Shell New Zealand has announced it will start preliminary exploration for oil and gas in deep ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, in a 50/50 joint venture with the Chinese state-owned oil company. Shell says it will be conducting two-dimensional seismic exploration and other “non-invasive research techniques” to explore the seabed and geology of the virtually unexplored New Caledonia …

The Reserve Bank would impose the most controversial of its new tools – a limit on riskier mortgage lending with smaller deposits – if it judged those loans to be a “significant risk” to the country’s financial stability. The central bank has completed its public consultation on the use of macro-prudential tools, which aim to curb asset bubbles, and will …

Wall Street climbed to new records, and Germany’s DAX too, amid expectations that global central bank support will continue to help underpin corporate profits. Australia’s central bank became the latest to lend a hand as it unexpectedly cut its key interest rate to 2.75 percent, from 3 percent, and said it was ready to do more. Investors are betting that …