Dene Mackenzie

Australian-based Morningstar Equities is less enthusiastic about the prospects of the Fonterra Shareholders Holder Fund than most of its New Zealand counterparts.

Michael Woodhouse will get to wear a Christmas present far earlier than expected, when he is sworn in next week as a Minister outside Cabinet.

Fisher and Paykel Healthcare is at the start of of a 12-month to 18-month earnings cycle upgrade, partly driven by a strong acceleration in sales of high margin Obstructive Sleep Apnoea masks, Craigs Investment Partners broker Greg Easton says.

Multinational listed global companies are leading a revival in world sharemarkets this week, Craigs Investment Partners broker Chris Timms says.

ASB Bank defied predictions by yesterday cutting several of its home lending fixed rates. The expectation is the bank now thinks the Reserve Bank will hold off increasing the Official Cash Rate for longer than its own economists, and those economists of other retail banks, are predicting.

Investment options for the Crown financial institutions in publicly-listed New Zealand companies are close to saturation point and the institutions may look for private market opportunities in which to invest.

On a visit to Shanghai, business editor Dene Mackenzie thought he would try some of the local cuisine, and was pleasantly surprised.

Low inflation would inflame the debate on whether New Zealand was witnessing a structural shift in the evolution of inflation, ANZ economist Natalie Denne said yesterday.

The price of Fonterra's units is expected to rise further next week when it joins the NZX-50, Craigs Investment Partners broker Chris Timms says.

Investors are likely to regard the launch of Facebook's Graph Search as ''too little progress'' in the highly lucrative market of web search, Greenlight chief operating officer Andreas Pouros says.

United States technology stock prices were on the move yesterday, with interest in Facebook's announcement today pushing the price above $US32 ($NZ38.02) for the first time since July.

Economic activity surged in the three months ended December but the employment outlook suggested caution should remain, ANZ chief economist Cameron Bagrie said yesterday.

The Consumer Price Index out late this week is expected to show inflation rose slightly in the year ended December but that inflation pressures remain muted.

Removing some hospitality industry jobs from New Zealand's Essential Skills in Demand list has caused some angst. Business editor Dene Mackenzie reports on some of the concerns.

Dairy exports lifted strongly in November but that was not enough to stop a further deterioration in New Zealand's merchandise trade figures.