New Zealand shares fell Tuesday, joining a global selloff as US President Donald Trump spooked markets with his ad hoc policy decisions. Meridian Energy, Warehouse Group and Air New Zealand declined. The S&P/NZX50 Index dropped 34.8 points, or 0.5 percent, to 7,050.76. Within the index, 30 stocks fell, 14 rose and six were unchanged. Turnover was $106.7 million Asian markets were weaker today as the impact of US President Donald Trump's travel ban on refugees and immigrants from Muslim-majority countries,...

Jan. 27 (BusinessDesk) – New Zealand shares rose, led by Vista Group International and NZX at an eighteen-month high, while Fisher & Paykel Healthcare dropped after US President Donald Trump said he planned to impose a Mexican tariff. The S&P/NZX 50 Index gained 20.93 points, or 0.3 percent, to 7,134.26. Within the index, 31 stocks rose, 12 fell and seven were unchanged. Turnover was $82.7 million. “It’s still pretty low volumes, it’ll start to pick up next week with earnings...

There is no doubt, ever since Don Brash as Governor of the Reserve Bank finally managed to get inflation and inflationary expectations under control in the early nineties, New Zealand has been in a long term bull market for bonds. The market value of bonds goes up as interest rates fall. A simple way to understand this is as follows. A bond issued when interest rates are high, still pays that same high interest rate even when interest rates fall. The...

As investors we all know markets can move up and down. The recent pullback on the NZX caused our market to enter into a correction (which is a retreat of 10% or more from its highs). We have since seen stabilisation in global equity markets post the US election. It is times like these that investors should look at their portfolios and make sure their asset allocation still meets their risk profile. If you are unaware of your risk profile call...

SO WHAT ARE THEY? In a nutshell, a credit rating is an independent opinion of the financial strength of a company, and more importantly, its ability to repay its debts in full and on time. WHO ISSUES THEM? They are issued by independent credit agencies, the most internationally recognized being Standard & Poor’s, Fitch Ratings, and Moody’s Investors Services. HOW ARE THEY CALCULATED? The rating agency looks at a wide range of financial measures when assessing an entity’s financial strength,...

Ramsay Health Care (Ramsay) is Australia's largest private hospital operator, capitalised at more than AUD 14 billion. Ramsay operates 223 hospitals and day surgery facilities, employs more than 60,000 staff, and manages more than 25,000 beds. Ramsay generate strong returns on capital due to its ownership of the best and most recognizable private hospitals within Australia. The population demographics in Australia are expected to support long term growth for private hospital operators. In 2015 there were 10.2 million hospitalisations (nearly...

This quarterly review we briefly profile MERIDIAN ENERGY LIMITED, GOODMAN PROPERTY TRUST, MAINFREIGHT & FISHER & PAYKEL HEALTHCARE. MERIDIAN ENERGY LIMITED - PRICE $2.55 - FORECAST GROSS DIVIDEND YIELD 9.0% Meridian is New Zealand’s largest electricity generator, producing around 30% of the country’s electricity from purely renewable sources (seven Hydro stations and five Wind farms in NZ and two Wind farms in Australia). This vertically integrated generator retails electricity to 357,000 customers in New Zealand and Australia through its two brands...

Tom McBride talks to NBR with Andrew Patterson from Sunday Business. This week Tom tackles a couple of topical subjects, namely the NZ market's reaction to Prime Minister John Key stepping down and the effect of a rising milk price forecast on Fonterra's financial performance. On the matter of mergers and takeovers, Tom provieds an update on the NZME & Fairfax Merger. rumours surrounding a SkyCity merger with Star Entertainment Group, and Bapcor's offer to takeover Hellaby Holdings.

Grant Davies talks to Sunday Business with Andrew Patterson. This week we look at the impact of Trumps election and the Kaikoura earthquake on the markets, and delve deeper into how the earthquake is impacting Tower, Freightways, Mainfreight and Tourism Holdings. We also digest the latest Fonterra payout forecast and how that will impact the rural economy. Grant Davies Investment Advisor Phone: 03 353 0795 Send an Email View Bio

Tom McBride talks to NBR with Andrew Patterson from Sunday Business. This week Tom tackles a couple of topical subjects, namely the recent pull back on the NZ market, what can we expect from this year's AGMs, and the recent scandal regarding Crown Resorts in China and whether SkyCity should be concerned.