Just over half the shares in steel products distributor Steel and Tube were snapped up in a matter of hours after they were put up for sale by its parent company, Australia's Arrium, the deal's underwriters Craigs Investments Partners said.
Fonterra's Trading Among Farmers (TAF) share trading scheme is on track for introduction before the end of this calendar year, outgoing chairman Sir Henry van der Heyden said today.
Australasian resins maker Nuplex Industries says it will close factories and cut its payroll by just under 10 per cent to align the business with what it expects to be a deep decline in the manufacturing, building and construction sectors.
Fonterra's result for 2011-12, due on Wednesday, is expected to show the co-operative enjoyed another strong year of earnings, despite lower dairy prices.
AMP NZ Office said it had agreed to buy the Westfield Downtown Shopping Centre, despite the potential for uncertainty surrounding the site should the Auckland Council go ahead with plans to build a rail link underneath it.
The Commerce Commission said it was pleased with the outcome after Vodafone New Zealand was fined $960,000 in the Auckland District Court for misleading advertising under the Fair Trading Act.
North Island geothermal and hydro power generator Mighty River Power, which sits at the top of the Government's list for partial privatisation, says its underlying earnings were steady in the year to June.
Canterbury, one of New Zealand's oldest and most famous brands, has once again changed hands.
Severe drought conditions in the United States played a part in today's big lift in dairy prices, ANZ National rural economist Con Williams said.
A depressed construction sector and delays in getting Christchurch rebuilding projects under way are expected to weigh heavily on Steel and Tube's annual result when it reports next week.
Independent dairy co-operative Westland Milk Products says it will cut its 2012-13 payout forecast due to a fall in international prices for dairy products, raising the possibility that Fonterra may follow suit.
Fonterra director Colin Armer, who was seen by some as the natural successor to outgoing chairman Sir Henry van der Heyden, has tendered his resignation from the board, effective immediately.
The economy seems to be stuck in second gear, according to the latest National Bank Business Outlook.
NZX raised eyebrows among financial market participants today by signalling that its first half earnings were likely to fall.
Te Awamutu farmer John Wilson had been selected by the Fonterra board to take over as chairman of the dairy cooperative when Sir Henry van der Heyden steps down from the role in December.
Dorchester Pacific - one of the few finance companies to survive the meltdown in its sector - said it had secured new funding lines that would allow it buy back $15 million in outstanding notes.
A severe drought in the United States is likely to push the prices of two key New Zealand commodities - dairy and beef - higher, rural economists say.
Business and consumer confidence surveys, plus some second tier economic data, will feature on the business agenda next week.
JB Were, which in 2010 described the New Zealand capital markets as being in a state of structural decline, said the Government's mixed ownership model could put them back on a path of self-sustaining growth.
Dairy prices shot higher at Fonterra's latest global auction today, indicating the market may be starting to stabilise, but economists said it was too early to say if the weakening trend of the last few months had run its course.
