Monday media round-up 08/03/10

This week's selection of personal finance stories from the last few days, plus links to related Sorted content.
 

• Insight: Savings
  New Zealanders have been bagged as bad savers but is that fair?Where is it safe to invest - and how well served are savers by investment options in this country? (Radio New Zealand National)
   
• Martin Hawes: Allocation, allocation
  "Managed funds are continually in the news - and with more than a million people in KiwiSaver, this will be the case for the foreseeable future. This is a good thing..." (NZ Herald)
   
• Mary Holm: GST shuffle looks fair for super
  Mary answers readers' letters about the impact of a rise in GST on NZ Super, buying a rental property from overseas, and KiwiSaver issues for under-18s. (NZ Herald)
   
• Diana Clement: Chile quake an insurance wake-up call
  Kiwis are risking their homes by under-insuring and failing to understand their cover. (NZ Herald)
   
• Brian Gaynor: Hanover house of cards doomed to fall
  "A number of recent developments, including the massive write-down of Allied Farmers' Hanover loan book, illustrate once again that many of our finance companies ended up like little more than giant Ponzi schemes." (NZ Herald)
   
• Plenty at stake for companies in ratings game
  When you got a B grade in high school it was something to write home about. But investing in a finance company with a B grade could mean you have a one in five chance of losing your money over a five-year period. (NZ Herald)
   
• Retirement planning: Single female, 50s
  Retirement planning is daunting at the best of times. For a single female, it can be downright scary. (Stuff)
   
• Alarm over adviser law change
  Contrary to aspirations to be a financial services hub, proposed regulations may make New Zealand a "laughing stock" in international investment circles, experts say. (Dominion Post)
   
• Monitor wants more power over KiwiSaver
  The Government official in charge of monitoring KiwiSaver schemes has called for greater powers to keep the schemes in line. (Dominion Post)
   
• House values grow at slower pace
  Residential property prices continued to pull ahead of year ago levels in February, but values in many areas have flattened in the past few months, new figures from QV Valuations show. (Stuff)

Related Sorted content
 

• Saving
• Retirement planning
• KiwiSaver
• NZ Super
• Investing
• Insurance
• Credit ratings