New Zealand producers’ input and output prices both fell in the fourth quarter, with falling prices for electricity cited as the biggest contributor. Producers’ output prices fell 0.1 percent in the final three months of 2012, to be 0.8 percent lower than in the fourth quarter of 2011, according to Statistics New Zealand. Input prices fell 0.3 percent and were …

National Australia Bank is calling in $449.7 million of BNZ Income Securities perpetual shares which pay a coupon of 9.89 percent, the highest of any hybrid security traded on the NZX Debt Market. The perpetual non-cumulative shares were issued on March 28, 2008, when prevailing interest rates were much higher. For example, New Zealand two-year swaps have tumbled more than …

The New Zealand government had a smaller than expected first-half operating deficit after Treaty of Waitangi settlement costs didn’t eventuate in the period, and tax revenue was in line with forecasts. The operating balance before gains and losses (obegal) was a deficit of $3.19 billion in the six months ended Dec. 31, 4.7 percent smaller than expected in the December …