Fonterra now looks certain to drop its farmgate payout to its farmers, after prices fell in the latest overnight dairy auction.

John Key says major companies have been asked not to exploit the gap left by other countries' trade sanctions on Russia because to do so would be a "terrible look" for NZ.

Fonterra's NZX-listed units are still causing confusion, two years after their introduction.

Aussie billionaire Gina Rinehart is planning a A$500m investment to supply infant formula to a Chinese market forecast to almost double over three years.

The Fonterra Shareholders' Fund should be able to raise its 2015 dividend forecast given it expects to pay farmers less for their milk.

Fonterra Co-operative Group shareholders used their annual meeting in Palmerston North to raise concerns over the reduced 2015 milk payout.

ANZ New Zealand chief executive David Hisco has enjoyed a solid pay rise, with his total remuneration lifting almost 15 per cent to $4.7 million.

International dairy prices showed signs of stabilising at this morning’s GlobalDairyTrade auction.

New Zealand commodity prices fell for the eighth consecutive month in October, to the lowest level since March last year.

Singapore's sovereign wealth fund has bought a half stake in some of Auckland's newest commercial buildings in the Viaduct Quarter.

Bank of New Zealand is watching dairy prices closely but has faith in farmers' ability to manage finances through dips in the commodities cycle, says chief executive Anthony Healy.

The head of Fonterra says the growing Ebola epidemic could cost the company $150 million.

Fonterra said it plans to build two new milk powder driers at its Studholme site in South Canterbury.

A Marlborough farmer wants Fonterra to stop investment spending and cut staff salaries until milk prices improve.

World dairy prices showed signs of levelling off today with the GlobalDairyTrade price index gaining 1.4 per cent at the fortnightly auction.

Fonterra has confirmed Sri Lankan officials have suspended the sale of some Anchor milk powder, amid concerns it has made children sick.

New Zealand's "rock star" economic growth of the past couple of years has been attributed to two things: high dairy prices and the Christchurch rebuild.

New Zealand commodity prices fell for a seventh consecutive month to an 18-month low in September, led by declining dairy prices.

Farmers are preparing for an austere 2014/15 season after a major drop in prices at last night's GlobalDairyTrade auction, says Federated Farmers boss.

Tatua, the small Waikato-based dairy co-operative, did well over the 2014/15 dairy season while its far bigger competitor, Fonterra, did not. The reason - powder.

A simple label to help people detect how much milk is left in their light-proof bottles is unlikely to be used by Fonterra.

Fonterra has just announced a cut to its forecast farmer payout - from $5.30 a kg of milksolids - down from $6.00.

Shares in Chinese baby-milk maker Beingmate Baby & Child have rallied sharply since Fonterra entered an alliance with the firm, which includes the Kiwi dairy giant buying a 20 per cent stake in its new partner.

New Zealand rural confidence levels have fallen to a two-year low thanks to plunging dairy prices, according to Rabobank's latest quarterly rural confidence survey.

Fonterra is expected to reveal operating earnings at the lower end of an already published forecast range for the year to July 31 when it reports its result tomorrow.

The gap between what New Zealand earns from the rest of the world through trade and investment and what it pays widened in the June quarter as falling dairy exports started to weigh on the trade balance.