When Lehman Brothers collapsed and the United States' financial system went from unstable to critical, New Zealand was already in recession.

There's been a big jump in the number of younger people trying to get mortgages ahead of new Reserve Bank low-deposit lending rules, says credit agency Veda.

The case for higher interest rates gained more weight today after subtle shifts in the Reserve Bank's language were interpreted as being more hawkish.

Is the pressure easing on the Auckland housing market? One economist thinks so, after the latest stats showed a largely flat property market.

Export commodity prices rose 0.7 per cent last month in both world price and New Zealand dollar terms.

The Reserve Bank of Australia is likely to keep the cash rate on hold this week as it awaits the outcome of the federal election and allows the August rate cut to work.

Prospective home buyers have been rushing to get pre-approval for loans with less than a 20 per cent deposit before new regulations are brought in.

Experts say tighter mortgage lending rules will only a partially ease house prices, writes Jamie Gray.

Now that we know what the Reserve Bank is doing by way of curbs on low-deposit mortgage lending the question is whether it will work, writes Brian Fallow.