The double dip recession revealed yesterday in Stats NZ figures will not surprise mortgage advisers as potential clients struggle beneath high inflation, higher interest rates and lower house prices.

Mortgage lending has risen 28% since the disastrous February of last year when just $3.8 billion was lent – the lowest February figure since the Reserve Bank started data collection in 2014.

The global economy is tettering between inflation and deflation and which way it leans will probably come down to about 12 US Treasury officials, according to British-based economist Andrew Hunt.

Two small-cap stocks, Savor Group and New Zealand King Salmon Investments, staged strong earnings turnarounds, but the NZ sharemarket remained stuck in negative territory.

Australian industry veteran Jo Townsend has been appointed chief executive of the Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation.

While the usual suspects were finalists in the Morningstar Fund Manager of the Year, a new winner was announced last night.

Southern Cross is the latest insurer to be pinged by the Financial Markets Authority for not correctly applying discounts to clients.

Experienced director and chief executive Jennah Wootten has joined the board of Perpetual Guardian Group.

Aggregation business, Finsure Group, has rejected claims by the Commerce Commission that advisers are at risk of being influenced by their own financial interests when providing advice.

Well-known life insurance industry figure Peter Mensah is the new North Island regional manager at Chubb Life.