Manufacturing activity in New Zealand improved slightly in December but was still at the second-lowest level recorded by the BNZ-Business NZ performance in manufacturing index (PMI).
Prime Minister John Key will be welcomed to Ratana at 1.30pm today, in a visit to a place which has special significance for political leaders.
News that Health Minister Tony Ryall has ordered his ministry to cancel a conference next month of more than 300 health professionals has caused a mild case of hand-wringing in Wellington, particularly from the Opposition.
Opposition leader Phil Goff combined work with a holiday in South Australia when he met with long-time friend South Australia premier Mike Rann to talk tactics.
Inflation and interest rates look set to fall faster and earlier than expected this year but the latest predictions come with a warning for households that there will be some hidden barbs along the way.
No-one really expects to read a headline this week of newly-inaugurated United States President Barack Obama having his BlackBerry surgically removed, although it does seem Mr Obama is particularly attached to his device.
Inflation is set to plunge to zero by September this year, 12 months after it reached an 18-year high of 5.1%, Westpac chief economist Brendan O'Donovan says.
Lower energy use in the United States and ongoing redundancies helped push oil prices below $US34 ($NZ63.60) a barrel yesterday, close to a five-year low.
Sky Network Television and Fletcher Building were providing some good investment opportunities in current market circumstances, Forsyth Barr broker Suzanne Kinnaird said yesterday.
World growth was set to drop to its lowest level in 10 years and no region would escape the fallout from the credit crisis, credit reporting and business intelligence firm Dun and Bradstreet said yesterday.
Fixed mortgage lending rates have started to fall more than two weeks before the Reserve Bank is predicted to slash its official cash rate by 1%.
Prime Minister John Key must act decisively as soon as possible to introduce steps to stave off what is increasingly looking like another year of recession.
New Zealand's growing debt has led international ratings agency Standard & Poor's to downgrade the outlook for the country's external credit rating to negative from stable.
More gloom and pessimism was heaped upon the business community yesterday with the release of the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research's (NZIER) quarterly survey of business opinion.
For someone born in St Andrews, Scotland, the home of golf, Duncan Simpson could be said to be heading for a dream job as chief executive of the Professional Golfers Association.
Everyday borrowers might not have much to cheer about this year despite interest rates falling significantly in recent weeks.
Many investors were facing uncertainty about the return on investment they could expect as interest rates continued to fall, Marac chief financial officer Alan Williams said yesterday.
Changes late last year to parts of New Zealand's employment law have set the scene for an intense period of reviews of the Employment Relations Act.
From the employee perspective, the job market has clearly toughened up in recent months and the situation isn't expected to improve much over the coming year
Retail banks do not appear to be playing fair when it comes to business lending, despite the 90-day bank bill interest rate falling to the lowest it has been in nearly seven years.
