Woolworths Ltd plans to offload A$900 million ($1108.3 million) of retail sites from its property portfolio.The retailing giant plans to sell 30-plus neighbourhood and sub-regional shopping centres, then lease back the sites on...

Maurice Williamson clearly struck a nerve when he observed that opposition to foreign investment was more about racism than overseas ownership. As much was obvious from the Prime Minister's response.John Key said the Land Information...

The New Zealand dollar rose today after a better-than-expected US payrolls report eased anxiety about the global economy but some analysts questioned the strength of the rally, citing the weekend's earthquake as one of a range of...

Fletcher Building, Steel & Tube and Cavalier Carpets shares soared and Tower shares plunged as investors assessed the implications of Saturday's destructive earthquake in Canterbury on the corporate sector.Brokers said at times...

Household borrowing is falling faster than new investment in housing, suggesting New Zealanders are starting to get on top of rising debt levels for the first time in a decade, according to Treasury analysis released today."The...

Saturday's earthquake could prove to be the tipping point for some businesses already squeezed by the recession, a Christchurch business leader says.Canterbury Chamber of Commerce chief executive Peter Townsend said Christchurch's...

The speed with which infrastructure can be restored will be key to how the economy fares in the aftermath of Saturday's devastating earthquake, a leading economist says.The magnitude 7.1 earthquake is a large wealth hit to the...

The 7.1 magnitude pre-dawn earthquake that shattered Christchurch may be the most significant economic disaster in recent history, but it will provide a much-needed lifeline for New Zealand's beleaguered construction sector.Fletcher...

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services is today signalling a possible downgrade of Christchurch City Council's credit rating in the wake of Saturday's earthquake.The credit rating company has placed its AA plus credit rating on Christchurch...

Workers are worried about loss of pay in the wake of Saturday's massive Christchurch earthquake.Many central city businesses cannot open until the damage from the earthquake is fully assessed and buildings deemed safe.Unions...

Receivers for South Canterbury Finance are calling for expressions of interest from those wanting to purchase assets of the stricken company and its subsidiaries.Kerryn Downey and William Black, of advisory firm McGrathNicol said...

Reports of extensive earthquake damage to Canterbury's farming infrastructure are now coming in, says the Federated Farmers organisation."Federated Farmers is now receiving reports of extensive physical damage to farm infrastructure...

The New Zealand dollar will probably trade in a tight this week as investors lock-in another pause in the Reserve Bank's tightening track in the fall-out from the 7.1 magnitude Christchurch earthquake.Five of seven economists...

A number of listed companies today formally advised investors of the impact of Saturday's earthquake on their businesses in notices to the stock exchange: Lyttelton Port of Christchurch said it is fully operational following...

Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard says his darkest hour of the financial crisis was in October 2008, at the time the retail deposit guarantee scheme was set up.In a memoir titled Crisis , co-authored with historian Sarah Gaitanos,...

New Zealand's biggest corporate and largest exporter, Fonterra, said that all its staff were accounted for and safe. A spokesman said this morning that Fonterra's service centre and area managers were still busy contacting farmers....

Turners and Growers says it is not interested in buying South Canterbury Finance's apple business.South Canterbury Finance owns 79.7 per cent of Scales Corporation, one of New Zealand's largest apple producers, through its subsidiary...

ExIs the global economy out of the woods? Two years after near-meltdown, with the United States looking sluggish, equity markets groggy and Europeans fighting a debt crisis, experts gathered in Italy offered a generally gloomy outlook...

In Italy at the weekend, the world's smartest economists gathered to discuss weighty issues, such as whether governments should pump more stimulus into their ailing economies.At the same time in New Zealand, a massive earthquake...

You would think it would be a fairly clear cut case: employer has a contractual right to drug test post incident; employee returns a positive drug test and dismissal ensues. In the eyes of the Employment Relations Authority, it...