PRESS DIGEST-New Zealand newspapers - Feb 17

WELLINGTON, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Following are some of the lead stories from New Zealand metropolitan newspapers on Monday.

Stories may be taken from either the paper or Internet editions of the papers.

Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

DOMINION POST ( Href="Link">www.stuff.co.nz)

Investing trumping dividends: Investors may start seeing profit growth outstrip dividend growth, as listed firms start to gear up to invest during a stellar year for the economy.

- - - -

Low support for keeping flag: Fewer than two in five Kiwis want to retain the current flag, despite its defenders arguing it is the standard our troops fought and died for. A Fairfax Media-Ipsos poll has found that only 38.6 per cent do not want a change to the current blue ensign incorporating the Southern Cross and the Union Jack.

- - - -

Housing supplement comes up short: Christchurch homeowners and tenants struggling with spiralling housing costs are being shortchanged by a taxpayer subsidy that favours North Islanders.

- - - -

Greens' solar loan pledge: The Green Party is promising cheap government loans to households that install solar panels which they say will see typical savings of NZ$100 ($83.56) a year on power costs.

- - - -

NEW ZEALAND HERALD ( Href="Link">www.nzherald.co.nz)

Mobile boost tipped for Telecom: Telecom TEL.NZ is expected to have attracted more mobile customers in the second half of last year, the same market share in broadband but a slight dip in revenue compared with the same period in 2012, says one analyst.

- - - -

Outlook better for Tiwai Pt: International mining giant Rio Tinto , the ultimate owner of the Tiwai Pt aluminium smelter near Bluff, said the outlook for the metal was positive despite a 9 per cent fall in spot prices over 2013.

- - - -

Fijian military allowed into NZ to study, play rugby: New Zealand has allowed members of Fiji's military regime into the country to study public sector reforms and play rugby as the Pacific Islands nation makes "significant progress" towards elections this year, Foreign Minister Murray McCully says.

- - - -

Bankruptcy battle goes on: Authorities are continuing their fight with ex-rich-lister Jamie Peters after failing to convince a High Court judge that the former Auckland property developer should stay bankrupt for another three years.

- - - -

((Wellington newsroom tel +64 4 802 7980, fax +64 4 473 6212 wellington.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com))

($1 = 1.1968 New Zealand dollars)

Keywords: NEWZEALAND PRESS