a hit to revenue from a major overhaul to its reservations system and tough economic conditions.The airline issued the downgrade on Wednesday night, shortly after a board meeting in Sydney. Virgin said its underlying pre-tax profits this financial year would be less than in 2011-12 when it recorded $82.5 million in profits before tax.It had originally forecast an improved performance on last year.Shares plunged 8 cents, or 17.4 per cent, to close at 38 cents.... Read more

James Murdoch, deputy chief operating officer of News Corp and son of chairman Rupert Murdoch, sold $US25.1 million of nonvoting shares in the company, capitalising on a 65 per cent gain in the stock over the past year.Mr Murdoch sold 752,000 Class A shares at $US33.32, representing more than a fifth of his stake, according to a US Securities and Exchange filing. Mr Murdoch still owns 1,644 Class B shares, which have voting rights in News Corp... Read more

NBN Co and the Department of Broadband have rejected independent MP Rob Oakeshott’s requests to consider the Coalition’s alternative broadband plan,... Read more

Newman Government plans new levy to fund flood-proofing projects Queensland households face a new levy to fund hundreds of expensive flood-proofing projects.The Courier-Mail can reveal the Newman Government is preparing plans for a levy and a dedicated flood projects fund which will be unveiled in next month's State Budget.About $1 billion would be raised over four or five years through the extra charge on common household bills, such as electricity, rates or water.... Read more

Billionaire casino tycoon James Packer says Australia needs to do more to attract high-end tourists especially from China.Mr Packer announced on Thursday the winning design for his Crown Resorts' proposed dream casino at Barangaroo... Read more

Design chosen for Packer's billion dollar hotel... Read more

Gambling firm Tabcorp has begun legal action against the Victorian government over a poker machine levy set to cost the company millions of dollars.Earlier this month the Victorian government ruled Tabcorp must pay a health benefit levy of $42 million relating to its poker machine operations for the 2012/13 financial year.Tabcorp is opposed to the levy as it lost the right to operate poker machines operated outside of Melbourne's Crown casino, on August 15, 2012 - 46 days into the financial year.... Read more

It is believed that Etihad Airways has been buying up shares in Virgin Australia in the past few weeks as part of a plan to restore its 9.9 per cent stake in the airline, diluted following the issue of new shares to Singapore Airlines.Etihad's decision to restore its shareholding in Virgin quashes speculation that it might cut ties after Singapore Airlines almost doubled its stake in the country's second-largest airline to almost 20 per cent... Read more

Opinion - Michael Pascoe: You missed the best news in the budget... Read more

Opinion - Gerry Redmond & Peter Whiteford: Middle class welfare – are we hitting the target? When it comes to welfare spending in the budget, the federal government has given with one hand and taken with another... Read more

U.S. Market Report: It's getting tough to push this market higher, and a series of mixed economic reports Thursday didn't do the trick.The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 traded near neutral. Both closed Wednesday at fresh all-time highs. The Nasdaq ticked up 0.3%.... Read more

North/South Americas Market Report: North and South American markets are mixed. The Bovespa is higher by 0.10%, while Mexico's IPC is off 0.20%. Shares in U.S. are unchanged with the S&P 500 at 1,658.79... Read more

European Market Report: European markets finished mixed as of the most recent closing prices. The DAX gained 0.09%, while the FTSE 100 led the CAC 40 lower. They fell 0.09% and 0.08% respectively... Read more

Asian Market Report: Asian markets finished mixed as of the most recent closing prices. The Shanghai Composite gained 1.21% and the Hang Seng rose 0.17%. The Nikkei 225 lost 0.39%... Read more

Commodities Report - Gold: Gold hit a four-week low on Thursday, declining for a sixth straight day for the first time in more than four years, as investors spooked by recent price falls favoured other assets... Read more

Commodities Report - Oil: Brent crude oil futures rose on Thursday on dollar declines, but gains were capped by a stall in the U.S. equity market as a jump in U.S. jobless claims stoked investor worry about an economic recovery... Read more

Evidence mounts on slower U.S. economic growth... Read more

April housing starts plummet from almost 5-year high... Read more

From Brooklyn to California, housing bubble threat grows (+video)... Read more

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits climbed last week at the fastest pace in six months, a worrisome sign for the economy which has been hit by government austerity... Read more

A hole in JPMorgan's Dimon defense. To sway shareholders on next week's chairman vote, Jamie Dimon's supporters say focus on the bank's bottom line. They're hoping you will miss some accounting moves that have significantly boosted profits. Jamie Dimon likes to talk about JPMorgan Chase's fortress balance sheet. What's a little more shaky is the bank's income statement... Read more

A U.S. judge Wednesday denied class-action status to copyright owners suing Google over the use of material posted on YouTube without their permissionU.S. District Judge Louis Stanton in Manhattan denied a motion to certify a worldwide class of copyright owners in a long-running lawsuit over videos and music posted to popular website... Read more

