Reserve Bank: Which tools for what job? The battler of Ho Chi Minh City Long litigation abandoned by twice bankrupted property developer

In NBR Print today: Central banks are no longer seen as super-human – they are can-kicking, string-pushing money printers, monetary McCawbers hoping that something will turn up, write Rob Hosking and Jason Walls. New Zealand’s Reserve Bank has not been immune but it has been under fire for poor communication, keeping interest rates too high for too long and not doing more to hit house prices.

British expatriate investment banker John Shrimpton has taken on a tough fight over meat co-op Silver Fern Farms’ deal with Chinese company Shanghai Mailing but he’s no stranger to a scrap, Tim Hunter writes. After building up a successful investment firm in Vietnam, Dragon Capital, Mr Shrimpton and his business partner fell out in 2009, leading to a long legal battle and a court ruling last month from the British Virgin Islands. The case has parallels at Silver Fern

It’s undoubtedly true that Xero has stolen a march on the incumbent in the British market, Sage, Jenni Ruth writes.

But new analysis from Deutsche Bank on Sage suggests the London Stock Exchange-listed company probably isn’t exactly quaking in its boots.

Court reporter Hamish McNicol  says the long liquidation of an entity linked to a twice-bankrupted property developer who the Court of Appeal said was “needlessly delaying” the insolvency is finally wrapping up, leaving a multimillion dollar shortfall. Bank of New Zealand took possession of Paul Alexander’s Parnell mansion, near the home of Prime Minister John Key, in 2011 after failed attempts to recover his debt of $10.1 million. Mr Alexander had raised eyebrows during his second bankruptcy, which ended in 2009, after making extensive renovations to the home, which were estimated to make it worth $7 million.

Calida Smylie  finds investors are being encouraged to take another look at small-cap stocks as the blue chips’ price-to-earnings ratios become stretched. Analysts give their top picks for potentially lucrative, although more risky, small caps.

Implications surrounding Brexit are becoming more apparent. For the UK the result appears to be one of substantial economic and political diminishment lying ahead, Michael Coote opines.But China’s reactions to the South China Sea verdict and an unrelated steel-dumping complaint in New Zealand will prove an object lesson to Britain and other nations. And on a related topic, Sir Bob Jones argues Brexit was not a mistake.

Also, look out for this week ‘s special report which puts the spotlight on the Waikato.

All this and more in today’s NBR Print Edition. Out now.

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