The following articles are sourced from The New Zealand Herald

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 08:39
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...

World sharemarkets pause on Greece
Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:48
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...

Avocado industry sets export sights on Europe and beyond
Wed, 08 Feb 2012 05:30
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...

Banks hammered for holding rates and pocketing huge profits
Wed, 08 Feb 2012 05:30
Australia's big four banks are facing an increasingly strong coalition of outraged consumers, farmers, politicians and business leaders in a stand-off over interest rates.The Reserve Bank , by deciding yesterday to resist a third...

Is the great profit engine of corporate America running out of steam?
Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:49
While other parts of the economy struggled the past two years, large companies managed to rack up higher profits quarter after quarter. Now reality is catching up with big business.As companies close their books on the final three...

World shares drop as Greece frustrates
Tue, 07 Feb 2012 07:40
European Union leaders and investors alike grew ever more impatient with Greece's dillydallying on finalising agreements on the nation's debt reform measures needed to secure another bailout to prevent default.In early afternoon...

Andrew Gawith: Investors need to be mindful of hindsight
Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:30
Ditching shares for bonds might not be best long term, writes Andrew Gawith, director at Gareth Morgan Investments. It's been a tough time for investors lately with the world's major sharemarkets struggling to produce any meaningful...

Economic squeeze takes shine off Lunar spending
Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:30
Chinese shoppers on their Lunar New Year holiday were less lavish than expected at Hong Kong jewellers.They also curbed spending on beauty brands and slowed spending at South Korean stores. They may keep that pace in the year of...

Pick-up in job market likely to be modest
Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:30
Labour market numbers due out this week are expected to show a modest pick-up in job creation in the last three months of 2011 but barely enough to nibble at the unemployment rate.Between the March and September quarters last year...

Stocks shake-up in wind as NZX looks to alter indices
Mon, 06 Feb 2012 05:30
The NZX is looking at changing the way it formulates its main indices, which could affect the price of some New Zealand's biggest stocks.The stock exchange operator released a consultation document in December on the methodology...

Smaller bonus for Goldman Sachs boss
Mon, 06 Feb 2012 05:30
Goldman Sachs Group gave chairman and chief executive Lloyd Blankfein a US$7 million ($8.3 million) restricted-stock bonus for 2011, a decrease from US$12.6 million a year earlier.Blankfein, 57, received 61,702 shares on February...

Facebook to cash in on mobile ads
Mon, 06 Feb 2012 05:30
Facebook is planning to announce that advertising will soon be allowed on its mobile apps, a move designed to bolster its flotation price.The social media group, which on Thursday filed for a US listing that could value it at as...

Bernard Hickey: Print and hope peril
Sun, 05 Feb 2012 05:30
The surge in our currency this week to a five-month high against the United States dollar and a record high against the euro highlights how we are losing in a race to the bottom.Britain, Europe and the United States are determined...

$1 billion Facebook fortune for Bono
Sat, 04 Feb 2012 05:30
Super-rich Irish rock star Bono is about to become even richer, thanks to Facebook.The initial public offering (IPO) of Facebook this week revealed that the shares Bono bought in the company three years ago could be worth about...

John Roughan: A fourth year of economic fear
Sat, 04 Feb 2012 05:30
How much longer must this credit crunch siege mentality carry on? The global financial crisis didn't happen yesterday - it just feels like it. More than three years on, economies are still in shock. If the oracles are right we have...

Downgrade blamed on weather
Sat, 04 Feb 2012 05:30
The Warehouse has downgraded profit guidance mainly because margins are being squeezed by discounting excess seasonal stock, its chief executive says.New Zealand's biggest listed retailer yesterday reduced its forecast on adjusted...

Mark Lister: Know when (and why) to buy, sell or hold 'em
Sat, 04 Feb 2012 05:30
Trying to navigate your way through the world of investment opportunities and risks is difficult even for the professionals. For everyone else, an added challenge to overcome is the confusing and overly complicated messages that come...

Wall St revels in great January
Fri, 03 Feb 2012 07:44
It's been a great start to the year and investors found little reason to change much today, ahead of January's US jobs report due tomorrow.While Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told lawmakers there were signs of improvement...

NZ shares follow overseas markets up in busy day
Fri, 03 Feb 2012 05:30
New Zealand shares rose, joining a global advance in equity markets on optimism world growth is reviving. Exporting manufacturers Fisher & Paykel Appliances and Methven led gainers even as the kiwi dollar climbed.The NZX-50 index...