The government is set to claw back some $33 million in the first distribution following the failure of Macot Finance, the Timaru-based finance company that is one of two entities to call on the government’s retail deposit guarantee, according to the latest receivers’ update.

New Zealand house prices edged up in December as the property market continued to recover from its trough last year, though activity was at a "concerning" low level.

PGG Wrightson loses ground; Govt payout on Strata Finance still unclear.

The pace of residential home-building continues to pick up, although few new apartments are being built and non-residential construction is down across most sectors, according to November 2009 building consent totals released this morning by Statistics New Zealand.

UPDATED: First NZ Capital has helped with the establishment of a new funds management firm, however isn't planning to use it to manage its own funds.

Fidelity Life has paid out some $10.9 million in interest payments to about 1,400 investors after it suspended payments last year due to the global credit crunch.

Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s will retain its ‘wait and see’ attitude around South Canterbury Finance as the finance company undergoes an overhaul with Timaru-millionaire Allan Hubbard’s Southbury Group.

Strategic Finance's chief executive Kerry Finnigan has wound back the amount of hours he is devoting to recovering loans for the business as the board reviews his contract a year on from the moratorium in December 2008.

House values rose 2.8% last year after they hit a bottom in April, and steadily improved from there, according to QV Valuations.

In the lead-up to the holiday period, receivers PricewaterhouseCoopers and Deloitte gave investors updates on the state of a handful of failed finance companies - though not all of them gave cause for Christmas cheer.

Failed finance company Bridgecorp receivers have all but given up hope of clawing back any money for investors from the ill-fated Momi resort development in Fiji.

Commercial property owners and investors will be left to “foot the bill” of a proposed land tax, according to the Property Council of New Zealand.

Six institutions have pulled out of the government’s retail deposit guarantee after they decided not to accept the latest round of tweaks to the scheme.

Marac will test the waters early next year when it launches its first term deposit not covered by the government's retail deposit guarantee scheme.

House prices are set to decline as rising interest rates and tougher credit conditions deter a second wave of buyers from entering the property market, according to ANZ National Bank’s property gauges.

Cash PIEs have been incredibly popular attracting billions of dollars of investors' money since they were invented several years ago. However, changes to the government's deposit guarantee scheme will see them lose their protected status.