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Photo: RNZ The Reserve Bank has cut the official cash rate by 25 basis points - the first reduction in more than four years. The central bank said price pressures were cooling and expected annual inflation to fall back to its 1 to 3 percent target band in the September quarter. Updated forecasts showed the cash rate falling to 4.9 percent by the end of the year - opening up the possibility for cuts in October and November. Before Wednesday's decision, financial markets had at one stage priced in a 75 percent chance of a 25 basis point rate cut, while economists were slightly tilted towards rates being held. In the statement, the RBNZ said consumer price inflation was easing. "Services inflation remains elevated but is also expected to continue to decline, both at home and abroad, in line...

An Auckland woman says she applied for a job she didn't mean to because the ad didn't reveal who was hiring. Source link

Louise Upston. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone Benefit sanctions risk hurting families for whom it is often logistically more difficult to take up paid work, one social work expert says. People on the JobSeeker benefit are receiving warnings that their benefits are at risk of being cut if they do not keep up with their requirements, RNZ reported on Wednesday. The traffic light system for sanctions has taken effect and the system will be expanded next year. Ministry of Social Development data released last month showed there were 10,389 sanctions issued against beneficiaries in the June quarter, up 3630 or 53.7 percent compared to June 2023. Child Poverty Action Group spokesperson and Massey University lecturer Jane Lee said benefit rates had been set below a level that people needed to li...

Chief executive Vittoria Shortt said the result was a reflection of the broad economy and the financial pressures its customers were under. Photo: Supplied ASB Bank's full-year profit has fallen as a weak economy and housing market hit its lending and margins. Key numbers for the year ended June compared with a year ago: Net profit $1.45b vs $1.56b Cash profit $1.36b vs $1.51b (excludes one-offs) Total income $3.39b vs $3.49b Provisions $70m vs $64m Net interest margin 2.23% vs 2.39% The bank's run of record annual profits ended with a 10 percent fall in its cash profit as borrowing demand slowed, and it paid higher interest rates for deposits which squeezed its margins. Chief executive Vittoria Shortt said the result was a reflection of the broad economy and the financial pressures i...

The fund will help SolarZero install more household solar energy systems. Photo: Supplied The state-owned Green Investment Fund has raised $365m in capital from overseas private investors to fund solar power for New Zealand homes. It was working with SolarZero, a provider of more than 15,000 household solar energy systems, to finance the installation of more systems. Offshore investors, First Sentier Investors, Natixis Investment Managers and Societe Generale, have bought in to what the fund is calling a "pool of solar assets". Read more: NZGIF chief investment officer Jason Patrick said it was a unique offering that had proven to be attractive to foreign lenders. "What we're issuing debt off of is a pool of installed solar assets on more than 10,000 Kiwi homes and having a pool of ass...