The Reserve Bank raised its official cash rate to 3.5pc yesterday, but said it would now remain on hold for "a period of assessment".

NZIER's monetary policy shadow board thinks the Reserve Bank should raise the official cash rate to 3.5 per cent tomorrow, but it is a line ball call.

The Reserve Bank will probably raise the official cash rate again on July 24 while trying not to polish the appeal of a New Zealand dollar.

Economists still expect the Reserve Bank to raise its official cash rate to 3.5 per cent next week.

The Reserve Bank has revised up its estimate of the economy's potential or non-inflationary growth rate next year, but it is still shy of the levels prevailing between the mid-90s and mid-2000s.

It's all eyes on the dollar this week after the effervescent kiwi fizzed to within half a cent of a record high by 5pm Friday, writes Liam Dann.

IAG has been given the final regulator's tick to buy Wesfarmers' Lumley general insurance unit, adding to the dominance of NZ’s biggest general insurer.

Another increase in the official cash rate on July 24, to 3.5 per cent, is more likely than not.

Should you cut your KiwiSaver contributions and divert the money into paying for higher mortgage costs? Money Editor Tamsyn Parker weighs up the options.

The number of people buying homes with a deposit of less than 20 per cent is rising for the first time since the new mortgage-lending limits were introduced.

A capital gains tax would reduce the price it is rational for an investor to pay for a property by as much as 23 per cent, Westpac economists say.

The Reserve Bank is indicating the removal of restrictions on high loan-to-value home loans may be gradual rather than a now-you-see-it, now-you-don't affair.

The strength of the surge in net immigration will influence both the outlook for interest rates and how long loan-to-value ratio curbs remain in place, says Reserve Bank Deputy Governor Grant Spencer.

The contrary view to Labour's plan for monetary policy and savings goes broadly like this: It is a cute idea but it won't work, writes Brian Fallow.

Some economists are interpreting talk by Governor Graeme Wheeler that the Reserve Bank may intervene in the foreign exchange market.

The average Auckland house sale price and volumes achieved by the city's biggest real estate agency dropped from $725,708 in March to $708,603 last month.

If Labour finance spokesman David Parker is proposing a job swap with the Reserve Bank Governor he should say so, writes Fran O'Sullivan.

How fast and how far interest rates rise will depend in part on the exchange rate, says the Reserve Bank.

Another rise in the official cash rate next week remains a done deal, economists say, despite weaker-than-expected inflation in the March quarter.

New Zealand's inbound migration rose to a 10-year high last month, as China overtook the UK to become the biggest source of net migrants for the first time in a decade.

There's nothing like an interest rate increase and the promise of many more to focus the mind.

Mortgage brokers are urging borrowers to fix the interest rates on their loans and say it's not too late despite an expected increase in the official cash rate tomorrow.

The impact of the Reserve Bank's curbs on mortgage lending at high loan-to-value ratios (LVRs) on the housing market has been pretty modest so far.

The economy is not suddenly perfect just because the economic cycle has turned for the better, writes Liam Dann. There is still serious work to be done,

Rising inflation poses a threat to NZ's growth and warrant a return to more normal interest rates, Graeme Wheeler says.