The Commerce Commission says farmers concerned about the way their interest rate swaps were sold to them have until the end of the month to contact the regulator otherwise they may miss out on future compensation claims. The antitrust regulator is investigating the alleged mis-selling of interest rate swaps in the rural sector by the New Zealand branches of the …

The Reserve Bank won’t start lifting restrictions on home loans with small deposits any earlier than late in the year, with the limits cooling demand in the country’s housing market, deputy governor Grant Spencer says. The restrictions have slowed house price inflation by about 2.5 percentage points and strengthened banks’ balance sheets by reducing the level of high loan-to-value ratio …

The New Zealand dollar dropped to its lowest in more than a week against the Australian currency on improving economic prospects across the Tasman. The kiwi touched 91.91 Australian cents early this morning, its lowest level since April 28, and was trading at 92.21 cents at 8am in Wellington, from 92.40 cents at 5pm yesterday. The local currency edged lower …