The most important point to note about the final Capital Markets Development Taskforce report is that it is only the first step in a long process.

The first Taskforce 2025 report shows that Don Brash and the other members of the review team are out of touch with reality.

The proposed Allied Farmers/Hanover Finance deal would be one of New Zealand's biggest, most innovative and high-risk commercial transactions.

A number of recent developments clearly indicate that one of the main reasons for our corporate governance problems is that major shareholders, particularly cornerstone and institutions, are far too passive.

The two major issues this week were the Kathmandu initial public offering (IPO) and the proposed purchase of 13 per cent of PGG Wrightson by Agria Corporation.

Take out your cheque book and be ready to put pen to paper. A flood of Initial Public Offerings (IPOs), instigated by private equity sellers, is about to hit investors.

There are important differences between the Rakon and Pyne Gould Corporation capital raisings announced this week.

The donnybrook between Sir Anthony O'Reilly and Denis O'Brien has big implications for the major shareholder in APN, owner of the New Zealand Herald.

The tiny size of New Zealand's capital markets, particularly the sharemarket, is because of a number of factors. But one of the main reasons is that most individuals have lost confidence in the way these markets operate, little attempt has been made to win them back and residential property appears to be safer.

The Bonus Bonds scheme, which is the country's biggest investment pool, is a massive gravy train. Unfortunately the main beneficiary of this is the investment manager, ANZ National Bank, rather than the investors who "invest" in the scheme.

The proposed recapitalisation of Fonterra will be one of the biggest business stories over the next few months. This objective will be easier to achieve following the approval of the Silver Fern Farms recapitalisation in Balclutha on Thursday.

The establishment of LPF Group, a litigation funder, is a positive development for the country's financial markets.

The collapse of Line 7, which was at least partly due to the volatile New Zealand dollar, has put our currency back in the spotlight again.

Gambling is in the spotlight as the Big Wednesday Lotto hits a record $30 million next week.

The failure of Credit Sails, where investors have lost more than 98 per cent of their money, is another indictment of the New Zealand investment sector.

Morningstar's assessment of the New Zealand investment fund sector is spot on.

The banks' reluctance to reduce their interest rates in response to the latest cut in the official Reserve Bank rate has created great controversy.

New Zealand's addiction to debt is extremely dangerous. The addiction

The recent round of equity raisings by NZX listed companies has generated a large amount of discussion and controversy. This is due to a number of factors including poor communication, confusion regarding share issue procedures and recent rule changes.

This week's Nuplex capital raising was a shambles and reflects poorly on the company's board and senior management as well as First NZ Capital, its financial advisers.

The failure of Mascot Finance demonstrates that the New Zealand Government can make the same dreadful mistakes as Guinness Peat Group (GPG).

The NZX's Indian summer came to an abrupt end at 8.52am on Monday when Fisher & Paykel Appliances announced that it was experiencing "unprecedented and difficult trading conditions" in all markets.

Australia and New Zealand's response to the worldwide economic downturn reflects our respective national characteristics.

A potential merger between Australia and New Zealand was one of the talking points over lunch at a Sydney investment conference this week. Several Kiwis expressed the view that the proposal was worth looking at, although the Australians present seemed to be less enthusiastic.

The dreadful performance of the world's sharemarkets last year clearly demonstrates the importance of having flexible and diversified investment portfolios.