The agonisingly slow rate of progress in talks to avoid the fiscal cliff in the US with now less than a month to reach an agreement will remain the key focus for investors this holiday season. Progress is difficult to discern, if not absent at this point. Last week President Barack Obama warned of “prolonged negotiations”, while House of Representatives …

Reserve Bank governor Graeme Wheeler will probably keep the official cash rate unchanged at a record low this week because there’s little sign that renewed life in the housing market and Christchurch’s rebuild is stoking inflation yet. Wheeler will leave the OCR unchanged at 2.5 percent on Thursday, according to all 12 economists in a Reuters survey. Looking out over …

Senior  business leaders have signed an open letter to Prime Minister John Key in support of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations which get underway again in Auckland today.  See – TPP – Open Letter The TPP negotiations have been under attack within New Zealand over their lack of transparency, sovereignty concerns and impact on intellectual property platforms. But the business …