New Zealanders officially have around $15.7b in consumer debt, but one money expert says it's actually much higher than that.

New Zealand shares rose as continued demand for better returns from investors faced with local interest rates drove up leading companies.

COMMENT: An investor's key task is to sift through the blizzard of data, news and information and winnow out the stuff that's just noise.

NZ is poised to exceed half a trillion dollars worth of gross debt as mortgage lending accelerates at its fastest rate since the global financial crisis.

New Zealand's household debt level is one of the highest in the developed world compared to the size of our economy.

Market prices are in 75 per cent likelihood of no OCR cut with domestic economy is solid and global outlook is improving.

COMMENT: Legislation has been taken to remove the Emmissions Trading Scheme's buy one, get one free provision.

WATCH: Auckland's property bubble is too far advanced for land supply solutions to fix it, says investor Olly Newland.

The New Zealand dollar sank against the yen after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he would delay a planned increase in the sales tax rate.

Two Hawkes Bay dairy workers were incorrectly paid and forced to borrow cash to protect their jobs.

The NZ dollar rose to a week high against the British pound, which slumped as new polling data raised concern about a potential British exit from the EU.

The Treasury warned that record levels of immigration could push New Zealanders out of low-skilled jobs, depress wages and increase housing pressures.

The former boss of Zurich, who stepped down in December, has taken his own life.

COMMENT: There are two dimensions to how you can go about not fearing failure.

New Zealand is now ranking in 16th place on the world stage for the world's most competitive economies.

Here are some of the most avoided conversations and how to prevent the need for them.

Mindfulness can help you gain career clarity and perspective

One of the country's highest-profile sporting bodies is among dozens of corporates to put staff through an alcohol awareness programme.

Look around - in the next few years, most of your colleagues will be gone, a leading workplace expert has warned. But there's good news.

The New Zealand dollar gained from a two-month low.

This country would benefit from many more people, and better preparation for their arrival.

Auckland's housing situation is as bad as Christchurch post earthquake, Minister of Economic Development Steven Joyce says.

Dubbed the Millennial Meltdown - it's a very easy trap to fall into.

COMMENT: This Budget will not be defined by what is in it, but by what is missing, Labour MP Grant Robertson says.

COMMENT: The population is up, the Govt wants debt to go down. Net result: not a lot left to play with, writes Brian Fallow.

When British bank Atom launched last month, it did so by inviting new customers to download its app.

COMMENT: Bill English's eighth budget is a strong investment in New Zealand's future economic capability.

The 9 to 5 workday is a thing of the past, with more and more workers requesting - and obtaining - greater flexibility in when and where they work, writes Sarah Ell

Emissions Trading Scheme is to be scrapped.