Tougher sentences handed out to former directors of Lombard Finance & Investments were part of a regime to protect investors, and a major factor in underlying the seriousness of the case, according to the Crown. Former Justice Ministers Doug Graham and Bill Jeffries, former PR man for the Queen Lawrie Bryant and Lombard’s ex-boss Michael Reeves were appealing to the …

The New Zealand dollar weakened against the Australian dollar ahead of reports today which may show the Australian economy is picking up pace. The kiwi slipped to 92.31 Australian cents at 8am in Wellington from 92.54 cents at 5pm yesterday. The local currency was little changed at 82.62 US cents from 82.75 cents yesterday as investors await the inaugural testimony …

Wall Street began the week lower as investors awaited Tuesday’s testimony of the US Federal Reserve’s new chairman, Janet Yellen, to gauge the central bank’s take on the recent weakness in employment data and the overall outlook for the US economy. Yellen, who took the helm on February 1, will provide the Fed’s semi-annual testimony to the House Financial Services …