By Jenny Ruth May 29  (BusinessDesk) - The Reserve Bank has appointed three external experts to independently review the analysis and advice underpinning its bank capital proposals. The three experts are James Cummings, a senior lecturer in finance at Macquarie University,...

By Ian Llewellyn for BusinessDesk May 28 (BusinessDesk) - Leaked Budget documentation indicates the government is seeking to centralise health spending control in key areas such as mental health. National’s release of what it says is an overview of the spending in some port...

By Pattrick Smellie May 28 (BusinessDesk) - The Treasury is investigating the leak of spending decisions relating to 18 of the government's 40 departments and agencies in what appears to be the largest breach of Budget secrecy since the entire Budget was leaked in 1986. Com...

By Gavin Evans May 28 (BusinessDesk) - The global shift to a lower carbon economy will require greater development of mineral resources and New Zealand is well-placed to show how that can be done, Economic Development Minister David Parker says. Rapidly developing energy te...

By Jenny Ruth May 27 (BusinessDesk) - It’s no secret the construction industry is troubled, despite the ongoing boom. Building owners, often the government in one shape or form, have shifted more risk onto construction companies, turning already razor-thin profit margins into...

By Jenny Ruth May 27 (BusinessDesk) - Amid an action-packed week for business news, a key piece of information will arrive on Wednesday afternoon when ANZ Bank's latest business confidence survey shows whether Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's decision to drop a planned capital...

By Pattrick Smellie May 24 (BusinessDesk) - The government's decision to relax its Budget Responsibility Rules has attracted a balance of positive and negative criticism, suggesting it's pitched about right, said Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in a speech to an Auckland busines...

By Jenny Ruth May 24 (BusinessDesk) - Westpac says the Reserve Bank’s bank capital proposals will mean homeowners with an average mortgage in Auckland will be paying about $6,000 a year more in interest. The Australian-owned bank says the central bank has greatly underestim...

By Gavin Evans May 23 (BusinessDesk) - OceanaGold says the surprise rejection of a land purchase for a new tailings facility has reduced its confidence in this country’s regulatory settings. The rejection of its planned 178-hectare purchase – due to a split decision between...

By Jenny Ruth May 23 (BusinessDesk) - The Reserve Bank has provided insufficient material and analysis of its “dramatic” bank capital proposals, and they warrant “a level of scrutiny proportionate to the magnitude and breadth of its potential impacts on the wider economy,” say...

By Rebecca Howard May 23 (BusinessDesk) - The government remains committed to reducing net debt to 20 percent of gross domestic product by 2022 but plans to shift to a target range rather than a single figure, says the finance minister.  "At this point, we are looking at a...

By Jenny Ruth May 23 (BusinessDesk) - New Zealand’s smaller, locally-owned banks want the Reserve Bank to go further in leveling the competitive playing field between them and the big four Australian-owned banks. They say the central bank’s current bank capital proposals co...

By Gavin Evans May 23 (BusinessDesk) - A proposed national infrastructure commission needs to address gaps in regional planning and could play a more active role in setting standards for smaller councils to work to, lawmakers heard yesterday. The New Zealand Infrastructure...

By Jenny Ruth May 22 (BusinessDesk) - AFT Pharmaceuticals’ founder and managing director Hartley Atkinson says he’s having ongoing discussions about getting involved in providing medicinal cannabis products but the current tough regulatory environment doesn’t make it very attr...

By Jenny Ruth May 21 (BusinessDesk) - The New Zealand dollar fell against the greenback, dragged down by its trans-Tasman counterpart after Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe talked about considering a rate cut in two weeks’ time. The kiwi was trading at 65.11 U...

By Paul McBeth May 21 (BusinessDesk) - Financial Markets Authority chief executive Rob Everett wants the audit profession to explain how it adds value to investors, who are largely sceptical of their benefit.  The market watchdog commissioned Buzz Channel to survey retail a...

By Jenny Ruth May 20 (BusinessDesk) - The Reserve Bank says it will announce its final decision on new bank capital rules by the end of November. The central bank says it has received 164 submissions on its bank capital proposals and reiterated its commitment to release the...

By Paul McBeth May 20 (BusinessDesk) - Medicinal cannabis firm Cannasouth is poised to become NZX's first initial public offering in two years and is touting its ability to secure licences and strong relationships with regulators as selling points.  The Waikato-based compan...

By Jenny Ruth May 20 (BusinessDesk) - New Zealand’s major banks already hold more capital than Australian, Canadian, Austrian, Irish and Singaporean banks, a new study by PricewaterhouseCoopers has found. Domestic capital levels, when compared on a like-for-like basis, are...

By Pattrick Smellie May 20 (BusinessDesk) - The National Party proposes ambitious new trade targets for New Zealand's relations with both China and the United States in a foreign affairs discussion document released this morning for public consultation. Overseen by foreign...

By Jenny Ruth May 20 (BusinessDesk) - The New Zealand Bankers' Association is calling for a rethink of the Reserve Bank’s bank capital proposals to avoid hurting the economy. “Independent analysis by former Treasury Secretary Dr Graham Scott shows the Reserve Bank should re...

By Gavin Evans May 20 (BusinessDesk) - Building a new rail link to Marsden Point and upgrading the existing Northland line could bring forward Northport’s development as a major freight handler for Auckland and help boost the broader regional economy, an economic analysis says...