Latest FromInterest Rates
![Elderly 'struggle' with rates rises](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Elderly 'struggle' with rates rises
A general tax and grandfathering rates for the elderly are among suggestions from Grey Power to take the sting out of hefty rates rises in a new 10-year budget for the Super City.
![Auckland: Rates increases + interactive](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Auckland: Rates increases + interactive
The prospect of hefty rates increases are going down like a lead balloon in feedback on the new 10-year budget.
![Landlords hit back](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Landlords hit back
Landlords have hit back at Reserve Bank consultation on their sector, threatening to punish tenants by hiking rents if a tougher lending regime is ushered in.
![Bernard Hickey: 10-year loan fast eclipsed](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Bernard Hickey: 10-year loan fast eclipsed
Like any successful politician, Prime Minister John Key knows a week is a long time in politics, writes Bernard Hickey.
![Paul Glass: Global hopes firmly tied to US economy](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Paul Glass: Global hopes firmly tied to US economy
People who try to predict the short-term direction of financial markets are usually wrong, writes Paul Glass.
![Hope amid housing affordability gloom](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Hope amid housing affordability gloom
The Reserve Bank's indication that its next interest rate move could be down is expected to reinforce a decline in fixed mortgage rates.
![Kiwi on course for 5% drop in value against US](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Kiwi on course for 5% drop in value against US
The New Zealand dollar is heading for a 5 per cent decline against the greenback in 2014, a year which saw the kiwi soar close to a post-float high and prompted the central bank to intervene to bring it down.
![IPO pipeline predicted to keep on pumping](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
IPO pipeline predicted to keep on pumping
The initial public offering pipeline is expected to keep delivering in the year ahead, but market watchers say it will be a challenge to match or exceed 2014's bumper crop of 12 IPOs.
![NZX benchmark hits record high](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
NZX benchmark hits record high
The benchmark NZX 50 Index hit its highest point yesterday and has risen by 17 per cent in 2014, marking another golden year for local equities.
![Big four Aussie banks face shake-up](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Big four Aussie banks face shake-up
Australian banks should be forced to hold more capital to minimise their risk of failure and improve competition, the Financial System Inquiry has found.
![Auckland Council split over rates rises](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Auckland Council split over rates rises
Auckland Council is deeply divided on how to implement big rates rises next year, after Mayor Len Brown backed down on introducing rates rises of up to 40 per cent.
![Brown breaks rates promise](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Brown breaks rates promise
Auckland Council's budget committee has voted 16-7 for a proposal to increase rates by 3.5 per cent for each year of a new 10-year budget.
![NZ economy the 'ultimate Houdini'](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
NZ economy the 'ultimate Houdini'
The New Zealand economy has managed the ultimate "Houdini" act by avoiding the inflationary pressures that usually go along with strong growth, Westpac said.
![Why the poor pay sky-high interest rates](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Why the poor pay sky-high interest rates
An entire industry has grown around handing low-income earners a lifeline to the material rewards of middle-class life, but it comes at a hidden price.
![Auckland CVs jump by almost third](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Auckland CVs jump by almost third
Auckland Council will tomorrow release new valuations for more than 220 suburbs across the region for three-yearly review of CVs.
![NZ mortgage rates: How we compare with rest of the world](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
NZ mortgage rates: How we compare with rest of the world
New Zealanders are paying some of the highest interest rates in the OECD, our house buyers saddled with the punitive prices due to the regime attempting to stop runaway inflation.
![Spy fears put iconic hotel sale on hold](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Spy fears put iconic hotel sale on hold
Concerned about potential security risks, the US government is taking a close look at last week's sale of New York's iconic Waldorf Astoria hotel to a Chinese insurance company.
![Chinese group buys Waldorf Astoria](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Chinese group buys Waldorf Astoria
NYC's Waldorf Astoria hotel is set to become the biggest prize yet for buyers from China who have been pouring money into US real estate.
![Is a Reserve Bank inflation rethink in order?](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Is a Reserve Bank inflation rethink in order?
What should an inflation-targeting central bank do when inflation is proving unexpectedly slow to make an appearance?
![Reserve Bank faces mandate change after election](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Reserve Bank faces mandate change after election
In an effort to lower rates and weaken the currency, Labour is pledging to broaden the RBNZ's policy goal by re-writing its main objective.
![Central banks to lawmakers: You try growing this economy](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Central banks to lawmakers: You try growing this economy
Power of monetary policy to drive global growth is nearing its limit. Further progress depends on government leaders.
![Officials find lack of faith in Abenomics disturbing](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Officials find lack of faith in Abenomics disturbing
Japan's program of monetary stimulus, fiscal stimulus, and structural reforms hasn't created as much growth as proponents hoped it would.
![ASB profit hits $806m high](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
ASB profit hits $806m high
An improving economy helped boost ASB's annual net profit by 14 per cent to a record $806 million, but the bank's chief executive, Barbara Chapman, says bad-debt expenses are likely to begin trending upwards from their present low levels.