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BNZ chief economist Mike Jones says there will be ongoing downward pressure on wholesale and retail interest rates. Photo: RNZ Home loan borrowers can expect rates to fall throughout the rest of this year and next, commentators say. The Reserve Bank cut the official cash rate by 25bps to 5.25 percent on Wednesday. While it was a move that was forecast by several economists, it was a u-turn from the bank's position in May. Infometrics chief executive Brad Olsen described it as a "WTH moment" and "the biggest flip-flop ever". Mortgage rates moved within minutes - Kiwibank reduced its variable rates by 25bps, passing on the full cut, and ASB dropped its floating and fixed rates. Its 18-month term dropped by 34 basis points. BNZ chief economist Mike Jones said there would be ongoing downwar...

Median New Zealand property values are now at the lowest level since early 2020. File photo. Photo: RNZ Buyers may look back on 2024 as a good time to have got into the property market, Corelogic says, despite the challenges. The property research firm has released its latest affordability report, which shows that some affordability measures have improved, but are still stretched compared to long-run averages. Median New Zealand property values are now 7.7 times the gross annual median household income, the lowest level since early 2020. It used to be said that a measure of three times would be considered affordable, but Corelogic chief property economist Kelvin Davidson said that was probably outdated, given the structural shift lower in interest rates over the past decade. He said the...

An offshore wind farm in the North Sea in the UK. Photo: 123RF / Ian Dyball Amid the challenges the energy sector is facing, offshore wind is one solution that could shore up future supply, according to Venture Taranaki. The regional development agency is currently hosting a delegation from the United Kingdom which wants to help unlock this country's offshore wind potential. Chairperson Kelvin Wright said with unusually low hydro-lake levels, high wholesale electricity prices and declining gas reserves, it was the right time to be thinking about offshore wind. The UK had the second-largest offshore wind market in the world, after China, and extensive experience in the elements necessary for making it a success, such as financing, local and international supply chain development, and reg...

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Finance Minister Nicola Willis say the government's actions have help slow inflation, which led to the Reserve Bank's 25 basis point cash rate cut. The first reduction in the cash rates in more than four years, it has led commercial banks to start cutting their interest rates almost immediately. However, it has not been received well by some economists, who criticised it as a significant shift from RBNZ's previous statements. Willis said she was very confident when releasing the Budget her tax relief package had not added to inflation, due to advice she received from Treasury. "We owe to New Zealanders discipline and better value for the money we spend on their behalf ... every New Zealander who loses a job is a New Zealander that I worry about," she sa...

Photo: RNZ The Reserve Bank's decision to cut the official cash rate by 25 basis points makes it hard to figure out what to trust of what it says, one senior economist says. The bank cut the rate to 5.25 percent on Wednesday. While that was predicted by some economists, it is a significant change from the last full update from the bank in May, when it said its monetary policy committee had discussed the prospect of another interest rate increase - and it did not expect to cut until this time next year. Infometrics chief executive Brad Olsen previously said "heads should roll" if a cut happened this week, given the economy had progressed much as the Reserve Bank was expecting it to when it forecast no cut until 2025. He said he did not expect any accountability for the rapid change of vie...

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...