New Zealanders wrote one-third fewer cheques last year than they did six years earlier, as consumers opted for quicker payment methods.

Stocks in the US advanced as better-than-anticipated earnings outweighed a decline in homebuilder confidence.

Solid earnings data from corporate America has done little to ease investors' concerns that growth in the world economy is slowing.

NZers will look back on the winter of 2010 as the moment we finally realised the last decade of growth was a sham.

New CPI figures show prices rose 0.3 per cent for the June 2010 quarter, meaning annual inflation is running at 1.8 per cent.

Stocks in Europe and the US fell after worse-than-expected US economic data bolstered concern about growth.

After contributing to a famous victory against the forces of financial bigness you'd think the Frozen Funds Group (FFG) would want to chill out a little.

CPI stats due out today will be closely watched...

South Canterbury Finance has named a former Rabobank executive to run its so-called "good bank".

Kiwibank had slowing growth and shrinking margins in the March quarter, says KPMG.

The New Zealand dollar gained on a weakening greenback after comments from the Reserve Bank of Australia yesterday spurred traders' appetite for high-yielding currencies.

Stocks in the US fell overnight, erasing an early rally, on evidence of a slowdown in growth in the US services sector.

Stocks in Europe, Brazil and Canada fell, as did oil prices, amid increasing signs that economic growth was cooling globally.

Auckland house sales slumped 16pc in June, with the average sale price falling 3.6pc from a year ago, says real estate firm Barfoot & Thompson.