New Zealand shares rose yesterday, paced by SkyCity Entertainment Group and Meridian Energy as investors mulled a possible rate cut.

A newly licensed online lending service is targeting prospective homeowners who have been shut out of the mainstream mortgage market by low-equity loan restrictions.

Expectations of rising house prices remain close to historic highs in ASB's quarterly survey of housing market sentiment.

A second banking chief has denied Auckland has a housing bubble, saying many factors were combining to drive prices up including the city's sheer desirability.

Fonterra will late this month release its milk price forecast for 2015/16 and indications are that it will be towards the lower end of market expectations.

Saskatchewan, Canada's biggest agricultural province, imposed a temporary ban last month on certain investors acquiring farmland, reports Bloomberg.

An official cash rate of 3.5 per cent, which would have been base camp in previous cycles, is now being seen as the highest it will climb this time.

Vector chief executive Simon Mackenzie believes Tesla's new batteries will help transform the energy sector.

The dollar may decline this week as economists bet the Reserve Bank will start cutting interest rates as early as next month.

KiwiSaver providers are struggling to move savers out of the default funds despite a requirement by the Government to give people more information on their choices.

Warehouse Group has posted a 5 per cent gain in third quarter sales to $635m which it said was in line with expectations.

Christopher Adams on Arria and Brian Henry's bright outlook, the Milford Asset Management FMA investigation and more.

Z Energy says work has slowed on its $20 million biodiesel plant but it will be finished in the next nine months.

Shares of Heartland New Zealand rose after coming out of a trading halt as Quadrant Private Equity sells its 9 per cent stake in the bank.

Briscoe Group's sales across its homeware and sporting goods retail chains rose 4.3 per cent to $119.8 million in the first quarter.

The trial of former New Zealand Wine Company chief executive Peter Scutts over allegations of kickbacks continues today in the High Court at Auckland.

New Zealand should be the next cab off the rank in securing a free-trade deal with the Gulf Co-operation Council, with Prime Minister John Key "much more positive" about it.

The home loan environment could be "as good as it gets" for borrowers, although the potential remains for mortgage rates to track even lower, says Westpac NZ CEO David McLean.

Exchange operator NZX has bought livestock market information business iFarm for an undisclosed sum.

Market signals suggest international dairy prices will again fall at this week's GlobalDairyTrade (GDT) auction.

Xero is changing its tactics for hiring senior executives after the departures of its North American chief executive and a US-based chief financial officer.

New Zealand is the second-cheapest country in the world for Chinese property shoppers but also one of the most popular, according to a Chinese real estate site.

The amount of vacant office space in the Auckland CBD has been shrinking for the past three years as the economy grows, business confidence reaches record highs, writes Chris Dibble.

Wool prices have recovered some lost ground and are expected to remain steady throughout the year, says ASB Bank in its latest commodities report.

Representatives from the Five Nations Beef Alliance are in Maryland this week pushing for beef trade liberalisation through the proposed Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) deal.

Shares drop 9.35 per cent but chief executive says company still considering US listing at ‘optimal time’.