Dene Mackenzie

BNZ chief executive Andrew Thorburn was yesterday honoured by the United Nations as one of five international business leaders recognised for their success in promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women.

Briscoe Group managing director Rod Duke was particularly happy yesterday when he announced another record profit which he said was achieved in an extremely competitive market.

Otago surged up the rankings in the ASB-Main report regional economic scoreboard in the December quarter to be ranked third behind Auckland and Canterbury.

Any act which can get a Dunedin crowd clapping and singing within a few minutes of starting deserves a standing ovation, which is exactly what happened in Dunedin's Regent Theatre last night.

The Government has wasted no time in offering 49% of Mighty River Power for sale, pre-registration of interest from investors opening today and the listing likely to be made before the May 16 Budget.

The increasing need for farmers to meet compliance costs as they expand their operations has led the ASB Bank to launch a low-cost ''rural environmental compliance loan''.

Retail banks have recently started lowering their fixed-term mortgage lending rates as competition for customers heats up.

Warwick Deuchrass was taken aback recently when a long-standing client he had not heard from for a while seemed surprised he was still at his desk, working. But, as the managing partner and chairman of Anderson Lloyd tells business editor Dene Mackenzie, he is never happier than when practising law.

Two reports out yesterday provided mixed views about New Zealand's property market, with neither report likely to give relief to new home buyers or existing property owners.

A major turnaround in the hedging of the New Zealand dollar helped Air New Zealand lift its operating profit by 28% in the six months ending December.