Politicians are stepping into the debate over ING’s rescue package for its CDO fund investors, just days before the final deadline looms.

ING investors reach end of timeline; Code Committee due to be announced; Call for Marlin to delist; Slow but steady for insurance industry

BNZ boosts 18-month deposit rates, cuts one-year terms;Fonterra slashes perpetual bond returns in response to record low OCR; RBNZ says competition pushes deposit rates up.

This week's news has, to some degree, reflected the changes going on in adviserland at the moment.

BNZ chief economist Tony Alexander is opting for three year fixed rates, as his preferred lending option, although these rates are significantly higher than shorter duration rates.

Auckland

UPDATED: South Canterbury Finance is teetering on the edge of moving into junk bond status.

Real recovery will take a while.   Peter Lynn describes how people will start to spend again.  But, that could be more than a year away.

In this edition of Tyndall Comment, we explain why our research indicates that recent market rally optimism is premature.   Production is now beginning to track lower demand levels, households are saving more and spending less - and, governments across the world are less able to provide fiscal support for their economies.  Even with "hold-out" countries like Australia, the outlook is notably weaker.

Wellington

Managed fund research house FundSource has produced its first ever research report on a Liontamer fund.