NZ shares rose to a two-month high, paced by Chorus, Kathmandu and Sky Network Television as the prospects of strong economic growth drew retail investors to the equity market.

Mark Adamson, the boss of Fletcher Building, has seen the share price double at New Zealand's biggest listed company.

Councils are being blamed for the high cost of building New Zealand houses, ahead of the role played by manufacturers.

Coping with monsoons, 40°C-plus heat and waiting weeks for internet or telephone connections are challenges of manufacturing in India described by a Fletcher Building boss.

The new British-born head of Fletcher Building earned $3.3 million in the year to June 30, according to the NZX-listed heavyweight's latest annual report.

Analysts at two investment specialists have upgraded Fletcher Building's prospects because of recent success.

A Lincoln University building has been shut down after a concerned staff member took a swab of some dust which returned a positive test for asbestos.

Fletcher Building's Winstone Wallboards unit has temporarily closed a plasterboard factory in Christchurch after finding traces of asbestos in the building.

In what turned out to be a tale of two countries, Fletcher Building announced a lift in its annual net profit yesterday, with Australia's economic downturn detracting from a strong showing in New Zealand.

Australia has old-fashioned union arrangements and needs "a dose of Margaret Thatcher," says Mark Adamson, the British chief executive of Fletcher Building.

Fletcher Developments wants new houses to be taller than the Auckland Council is proposing.

Fletcher Building is making a big push into Auckland's apartment development market, forming specialist new division Fletcher Developments this year to hunt down opportunities on big sites.

Fletcher Building is aiming to win contracts worth billions, it has revealed in an investor presentation.