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Gisborne businesses are struggling, with many on the brink of closure. Shop owners told RNZ they have seen a huge reduction in the number of people in their stores, which is being driven by several factors including a decline in forestry and lower export prices for meat and timber. There have been job losses, with unemployment rising 1.2 percent and the region's GDP falling by 0.3 percent. Even though Gisborne's construction consents are up 40.8 percent due to the cyclone rebuild, its residents say the money is not evident in the local economy Forestry makes up 32 percent of the region's tradeable activity, but forestry harvesting has already ground to a halt in some areas of Tairawhiti - part of the fallout after the district was hit by devastating cyclones Hale and Gabrielle last year. ...

Photo: Google Maps Energy production could return to Marsden Point, with the operator of the fuel import terminal signing a conditional agreement to develop a biorefinery at the site. Channel Infrastructure said the agreement with Seadra Energy and a consortium of partners, meant the proposed biorefinery could become an anchor tenant for the Marsden Point precinct, with Channel selling a number of former refinery assets and leasing out land. The consortium included Qantas, Renova Inc, Kent Plc and ANZ. A biorefinery typically converts biomass into biofuels, biochemicals and energy, similar to an oil refinery, but using renewable biological materials. Seadra had initially signed a deal to buy decommissioned hydrocracking assets from Channel for US$33.88 million last year, with the intenti...

Photo: RNZ / Simon Rogers The Commerce Commission has declined Foodstuffs' proposal to merge its North Island and South Island divisions. Earlier this year the country's biggest supermarket operator proposed agreed to bring the divisions together to create a national co-operative. The boards of Foodstuffs North and South Island divisions currently operate separately and run a number of well-known brands including New World, Pak'nSave and Four Square. On Tuesday, the Commerce Commission declined the proposal saying it would substantially lessen competition. In a statement, chair Dr John Small said it would reduce the number of buyers of grocery products in New Zealand from three to two giving it greater buying power. "As a consequence of the substantial lessening of competition and the as...

Fletcher Building's share price has fallen from $8 to less than $3 in the past decade. File photo. Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly It might be one of the country's biggest companies, but Craigs Investment Partners has not had Fletcher Building among its recommended portfolios for the past decade, and that has served the investment firm well. A series of unfortunate events, and the cyclical nature of the business, have meant its share price has fallen from about $8 a decade ago to $2.95 this week. So what went wrong for Fletcher, and will its new chief executive and recently completed capital raise help turn it around? A number of significant events have damaged the company in recent years. It has been involved in a dispute over leaking pipes in Western Australia, installed between 20...

The construction, hospitality and transport sectors are twice as likely to be placed in liquidation. File photo. Photo: 123rf The number of company liquidations has soared, as businesses struggle to stay afloat in a slowing economy. The latest monthly report from credit bureau Centrix shows liquidations are up 19 percent year-on-year, and business credit defaults up 5 percent. Construction, hospitality and transport businesses appear to be the hardest hit, as consumers and businesses pull back on spending. That is despite an improvement in business and consumer sentiment in recent months. Centrix managing director Keith McLaughlin said the trend of difficulty for businesses often followed that of consumers. "The cost of running a business has gone up and to counter that, consumers haven...