Weekly Wrap: A week of deals
Three deals hit the headlines this week, including one late Friday. Check out our round up of what's been happening during the past five working days.
Friday, March 30th 2007, 4:48PM
There’s
no doubt that Wednesday’s
deal between St Laurence and Dorchester was a
stunner.
Very few people would have predicted that the two would
enter
a relationship which has all the hallmarks of turning
into
a full-blown marriage (with possibly a few jilted
lovers and
former partners around too).
I comment some more on this deal in Phil’s
Blog – but the key message is that people
have to
rethink about who Dorchester is and where it is going.
 |
Karma
between Dorchester and St
Laurence |
The other significant story is that MFS has gobbled up another firm. This time it is Swains which Northplan (Vestar) already had a 20% stake in. It is a trend we discuss in the April issue of ASSET Magazine.
Monday is not quite April Fools’ Day, but it is no joke for advisers. The new tax rules for offshore investments kick in then and it is clear there is still a heck of a lot to learn about these rules.
On the investment front we have a story from a Vestar presentation to accountants and lawyers this week on its take on investment markets. Economist and ASSET columnist Donal Curtin gives his take on what markets are hot and what’s not.
If
you
put money on deposit then you need to be keeping a
constant
eye on the market at the moment. Generally most of the
changes
occur around the first of the month. With April 1 days
away,
and an official cash rate increase in the bag, mixed in
with
aggression from the banks, we are seeing numerous
increases
in deposit rates. You can check out what is happening
at www.depositrates.co.nz
Also in the news on that part of the site is the
failure of
another finance company which has been operating in New
Zealand.
Read about it here.
 |
|
While
the Deposit taking market has been mad, so too has the
mortgage
rate market. We have seen numerous changes and rates
are going
up, up, up. Frankly refinancing a loan now (or taking
out
a new one) isn’t a particularly attractive
option. Good
Returns’ Mortgage
Centre has all the rates, plus you can compare
historical
rates. Click on this link
and it will show you how much two-year fixed rates for
three
banks have gone up this year.
Also in the Mortgage Centre we have a story on the red
bank’s
Green
Home Loan and a story on how mortgage brokers are
grabbing market share.
Insurance advisers are being inundated with roadshows and new offerings at the moment. Late last week we reported on AXA’s new products and changes to its commission structure. This week we have a report on AIA’s roadshow. Also of interest to insurance advisers will be the changes to the PIE tax rules.
No Weekly Wrap is complete without a People update. We have one senior appointment at Money Managers and Good Returns understands the firm will have a new boss soon. For all the latest appointments go to the People Section.
And to end this week’s newsletter we have a BRICK – not something which will weigh you down though. Find out all about Liontamer’s new capital protected fund in the Special Report.
| « MFS buys Swains advisory business | Sovereign takes regulation bull by the horns » |
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