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Interest rates may be falling - and relatively quickly - but that does not mean the end of New Zealand's mortgage stress, Corelogic is warning. Most borrowers are opting for short-term fixes, which will mean the effect of falling interest rates would be felt relatively quickly, property economist Kelvin Davidson says. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon Property economist Kelvin Davidson said the percentage of "non-performing" loans, which are at least 90 days overdue or considered impaired, had lifted to 0.6 percent of all mortgages. That was the highest level in a decade. Davidson said while it was only about half the rate of 2009 and 2010, it was a concern and could continue to rise because unemployment was increasing. "Based on Reserve Bank figures, the trading banks themselves recently s...

TVNZ in Auckland. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi Analysis - TVNZ has told its staff of a new cost-cutting reorganisation, which will further reduce the state-owned broadcaster's scope and scale. Mediawatch looks at the background to this - and asks if last year's scrapped media merger was a missed opportunity. On TVNZ's Q+A recently, ACT leader David Seymour said history would show charter schools had been a success. "In a decade's time, you'll be interviewing someone (about that) - and looking exactly the same," he told the youthful TVNZ host Jack Tame. "I think the future of the media is even bleaker than that for politicians," Tame replied with tongue-in-cheek ... sort of. After TVNZ announced big cuts to news in March, Jack Tame told listeners of his Newstalk ZB show "trying to save fr...

As Americans go berserk over Prime Day sales, will New Zealand ever get an Amazon warehouse? Photo: Unsplash It's tough with the global force of social media, especially the happenings thrown at us from those cultural imperialists in the northern hemisphere. We think we're having a Brat Summer even if it's the middle of the New Zealand winter. We turn up to vote on Tuesday 5 November and realise it's not our election. And now, our social feeds and US news sites are full of something called Prime Day. It's a ridiculously good sale with online retailer Amazon where prices are slashed on everything from electronics to pet care products to clothing to anything you can think of really. But many New Zealanders can't capitalise on the sale because it requires a monthly or yearly Prime membersh...

Sharesies' new move gives members direct exposure to the largest 500 US-listed companies across all sectors. File photo. Photo: 123RF Sharesies is offering its KiwiSaver members the opportunity to invest in individual US stocks, or via a new US500 fund - but there's a warning they need to take care doing their own stock-picking for their retirement savings. Sharesies is launching a US500 fund with direct exposure to the Vanguard S&P500 ETF which includes the largest 500 US-listed companies across all sectors. Sharesies KiwiSaver members will also be able to choose to invest in a range of individual US stocks including Meta and Apple. There is a 5 percent limit on investing in a single stock via KiwiSaver and at least 50 percent of the investor's portfolio needs to be in base funds. ...