A High Court bid by Fletcher Construction to bankrupt New Zealand property developer Nigel McKenna was this morning adjourned by Associate Judge Jeremy Doogue for a hearing on May 6, The National Business Review reported. Mr McKenna’s lawyer John Billington QC told NBR outside the court that Mr McKenna had committed no acts of bankruptcy. McKenna’s Melview Featherston Street company was placed in receivership and liquidation in December after it skipped court ordered payments to Fletcher Construction for building the Wellington Holiday Inn.

The New Zealand company behind stages two and three of Queenstown’s ambitious hotel/apartment development, Kawarau Falls Station, has been placed in receivership, Scene.co.nz reported. Grant Thornton New Zealand Ltd’s Tim Downes and Richard Simpson were appointed receivers and managers of Peninsula Road Ltd on Tuesday this week. The receivership is another blow for Peninsula Road shareholder/director and high-profile Auckland developer Nigel McKenna.

Two brothers' dreams of owning and running a large scale sheep and beef farming operation in New Zealand’s Central North Island have seen their ambitions disappear - with the announcement of a receivership sale of their sizeable landholdings, Voxy reported. Pohonui farm and Rosemerryn farm - both west of Taihape - were purchased only a few years ago when the farming sector was booming.

New Zealand-owned kitchen and appliance chain Autel is in receivership after being buffeted by the housing downturn and pressure from big international chains, The New Zealand Herald reported. Kerryn Downey and William Black of McGrathNicol have been appointed receivers and managers of three companies that sell imported kitchen and laundry goods: Autel TV Services Limited, Lifestyle Appliances (2004) Limited and Prestige Appliances NZ Limited.

Australian firms will find it easier to sell bonds in the U.S. after Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s government said it would reverse a court decision that ranked shareholders equally with creditors, Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. said, BusinessWeek reported. Some U.S. private placement investors had put Australian bonds into the “too-hard basket” on concerns that the Sons of Gwalia ruling would lower their ranking in the event of a default, ANZ head of debt capital markets Brad Scott said in a Feb. 5 briefing to investors.

Salthouse Marine Ltd, a historic and respected New Zealand maker of motor yachts, is in the hands of a receiver and is closing with the loss of about 50 jobs, TVNZ reported. Receiver John Price of HPL Partners said he was called in last Thursday by a private investor. "I have closed the company and all of the staff have been laid off," Price said. Two boats near completion were being finished and a decision was yet to be made on a large project. He declined to put a figure on the size of the receivership.

Ten stores from the Stax women's clothing chain have gone into receivership, The New Zealand Herald reported. About half the chain, those stores owned by Topsco International NZ Ltd are being close, while the rest are unaffected. Kenneth Brown and Paul Manning of RHB Accountants have been appointed receivers. The Stax website lists 21 stores across New Zealand. Stax's website says it has "no collection to display" under the "Season's Collections" tab. It also says a new website is about to be launched.

Mitre 10 Group says its three Wellington stores in receivership were trading profitably, but the owner's investments outside of his Mitre 10 interests were behind the collapses, The New Zealand Herald reported. The Crofton Downs, Rongotai and Tory St stores continue to trade, and the receiver is marketing them for sale individually or as a group. All Mitre 10 stores are owner-operated. The group's head office said it had been assisting the receiver with stocktaking at the affected stores.

The euro fell to the lowest level in five months against the dollar on concern Greece’s deteriorating finances will weigh on the region’s economic recovery, Bloomberg reported. The 16-nation currency also approached the lowest level in more than nine years against the Australian dollar on speculation European Central Bank Executive Board member Juergen Stark will reiterate his bearish outlook for the region’s economy and the budget deficit in Greece when he speaks today.

Two quarters of economic growth after five quarters of contraction is positive news but New Zealand’s recovery remains fragile, Finance Minister Bill English says, The National Business Review reported. GDP figures released today show the economy grew 0.2% in the September quarter and the June quarter has been revised upward from 0.1% to 0.2%. For the year to September, the economy contracted 2.2% compared with the year to September 2008. Mr English said the recovery remained fragile and any further problems abroad could weaken New Zealand's growth prospects.