The father of one of the Westpac runaways has gambled away nearly $1 million of the bank's money.

Reciever says he's not surprised the SFO is looking at certain loans.

Over 9200 NZers have saved $75,000 in the two weeks since ASB launched a programme directed at helping customers save.

Shares on Wall St advanced overnight, helped by better-than-expected results from Citigroup and expectations the Federal Reserve would further ease monetary policy.

New Zealand probably recorded the tamest inflation in a decade in the third quarter, helped by a tepid economy and a rapidly appreciating currency.