The banks are at war again, slashing mortgage rates to new record lows. One-year special fixed rate terms are now under 2.5% for those with more than 20% equity (or a 20% deposit for first home buyers). Such a figure is hardly believable if long-term interest rates are considered. Rates across other terms are also well-down on anything anyone in NZ has seen before. So... Read more Read more

A flood of new investors are surging into share markets (also called stock markets). This isn’t just a New Zealand phenomenon, it’s happening worldwide. Here are the top seven reasons that people lose money on shares, and for a few pointers on how amateur investors can turn many of these weaknesses into strengths. 1. Most shares underperform the market average This may... Read more Read more

Greenwashing is giving a false impression or providing misleading information about the environmental status of a company or its products. These misleading or unsubstantiated claims deceive consumers into believing that a product or service is environmentally friendly or socially responsible. Although some of the environmental claims can be partly true, companies engaged in greenwashing... Read more Read more

The season of the holidays is getting further in the rear-view mirror for most of us and so are the (sometimes awkward) family congregations and gift exchanges that came with it. Holiday-related gift-giving practices are universal across every human culture worldwide. In fact, you could probably argue that major “holiday” events across all cultures are just an extravagant excuse for... Read more Read more