The New Zealand dollar fell as the threat of a hung Italian Parliament eroded investor confidence, and reignited fears Europe may be in for another sovereign debt scare. The kiwi fell to 83.40 US cents at 5pm in Wellington from 83.62 cents at 8am, and 83.63 cents yesterday. It rose to 63.82 euro cents from 63.41 cents yesterday. Uncertainty over …

New Zealand’s expected pace of inflation over the coming two years has slowed down from the start of the year, though unemployment is still picked as staying relatively high, according to the latest central bank survey. Respondents to the Reserve Bank’s March survey of expectations don’t seen any sign of rising interest rates, with consumer price inflation seen at 1.67 …

Fisher Funds expects its customers to share the benefits of a larger business in the form of cheaper fees, having stitched up a deal to buy insurer Tower’s investment business for $79 million. Managing director Carmel Fisher told a media briefing in Auckland that funds management is a scalable business in that it doesn’t take much extra resource to manage …