The following articles are sourced from The New Zealand Herald

Wage rise 'pretty lousy': Peters
Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:55
A 50-cent increase to the minimum wage has been met with scorn from unions and opposition parties, who say it falls well short of what low-wage workers need to get by.Labour Minister Kate Wilkinson announced today that the minimum...

Tower considers capital return after acquisition failures
Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:39
Tower, the insurer that raised $81.3 million in 2009 to pursue growth opportunities, says it will consider returning capital to shareholders after being outbid in acquisitions by rivals with deeper pockets.The August 2009 rights...

Is Wall St back to pre-crisis levels?
Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:15
It was just late last year that the Dow Jones industrial average shed 2,000 points in three terrifying weeks. Investors had a host of things to worry about, including the possibility of another recession.Now the Dow is within reach...

China telco giant wins big Chch fibre deal
Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:34
Chinese telcommunications giant Huawei has scored its second major ultra-fast broadband contract and will supply equipment for the Christchurch leg of the internet scheme.Enable Services, who is one of the Government's partner in...

$1-a-litre deal's 'amazing' response
Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:30
The boutique grocery store that dropped the price of its milk to make a point has sold thousands of bottles at $1 a litre - and is now promising to keep milk cheaper than in supermarkets for the rest of the year.Nosh Food Market...

Hallenstein earnings up 25pc, targets digital stores
Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:30
Hallenstein Glasson said first-half earnings were about a quarter higher than last year and the clothing chain plans to put more emphasis on its digital store strategy.The Auckland-based company's net profit was between $8.7...

Fran O'Sullivan: Fonterra must be a champion in China
Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:15
NZ dairy company Fonterra is at risk of being outclassed on its own home turf if it doesn't rapidly develop a strategy to launch high-quality New Zealand brands into the fast-growing Chinese markets.It's hard to credit why Fonterra...

Oracle rejects SAP payout, asks for new trial
Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:00
Oracle has rejected a $272 million (NZ$323m) damages award in its copyright infringement lawsuit against German business software rival SAP and asked for a new trial.Oracle was awarded US$1.3 billion by a jury in November 2010 but...

Avocado industry sets export sights on Europe and beyond
Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:00
The avocado industry is testing technology to prevent fruit ripening in transit that it hopes will open up markets in Europe.Two thousand trays of fruit were exported to France in December packed in shipping containers fitted with...

Water ownership not up for negotiation, says Key
Wed, 08 Feb 2012 09:55
Nobody owns water and that is not up for negotiation - Prime Minister John Key and Deputy Prime Minister Bill English made their position clear yesterday as they battled more potential strife on the proposed part-sale of state-owned...

Inside Money: May you live in less interesting times
Wed, 08 Feb 2012 09:45
Writing in the Financial Times online edition this week, Bill Gross, head of inves

NZ dollar falls amid talk of pending Greek deal
Wed, 08 Feb 2012 09:06
The New Zealand dollar dipped below 63 euro cents for the first time in more than a week amid speculation Greek officials and private creditors are preparing the final draft of a budget and structural measures needed to free up the...

World sharemarkets pause on Greece
Wed, 08 Feb 2012 08:45
Shares in Europe closed flat and US stocks were edging higher on hopes that Greek political leaders will agree on the terms needed to secure fresh bailout funds.Greek PM Lucas Papademos is holding new meetings with his political...

Directors' pay up but restrained, says survey
Wed, 08 Feb 2012 08:30
Director base pay last year rose more than five times the rate of the average worker but according to a survey boardrooms are showing restraint in light of an uncertain economic environment and public sensitivity.The survey by Moyle...

Quake repairs to lift building sector report
Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:15
Earthquake repair work and Auckland house building could boost New Zealand's $8.9 billion building sector and turn the downturn into a new growth phase.A report out today from consultants BIS Shrapnel's forecast activity through...

Real estate agents: this is how we roll
Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:10
Agents at an inner-city real estate agency are being asked to ditch their flash cars for a two-wheel personal transport machine to help them get around the Auckland CBD.James Law Realty, which specialises in apartment sales and...

City rebuild plan 'unworkable'
Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:10
Plans for Christchurch's rebuild have been criticised by commercial developers who believe it is unworkable.The Property Council made a submission to the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority calling the Christchurch City Council's...

It's bonus time - and the knives are out
Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:00
It's like Christmas all over again - for a lucky handful at least.In the high-class homes of Notting Hill, London, the mansions of Connecticut and luxury towers of Hong Kong, investment bankers are eagerly waiting for their bonus...

Robyn Pearce: 5 keys to sorting out your office
Wed, 08 Feb 2012 06:40
The GM of an international consumer products firm called me in. She described herself as a reformed paperholic - she'd read Getting A Grip On The Paper War some time before and had become a zealot for clean and orderly offices:...

If a money offer is too good to be true...
Wed, 08 Feb 2012 06:15
When Rotorua's Rongo Tahata was told he was entitled to an inheritance worth millions of dollars he knew it was too good to be true, but he was worried others might not.Mr Tahata recently received a letter claiming to be from a...