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Photo: RNZ The tit for tat interest rate battle between retail banks continues with Kiwibank cutting fixed home loan and deposit rates across the board following falls in wholesale rates. The bank has responded to recent cuts by the market's biggest lender, ANZ, matching it for most durations, but with a market leading one-year rate of 6.29 percent. Kiwibank has shaved between 4 basis points from its six month loan to as much as 20 basis points for its longer term fixed terms. The six month rate has become a favourite among borrowers looking to position themselves for further falls. The state-owned bank has also reduced deposit rates between 10 and 30 basis points. The rate cuts reflect falls in wholesale interest rates in New Zealand and on global finance markets as slowing inflation ha...

People who have $5 to invest should have the same choices as people with $5 million, Brooke Roberts believes. She shares her ideas for the RNZ series RICH: The meaning of wealth in Aotearoa. In 1986 when I was 11-years-old my school teacher, Miss Edmonton, used to bring newspapers in to class and get us to go through the stock market listings and pick our favourite shares. This theoretical exercise in the name of financial literacy was thrilling, because almost every day our shares climbed. Miss Edmonton's enthusiasm for shares was not unique, the stock market at the time was surging in the wake of the Lange government's free market reforms. Kiwis from all walks of life were investing, and it was paying off. But the easy money didn't last. On October 20, 1987, the stock market crashed and ...

The events took place when the person was a junior employee at the bank in 2020 and 2021. Photo: 123RF The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) has filed criminal proceedings against an individual connected to Heartland Bank for insider trading. The regulator alleged the individual traded and encouraged others to buy or hold shares in the bank's parent company, Heartland Group Holdings. It said the events took place when the person was a junior employee at the bank in 2020 and 2021. The FMA claimed the person also disclosed information that was not available to the public to others. Heartland Bank confirmed the former employee appeared in the Auckland District Court on Tuesday. In a statement, the bank and Heartland Group Holdings said they were not parties to the court case and have coope...

Spark confirmed it plans to cut $50 million, or 10 percent, from labour costs in the current financial year ending June 2025. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon Telecommunications firm Spark is offering litte detail about another round of job cuts expected by the end of the year. Spark's full year earnings for the year ended June showed earnings and margins under pressure following what it described as a challenging year. It planned to change its operating structure, which began in 2024, resulting in some 190 fewer staff. "This of course includes all movements as people come and go from the business, not only changes we have made to our operating model," it said. Spark declined to talk about how it was achieving labour cost savings, other than to confirm it planned to cut $50 million, or 10 per...

Photo: RNZ The tit for tat interest rate battle between retail banks continues with Kiwibank cutting fixed home loan and deposit rates across the board following falls in wholesale rates. The bank has responded to recent cuts by the market's biggest lender, ANZ, matching it for most durations, but with a market leading one-year rate of 6.29 percent. Kiwibank has shaved between 4 basis points from its six month loan to as much as 20 basis points for its longer term fixed terms. The six month rate has become a favourite among borrowers looking to position themselves for further falls. The state-owned bank has also reduced deposit rates between 10 and 30 basis points. The rate cuts reflect falls in wholesale interest rates in New Zealand and on global finance markets as slowing inflation ha...