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  The New Zealand dollar was little changed against the Australian dollar amid expectations the Reserve Bank of Australia will cut its benchmark interest rate this week while New Zealand’s central bank will keep rates unchanged, narrowing the premium offered across the Tasman. The New Zealand dollar traded at 78.59 Australian cents from 78.65 cents in New York on Friday. …

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 …

Negotiators from 11 countries gather in Auckland today at Sky City Convention Centre for the 15th round of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) talks. Outside the door are activists of all persuasion – human rights campaigners, anti-free traders, and consumer protection campaigners – who don’t like what is happening what happening behind closed doors. TV3 reports the NZ government has been …

By Stephen Jacobi TPP negotiators meet in Auckland this week to further a plan to create jobs and growth. Everyone agrees — an unemployment rate of 7.2 per cent is unacceptably high. What is less clear is what can be done about it. New Zealand is not alone in this problem — the International Labour Organisation has forecast that in …

From the struggles of war veterans coping with PTSD to the failed Facebook IPO, here’s a look at some of The Wall Street Journal’s most compelling front-page videos of 2012.

Episode 3 of 4 is scheduled for 11am Sunday December 9 You Tube comment:  “Communism was the main force worldwide that fought for women’s rights and gender equality. Still today, China is one of few countries that gives full access for women to ALL military positions, where labor rate for women is virtually the same as for men (around 90%), …

Today, China is the second largest consumer of oil, just after the United States. The Documentary investigates the new world geopolitics that is emerging around the needs of both the world’s leading superpower and the world’s fastest growing economy to secure future supplies of oil. This is the final part of  The Battle for Oil.

Anzco Foods chairman Sir Graeme Harrison says the NZ beef trade has been impeded by the Indonesian Government’s decision to introduce quotas. “My own company Anzco Foods is New Zealand’s second largest beef exporter,” Sir Graeme told the Indonesia Forum. “We, along with others in the meat industry, have benefitted from rapid growth in shipments to Indonesia during the decade to …