New Zealand’s Reserve Bank, concerned about spiralling house prices causing financial instability, could force lenders to limit borrowings as early as next month, economists say. Submissions on the Reserve Bank’s proposal to restrict bank lending on low-equity loans closed on July 3. A summary of submissions, along with the central bank’s response, is likely to be published ahead of an …

State-controlled power company MightyRiverPower will join the benchmark NZX 50 index later this month as the sixth biggest company on the stock market. With MRP’s inclusion in the index from July 22, four of the country’s 10 largest NZX companies by market capitalisation will be electricity sector players, with Meridian Energy’s $3.3 billion or so float hanging over the market …

The New Zealand dollar is heading for a 2.1 percent weekly gain against the greenback after the local currency jumped to a three-week high yesterday when investors reassessed whether the US Federal Reserve will start slowing down its money printing programme. The kiwi rose as high as 79.68 US cents this week, trading at 78.68 cents at 5pm in Wellington …