(Updates to show Mercury's extra tax charge in 1st, 4th & 5th paragraphs; corrects headline; updates share price in last paragraph.) By Victoria Young July 8 (BusinessDesk) - Inland Revenue has won a tax case against Mercury NZ over the tax classification of two of its turb...

By Paul McBeth July 5 (BusinessDesk) - Foreign buyers will end up in the red after agreeing to pay almost $3 million in penalties for purchasing rural land north of Auckland without Overseas Investment Office consent.  The High Court yesterday ordered Chinese businessmen Zh...

By Paul McBeth July 4 (BusinessDesk) - Reserve Bank governor Adrian Orr says the prudential supervisor will have to be more sceptical in its oversight of the insurance and banking sectors given the lack of self-discipline shown in the CBL Insurance case.  The central bank y...

By Paul McBeth July 3 (BusinessDesk) - The failure of CBL Insurance was a "dramatic" example of the inadequacies of prudential regulation and supervision for insurers and backs the case for greater resourcing, according to a report on how the Reserve Bank handled the case. ...

By Paul McBeth July 3 (BusinessDesk) - Quotable Value has a watching brief on whether new law requiring proper insulation on rental properties will drive up rents as expected, at a time when Auckland's slowing housing market is dragging down national prices.  Regulations re...

By Paul McBeth July 2 (BusinessDesk) - New Zealand's government will buddy up with like-minded countries to build a rules-based order supporting a peaceful and stable online environment at a time when state-sponsored cyber attacks are on the rise.  Broadcasting, Communicati...

By Pattrick Smellie July 1 (BusinessDesk) - Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern took an opportunity to show how low the ANZ Bank's stocks have fallen with the government, turning a question about the bank's fears about the impact on the economy of Reserve Bank capital-holding rules...

By Paul McBeth July 1 (BusinessDesk) - Bank of New Zealand says it will need to raise equity if the Reserve Bank's proposals for stricter capital requirements go ahead, and may not be able to rely on parent National Australia Bank. BNZ told the regulator that the proposals...

By Paul McBeth July 1 (BusinessDesk) - The Reserve Bank will loosen its curbs on mortgage lending provided it sees stable household debt-to-income levels, prudent lending standards from banks, and moderating house price inflation.  Deputy governor Geoff Bascand says the ban...

By Pattrick Smellie June 27 (BusinessDesk) - The departing secretary to the Treasury, Gabriel 'Gabs' Makhlouf has issued an apology for his department's lax website security and agreed that he got it wrong in describing the resulting breach of Budget security as a case of bein...

By Rebecca Howard June 27 (BusinessDesk) - Stock exchange operator NZX has made positive changes to its market surveillance since concerns were raised a year ago, the Financial Markets Authority's latest annual review found.  "This year’s review acknowledges the positive ch...

By Rebecca Howard June 26 (BusinessDesk) -  Banks and insurance companies regulated by the Reserve Bank can expect the central bank to be more "intrusive" as institutional self-discipline has been lacking, says the central bank's deputy governor Geoff Bascand.  "Regulated e...

By Paul McBeth June 26 (BusinessDesk) - The parent company of the former Hawkins businesses tipped into receivership has been ordered to pay $1.1 million of court costs for exploiting the looming failure and delaying a leaky school claim brought by the Ministry of Education. ...

By Paul McBeth June 25 (BusinessDesk) - Milk testing technology firm GEA Milfos International will pay $925,000 in penalties and costs after admitting that it fixed prices on milk sensors with rival Dairy Automation.  In the High Court in Auckland last Thursday, Justice Edw...

By Paul McBeth June 24 (BusinessDesk) - The Financial Markets Authority and Reserve Bank want a better grasp of how bank executive incentives have evolved and what controls are in place to avoid conflicts with sales practices.  The regulators today said all banks have outli...

By Paul McBeth June 24 (BusinessDesk) - The Court of Appeal has overturned a ruling that ANZ Bank New Zealand doesn't have to compensate a Taranaki farming family for the way it had represented the risk attached to interest rate swaps.  The High Court turned down a bid by S...

By Rebecca Howard June 24 (BusinessDesk) - The Reserve Bank is demanding ANZ Bank New Zealand provide assurance it is operating in a prudent manner after it was censured in May and the bank says it will work with the regulator.  The central bank is using powers under sectio...

By Pattrick Smellie June 18 (BusinessDesk) - Spark's offer of free access to streaming coverage of the Rugby World Cup in return for signing up for broadband or mobile phone services is undercutting competitors in exactly the way Spark warned would happen had Vodafone and Sky...

By Jenny Ruth June 17 (BusinessDesk) - ANZ Bank’s New Zealand chief executive David Hisco’s sick leave has turned into his permanent departure as board concerns about personal expenses surface. The bank has confirmed Antonia Watson, who previously headed retail and business...

By Paul McBeth June 13 (BusinessDesk) - The government expects to have a new legislative framework in place next year to let film workers negotiate collectively but it won't include all screen work.  Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Iain Lees-Galloway today announced...

By Paul McBeth June 11 (BusinessDesk) - The Commerce Commission won't impose tougher regulation of Chorus's backhaul services after finding no evidence that higher costs in low traffic areas were driving up retail prices.  The regulator started a study into backhaul service...

By Pattrick SmellieJune 11 (BusinessDesk) - Rejecting the proposed merger between New Zealand news publishers NZME and Stuff was “not one of the most difficult decisions at all” for Mark Berry in his 10 years at the helm of the Commerce Commission.Speaking to BusinessDesk as he p...