Wal-Mart Stores Inc posted weaker-than-expected quarterly earnings on Thursday due to poor U.S. sales and said its profit for this quarter might also miss Wall Street's forecast as it spends more on its foreign bribery probe, e-commerce and international operations.Everything from tax pressures on shoppers to a cool start to spring led to an unexpected 1.4 percent drop in sales at Walmart U.S. stores open at least a year... Read more

Shares of Cisco Systems Inc rose as much as 14 percent on Thursday, a day after the company reported quarterly results and financial targets that were better than Wall Street expected... Read more

Tesla’s market value soars, but some see a bubble The California-based maker of a luxury electric sedan recently proclaimed its first quarterly profit ever, and the stock has doubled to more than $90 a share in the past month.... Read more

Kohl's Corp said on Thursday it expects sales to rebound in the current quarter after bad weather in early spring hurt business at the department store chain... Read more

BlackRock Inc.and Western Asset Management Co. are offering a new twist on traditional money-market funds as regulators are set to impose sweeping changes on the $2.58 trillion industry.... Read more

Billionaire investor George Soros joined Northern Trust Corp. and BlackRock Inc. in cutting holdings of exchange-traded products backed by gold before a bear market in prices last month, while John Paulson maintained a stake that lost about $165 million in the first quarter. (+video)... Read more

Empire State Building REIT closes in on investor approval A plan to roll the Empire State Building into a real estate investment trust is a whisker away from obtaining the necessary investor approval for a stock offering allowing the public to own a piece of the iconic skyscraper, according to a regulatory filing on Thursday.Investors holding 99.3 percent of the Empire State Building units needed to approve the plan for an initial public offering have voted for it, according to the filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission... Read more

S&P cuts Berkshire Hathaway rating one notch to 'AA'... Read more

Eurozone trade surplus jumps The 17-nation eurozone posted a record trade surplus of €22.9 billion ($A30.05 billion) in March, up from €10.1 billion in February, official data showed.The Eurostat data agency said that March exports on a monthly comparison rose 2.8 per cent while imports fell 1.0 per cent... Read more

Platts in lockdown as investigators continue oil probe European anti-trust investigators on Thursday searched the offices of price agency Platts and at least one major oil company for a third day, hunting for evidence of possible price manipulation on oil markets, witnesses said.Authorities on Tuesday raided Platts' London Canary Wharf bureau and the offices of Statoil, Royal Dutch Shell and BP in the biggest trading probe since the Libor scandal... Read more

BP wants Prime Minister David Cameron to intervene over the escalating cost of compensating US companies for the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster in 2010.BBC business editor Robert Peston has learned that BP feels its financial recovery is in jeopardy because the compensation system is being abused.The financial burden of paying fictitious and inflated claims may even make BP a takeover target, it fears... Read more

UK lawmakers challenge Google's 'smoke and mirrors' on tax. Google Inc faced angry questions on Thursday from British lawmakers investigating its tax affairs and whether it had misled Parliament in testimony last year, adding fuel to a debate on taxation that has risen to the top of the UK political agenda... Read more

Prudential bosses escaped a full-scale pay revolt at the insurer's annual meeting on Thursday but shareholders accused them of greed just weeks after the company was fined £30m by the City regulator.One shareholder told the board that combined pay of £33.4m for its seven executive directors last year was too high and suggested they were "greedy", while another said pay levels were so out of step with UK average earnings that it was "obscene"... Read more

Russia's auto industry goes into high gear. A second wave of automobile production localization hits Europe’s soon-to-be largest car market as Russian manufacturers are forced to compete with incoming foreign giants. To the surprise of many, small and compact cars are king... Read more

Russia could join OECD in two years if politics do not get in way, official says... Read more

Vatican Bank to publish its accounts... Read more

RBS axes 1,400 in UK retail restructuring... Read more

Britain's largest retail bank Lloyds expects to return to profit this year, increasing the government's chances of selling its stake before the next general election in 2015.... Read more

Lonmin mineworkers end two-day strike action... Read more

Telefonica Mexico chief sees quick move to loosen Slim's grip Spain's Telefonica expects Mexico's new government to quickly implement new regulations designed to challenge billionaire Carlos Slim's dominance in the local telecommunications market, a top company official said... Read more

Japan's Abenomics posts early success. Japan's economy grew by a strong 0.9 per cent in the March quarter, higher than the 0.7 per cent that economist forecasts centred on in a poll by Reuters.If maintained, such a rate of growth would have Japan's economy back to a healthy annual GDP increase of 3.5 per cent... Read more

Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda’s stimulus policies pushed bond yields above analyst forecasts for the first time since at least July as the widest price swings in a decade halted two debt offerings... Read more

China threatens own trade action if EU opens telecoms case... Read more

Opinion - Josh Barro: A Euro-exit for the flat tax... Read more

Analysis - Sujata Rao: Consumer stocks shine in emerging market profit gloom A broad collapse of company profits in the developing world shows no sign of abating, forcing investors to tilt portfolios towards sectors such as healthcare or consumer goods where margins are more robust... Read more

Analysis - Paul J Davies: China's fledgling brokerage juggernauts... Read more