New Zealand shares fell yesterday, led by Contact Energy after it flagged plans to invest offshore. Genesis Energy and Meridian Energy declined as enthusiasm for the sector cooled.

New Zealand shares fell for a second day as the kiwi dollar's slide to a four-year low sapped overseas investor appetite for high-yielding stocks.

New Zealand shares rose to a new record close yesterday as holidays in Auckland and Australia kept trading volumes light.

Mighty River Power and Meridian Energy will keep the price they charge for electricity on hold this year for the third year in a row.

Power companies' margins on retail electricity tariffs are unsustainably high, says a new report on listed NZ electricity stocks.

Genesis has raised US$150 million in its first issue of notes in the US private placement market and will use the funds to repay bank debt.

It's shaping up to be another bumper year for the NZ sharemarket, with the NZX 50 up more than 14pc and trading at record levels.

The New Zealand share market pushed higher to a new record high at midday today. Here are four reasons why.

New Zealand shares gained for a third day yesterday, paced by Contact Energy and TrustPower, as investors spooked by recent volatility sought high-yield stocks. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare rose to a record.

Investors in Genesis Energy, Mighty River Power and Meridian Energy were more than $600 million richer on paper at one point yesterday after their shares were boosted by National's decisive victory.

Investors in listed power companies appear to be betting the National Party will retain the government benches at Saturday's general election.

Analysts have mixed views on the outlook for the upcoming earnings season as some of NZ's biggest and most widely held firms prepare to report their annual results.

Kiwis sick of pesky salespeople knocking on their doors in the middle of dinner are in for some relief.

The National Government's asset sale programme is complete but the debate about the process just won't go away.

Warehouse boss Mark Powell wasn't afraid to speak candidly about his pay packet with business journalists in Auckland last week.

Strong demand for shares in Genesis Energy saw the public pool heavily scaled back yesterday, raising the ire of investors who missed out on getting their desired levels of stock but also reflecting the offer's popularity.

Intense investor interest in the upcoming float of Genesis Energy is forcing a heavy scaling back of broker and institutional share allocations well before the April 14 deadline.

Five research reports into the value of Genesis Energy shares have been released by the NZX this morning. Read them all here.

Pricing for the Genesis Energy share offer means the Govt's controversial partial asset sales programme will just make it over the line for the revised $4.6b to $5b target set after Solid Energy was taken off the block.

The Treasury would have liked more "Mum and Dad" small investors to have bought shares in electricity generators Mighty River Power and Meridian Energy.

The share price for Genesis Energy will likely be set in the mid to upper end of its range in light of the Government's decision to sell up to the full 49 per cent, say analysts.

The government will sell 49 per cent of Genesis Energy after feedback from institutions and brokers gave it confidence it didn't need to reduce the size of the selldown.

If the price is set too low, money is left on the table and assets can be sold off at a discount, writes Christoph Schumacher and Sasha Molchanov. This is neither desirable nor efficient.

Genesis Energy chief executive Albert Brantley, speaking at the launch of the Genesis Energy offer, complained about the company being labelled the "ugly duckling".