Dene Mackenzie

Dunedin South MP Clare Curran is happy with her responsibilities allocated yesterday by new Labour leader Andrew Little.

Scales Corp will provide updated guidance on its prospectus forecasts before December 31 after indicating it may beat earlier profit estimates.

October is not always a terrible month for equity investors although there have been some well-documented shockers in the past, with 1987 and 2008 among them. Business editor Dene Mackenzie reports on a month which turned out to be profitable for investors around the globe, eventually.

High technology collaboration is the future for export growth between New Zealand and the United Kingdom, British High Commissioner Jonathan Sinclair says.

Finance Minister Bill English appears to be waving the white flag on getting the Crown accounts into surplus soon.

Whitestone Cheese, of North Otago, was founded in 1987 as a diversification during the 1980s rural downturn and a series of crippling droughts.

Michael Stedman, a long-time supporter of all things broadcasting in Dunedin and New Zealand, was last night named as Otago's business personality of the year.

Rising employment is more than keeping up with New Zealand's growing population, Statistics New Zealand labour market manager Diane Ramsay says.

Trustpower's first-half result was largely in line with forecasts and did not contain any material surprises, Forsyth Barr broker Andrew Rooney said yesterday.

A large fall in impairment charges helped Westpac New Zealand lift its cash earnings for the year ended September to $864 million, a 13% increase on the previous corresponding period.

Dairy farmers will focus on the parts of their business they can easily change as their income drops in the 2014-15 season, according to ASB chief economist Nick Tuffley.

The Holidays Act is likely to be next on Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Woodhouse's agenda after steering the Employment Relations Amendment Bill into law this week.

ANZ, New Zealand's largest bank, is crediting its merger with the former National Bank and improvements in the economy for a lift in its profits for the year ended September.

The next Labour leader faces a daunting challenge not only in reuniting the deeply divided party but also connecting it with voters - and convincing them it is a government in waiting.

The Bank of New Zealand reported an improved profit and a large jump in deposits yesterday as calls mount for the Government to provide some protection on customer savings.