The next eight months will be lean for dairy farmers but Rabobank NZ chief Ben Russell says he is confident the downturn will be cyclical and one most farmers can cope with.

House prices in Sydney rose 15 per cent in May from a year earlier, prompting a warning of a price bubble in Australia's biggest city.

The Reserve Bank of Australia is widely expected to keep interest rates on hold when it meets this week.

The Co-Operative Bank has posted a 24 per cent lift in annual profit, while also boosting its rebate to customers.

The dollar dropped to its lowest in more than four years on concern about the outlook for the economy.

ANZ breached the Fair Trading Act for misleadingly representing interest rate swaps to some customers.

Reserve Bank will disappoint financial markets and leave the official cash rate on hold for another two years, says NZIER.

The dollar changed little overnight with major markets in the US and the UK closed for public holidays.

It's crunch time for dairy farmers this week when Fonterra releases its farmgate milk price forecast for the coming 2015/16 season.

Investors yawned at the news that five of the world's biggest banks agreed to plead guilty in a currency-rigging probe.

The dollar fell to a four-year low against the British pound after UK retail sales rose more-than-expected.

The dollar held near the bottom end of its recent trading range as investors weighed up interest rates cuts.

ASB has followed the lead of ANZ and Kiwibank and slashed its fixed mortgage rates.

The dollar fell as the greenback strengthened following better-than-expected US housing data.

Westpac could join a mortgage-rate battle after Kiwibank and ANZ slashed their home loan rates.

ANZ and KiwiBank have cut their mortgage rates as speculation grows the Reserve Bank will cut the OCR.

The New Zealand dollar declined as the greenback strengthened on optimism the US economy will rebound.

The number of mortgage holders paying break fees to cash in on near record-low interest rates has jumped, with some homeowners saving thousands from the switch.

The Government's property speculator tax crackdown will lead to large-scale real estate dumping before its October 1 start and widespread evasion and avoidance, experts say.

Economists are divided over the likely impact on the Auckland property market of new tax moves to target speculators.

The New Zealand dollar fell on speculation that potential developments could give the bank more room to cut interest rates.

The New Zealand dollar fell after the government stepped up measures to curb Auckland's bubbling housing market.

The Government has surprised the market with a stronger than expected move on property tax, writes Liam Dann.

Whatever lies ahead, your best bet is to avoid any position in which you have to sell - mortgagee sale or not, advises Mary Holm.

Learning how to budget is one of the most valuable skills you can teach your teenagers, writes Diana Clement.

Head of Auckland's biggest real estate company wants urges $500k deposit for homes worth over $1.5 million and ditching LVR for homes under $500k.

It's a tough time to be an investment banker in Southeast Asia. Mergers involving Southeast Asian companies have dropped 45 per cent this year to the lowest level since 2009.

The NZ dollar advanced against the US stoking speculation the Federal Reserve will delay hiking interest rates.

New lending restrictions to be imposed on Auckland property investors will do little to cool the surging market.