MIDDAY UPDATE: NZ business confidence slumps as profitability outlook sours

MIDDAY UPDATE: NZ business confidence slumps as profitability outlook sours
July 7 (BusinessDesk) - New Zealand's business confidence slumped as firms grew more pessimistic about their own profitability amid signs the domestic economy is slowing down. A net 5 percent of firms in the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research’s quarterly survey of business opinion expect general business conditions to improve, down from 23 percent three months earlier and the lowest level since June 2012. On a seasonally adjusted basis, net optimists fell to 7 percent from 20 percent the previous quarter. A net 2 percent of respon...