Business

Photo: RNZ If you're refixing your home loan, it's worth pushing for a rate discount, brokers say - because there are often "secret" specials and cash back incentives available. ANZ surprised the market on Tuesday with a 5.59 percent one-year fixed term made available on its app. It was still advertising a one-year fix at 6.19 percent. The cheaper rate was available to borrowers with at least 20 percent equity. Mortgage adviser Karen Tatterson, of Loan Market, said she had not seen other banks match the ANZ rate yet but ASB had reduced a number of its rates by 10 basis points on Wednesday morning - and its one-year rate by 16. "ANZ does tend to offer a slightly lower than carded rate if we push for this but it is dependent on the swap rate and what the market expectations are." She said ...

Photo: RNZ Home affordability is improving almost everywhere in the country, but debt-to-value restrictions means average house prices in the biggest cities will continue to be a stretch for those earning an average income. Massey University's Home Affordability Report indicates there had been a 4.4 percent improvement in the national rate of affordability in the three-month period ended in August, following a trend which began in the last three months of 2023. The report shows the median house price was down in 11 regions, with the greatest decrease being in the West Coast region, where values fell nearly 12 percent or by $48,000. "These latest results have fed into the 0.3 percent decrease in median house prices we've seen overall this year," report author Dr Arshad Javed, from the Mas...

The number of people feeling stressed due to job insecurity is on the rise, the survey showed. Photo: RNZ Employers are checking in with staff about their mental health as a growing number report feeling more concerned about job security. The nib Insurance and the Employers and Manufacturers Association's workplace wellbeing survey showed 44 percent of respondents were worried about their job security, up from 33 percent in 2022. It found two thirds were anxious about money and more than a third had been affected by business restructuring given the tough economic times. EMA head of advocacy Alan McDonald said since the pandemic employers had become more aware of the mental and physical stresses in the workplace. "You see a growing number of employers looking at things like flexible work...

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. ...

Commonwealth Bank was this week charging 6.34 percent for a variable rate in Australia. File photo Photo: 123RF Do Australians get a better deal on their mortgage rates? If you're part of the small proportion of New Zealanders who prefer a floating rate, the answer is probably yes. But if you prefer a fix, it's probably no. Floating rates across the ditch are lower than what New Zealanders pay. While the cash rate is 4.35 percent, Commonwealth Bank was this week charging 6.34 percent for a variable rate and ANZ was advertising 7.4 percent. But fixed rates don't look so competitive. On Friday, Macquarie was offering a two-year rate of 5.39 percent for two years and Westpac 5.89 percent, while ANZ was offering 6.54 percent. In New Zealand this week, the cash rate was 5.25 percent and ASB ...

A man loads boxes onto an Armourguard truck. Photo: Armourguard / supplied The Commerce Commission has allowed a merger of two firms in the cash handling and transport sector, even though it will create a monopoly for the enlarged company. It has cleared Evergreen - which runs Armourguard Security - to take over rival ACM, a part of the Linfox Armaguard Group. Both firms transport cash and other precious goods (mainly for banks) restock automated teller machines and store bulk cash. Commission chairperson John Small said it had decided competition would not be substantially lessened, given the financial position of the businesses. "It is very likely that either Evergreen or ACM would cease to operate in the near future, resulting in a single national provider of wholesale cash-in-transi...

Photo: RNZ/Marika Khabazi TVNZ is lining up to buy new technology to help it sell more ads. The struggling broadcaster is planning to scrap its 1News website and invest more in TVNZ+, its on-demand platform. A tender seeking more information from the market about what it calls its 'Total TV' project closes on Tuesday. The project, to align and boost its advertising on both linear and on-demand TV, will 'transform' its capabilities, TVNZ said. It wants new technology to enable "realtime, cross-platform buying decisions and forecasting" and converged selling, optimisation and measurement of online and offline audiences for customers through a single transaction, according to a tender document. It is a significant commercial move for the company, whose revenue dropped $39m in the last finan...