Shoppers can now buy nearly $80 worth of goods on a credit card at many shops without having to sign or use a Pin number.

Debate about rising house prices in Auckland and elsewhere has included discussion on the risk weights the Reserve Bank requires banks to apply to their housing lending.

Banks are slashing their long-term mortgage rates, with customers tied up for longer periods likely to save thousands.

Mortgage approvals reached their highest levels in almost four years last month, as people rushed to make the most of low interest rates.

Claims that late Timaru businessman Allan Hubbard misled investors came as no surprise to those still waiting for money out of his collapsed financial empire.

Economists expect next to no inflation when the December quarter consumer price index is released on Friday.

The local market has been hotter than the mid-January sun for the past few weeks, writes Liam Dann. Market reports have been noting fresh five-year highs nearly every day.

The New Zealand dollar rose against the greenback, even as US stocks fell, in what may be a run of safe-haven buying that's also lifted the Australian dollar.