Silver Fern buyer’s Czech bankruptcy woes, What tune is Harmoney playing? Who's next for negative interest rates?

In NBR Print today: Silver Fern Farms’ [U:SFF] Chinese joint venture partner has run into trouble in the Czech Republic where a subsidiary company has entered bankruptcy. Shanghai Maling Aquarius [SH:600073] faces financial loss as a result but says the bankruptcy was necessary because there was no ability to repay maturing debt of $18 billion. Silver Fern Farms’ chief executive Dean Hamilton says the co-op has full confidence in Shanghai Maling in terms of its future involvement with the Kiwi company. Duncan Bridgeman reports.

Peer-to-peer lender Harmoney has taken off since launching 17 months ago, having facilitated almost $200 million worth of loans with an imminent launch into Australia. But some investors and borrowers are complaining Harmoney is deliberately churning the loans to line its pockets, and that fees are too high. The Commerce Commission is investigating but Harmoney chief executive Neil Roberts tells Calida Smylie the company is doing nothing wrong.

As NZX-listed training provider Intueri [NZX:IQE] awaits sentencing on charges following the death of a Malaysian student at its dive school, NBR can reveal the company tried to sidestep an NZQA probe by wrongly claiming it was not subject to its jurisdiction. Tim Hunter reports.

New York-based Insight Venture Partners’ offer to buy software maker Diligent Corporation [NZX:DIL] for $941 million has re-ignited debate about why so many local tech companies are sold to offshore buyers. Chris Keall talks to NBR Rich Listers Sam Morgan and Rod Drury about the issue. (Listen for an interview with Mr Drury on NBR Radio today).

Meanwhile, Shoeshine looks at the merits of the Diligent merger and looks back on the company’s remarkable, choppy journey.

In Margin Call, Nevil Gibson says the surge in central banks’ embrace of negative interest rates is yet another form of monetary policy with potentially dire results.

PGG Wrightson’s [NZX:PGW] cornerstone shareholder appears to have an inflated sense of its own importance – and little knowledge of the Takeovers Code, writes Tim Hunter.

New Zealand’s perceived negative attitude to Chinese investors comes with a large price tag for the agriculture industry at a time​ it needs foreign investment more than ever, an analyst tells Jason Walls.

Meanwhile, further falls in GlobalDairyTrade auctions means banks are putting farmers under increasing pressure according to Federated Farmers. Chris Hutching reports.

Jacqueline Rowarth uncovers the myths about the price of milk in our shops compared to global commodity prices.

Contact Energy [NZX:CEN] has been bleeding customers for more than a decade and a major investment of about $250 million in a new SAP customer management system and a lot of management concentration on the problem hasn’t managed to stem the tide yet. Jenny Ruth asks whether Contact will have sparked back into life by the time disruption arrives?

In court news, Hamish McNicol covers an appeal against an order to repay more than $1.4 million to the owners of a rest home by its former husband and wife operators.

Nick Grant continues his series on Callaghan v Trends .

In political news, Labour is urging the government to do something to “stimulate” the economy, in the face of further dairy price falls, although Finance Minister Bill English appears less than keen. Rob Hosking reports.

Meanwhile, Mr English announced the budget date, and suggested, cautiously, that he might shuffle some of the $3.5 billion additional allocation – set aside for either new programmes or tax cuts - around a bit.

NBR’s special report – Executive Education.

All this and more in today’s National Business Review print edition. Out now.