Services have poor start to year
Services have poor start to year
Otago and Southland service sector businesses had a tough start to the year, according to the latest BNZ Capital-Business NZ performance of services index (PSI).
Dene Mackenzie
Westfield to cut dividend as customers close wallets
Westfield to cut dividend as customers close wallets
Westfield Group, the world's largest shopping mall owner by market value, warned it would cut its dividend by as much as 9% in this year because as higher finance costs and a retail downturn in the United States, Britain and New Zealand would hit earnings.
Investors sticking to fixed rates
Investors sticking to fixed rates
Fixed interest investors face some anxious times as interest rates continue to fall, Forsyth Barr investment adviser Tony Conroy says.
Call for Govt cash injection
Call for Govt cash injection
Otago Chamber of Commerce chief executive John Christie is urging the Government to inject money into existing Otago regional development projects.
Ugly jobs news expected
Ugly jobs news expected
Unemployment is about to start rising rapidly with the first signs of that to be seen in the December household labour force survey figures due on Thursday morning.
Hopes that Government will simplify compliance
Hopes that Government will simplify compliance
The Government on Wednesday will announce its next plan to help the New Zealand economy grow its way out of recession. The emphasis will be on ways to help small to medium-sized businesses. Business Editor Dene Mackenzie looks at some of the options.
Challenges ahead for Forsyth Barr manager
Challenges ahead for Forsyth Barr manager
Forsyth Barr sharebroker Ken Lister is returning to his earlier business experience as he takes over as the firm's Dunedin branch manager. Mr Lister talks to Business Editor Dene Mackenzie about the challenges which lie ahead of him this year.
Keep spending, Bollard advises
Keep spending, Bollard advises
Reserve Bank governor Alan Bollard did his best yesterday to talk up the economy.
Recent figures likely already outdated
Recent figures likely already outdated
Welfare payments are on the rise, the latest Government financial statements show.
Mortgages follow cash rate's 1.5% fall
Mortgages follow cash rate's 1.5% fall
Mortgage lending rates started falling again yesterday immediately after the Reserve Bank cut its official cash rate by 1.5% to 3.5% - the lowest it has been in the 10 years since the OCR was introduced.
Crown accounts dive further into red
Crown accounts dive further into red
The Government accounts plunged further into the red in the five months ended November with every indication that worse is to come.
Slashed Fonterra payout wipes $1.1b
Slashed Fonterra payout wipes $1.1b
Any excuses the Reserve Bank had saved for not reducing its official cash rate by 1.5% this morning disappeared when dairy company Fonterra slashed its forecast payout.
Falling income to hit dairy farmers
Falling income to hit dairy farmers
Southland dairy farmer John Clarke is warning of a dairy industry about to come under pressure after Fonterra announced a substantially reduced payout for the coming season.
Term deposits first choice for investors
Term deposits first choice for investors
Term deposits and bank savings continue to hold the top spots as best investments even as term deposit rates slip below 5%.
Key's call to freeze MPs' pay 'empty instruction'
Key's call to freeze MPs' pay 'empty instruction'
A call by Prime Minister John Key for the Remuneration Authority to freeze MPs' salaries this year has been called an empty instruction by Labour leader Phil Goff.
Slight lift for Otago-Southland in index survey
Slight lift for Otago-Southland in index survey
Otago-Southland was the stand out result in the latest BNZ-Business NZ performance in services index survey, but the good news came with a warning that it was not seasonally-adjusted.
OCR reduction of at least 1% tipped
OCR reduction of at least 1% tipped
Thursday is shaping up as a pivotal day for the economy, with several releases due that should give a picture of how bad things could get in the next quarter.
Nasty surprise for Obama
Nasty surprise for Obama
For a BlackBerry-toting president, Barack Obama probably assumed his new White House home would include cutting edge technology.
English keen to instill confidence
English keen to instill confidence
There is an air of expectation that Finance Minister Bill English is going to fix things in the economy.
PM sticks to February timing on economy
PM sticks to February timing on economy
Prime Minister John Key continued to talk tough on the economy yesterday, promising action but still sticking to his February 4 timetable