Christchurch

Colonial FS property fund profits, Westpac talks to BT, AMP reduces retail property, New standards for analysts.

Credit rating agencies Standard and Poor's and Moody's have given RSA companies credit downgrades.

Sovereign has posted an after tax profit of $65 million for the year ending June 30 and reckons it would have been much higher if the world sharemarkets hadn't tumbled.

Reports out of Australia say it is getting harder for Royal & SunAlliance to sell its Australian and New Zealand assets.

Economist Gareth Morgan has painted a gloomier outlook for world markets, compared to several high profile fund managers.

Wellington

Mortgage funds, although lacking the slightest hint of sex appeal, are the hottest asset class in the managed fund sector at the moment.

One of New Zealand’s fastest growing financial services organisations, SBS (Southland Building Society), has recently launched a range of unit trusts called Lifestages.