The New Zealand dollar has continued its rally, topping 86 US cents and charting a new record on a trade-weighted basis.

Finance Minister Bill English used a pre-Budget speech to say the Government will act to curb rising house prices which represent a risk to New Zealand's economic recovery.

The New Zealand dollar ran hot again yesterday, hitting another post-float high on its Trade-Weighted Index (TWI) and raising the possibility of overt Reserve Bank intervention to bring it back down.

Next month's Budget will show the Government remains on track to return to surplus in 2014/15, but Finance Minister Bill English signalled yesterday that that would not herald a loosening of the fiscal reins.

The number of New Zealand house sales rose to a six-year high last month and prices touched a new record.

The Government remains on track to return to surplus by 2014/15 but its current "firm" control on spending will continue beyond that date.

Young people are overlooking the agricultural technology sector as a viable, well-paid career option, says Gallagher.

Kiwi business people will have to be smart. Australia, for instance, is now facing strong competition in the hard commodities space from Africa.

Homeowners are increasingly holding on to their properties and some would-be buyers are getting fed up with Auckland's record prices, says Quotable Value.

Hoani Murray is an oil-rig boss, with weighty responsibilities and a generous salary.

If the economy ended 2012 with a reasonable head of steam up, it maintained it over the first three months of this year.

Housing valuations are the highest in seven years, prompting a slowdown in the market as some buyers hold off until prices become more affordable.

An Auckland game development studio has more than quadrupled its staff numbers in less than three years and says it has no plans to slow down.

Alesco, whose tax-avoidance battle with Inland Revenue is seen as a test case for disputes involving more than $300 million, is trying to appeal to the Supreme Court.

Apple's ring-shaped, gleaming "Spaceship Headquarters" will include a world-class auditorium and an orchard for engineers to wander.

The New Zealand government had a smaller operating deficit than expected in the first eight months of the financial year as it took in more income tax than it had forecast.

Finance Minister Bill English says Chinese investors are starting to think about New Zealand again as an investment destination, including for the state-owned enterprises share-float.

The Productivity Commission has begun an inquiry, at the Government's behest, into how productivity in the services sector might be improved.

New graduates are currently in demand in the nursing industry, but they must be eager and enthusiastic, and should never say "no" to anything.

Up to $400 million more a year could be pumped into the KiwiSaver scheme with the latest contribution increases.

New Zealand and Chinese leaders are gearing up for one of their most significant gatherings since the Free Trade Agreement was signed five years ago.