Housing affordability is still a problem and the "housing market is not working properly'', says Finance Minister Bill English.

An apparent absence of economic rationality is not the only reason for questioning the Government's sense of priorities over this issue, writes Bryan Gould.

Avoiding or evading tax used to be socially acceptable, or at least not socially unacceptable. Bernard Hickey looks at how artful these dodgers can be.

"The United States is bringing challenging proposals to the table in terms of increasing protections for the creators of intellectual property," Stephen Jacobi.

Tax-dodging Kiwis cheated the country out of at least $80 million in undeclared income last year - and the scale of the problem remains unknown.

A waiter sacked from a popular Auckland cafe for allegedly stealing a $15 tip wants to move on with his life after a "horrible" ordeal to clear his name.

The consumers price index (CPI) rose just 0.3 per cent for the September 2012 quarter, taking the annual rate to just 0.8 per cent.

There is no doubt New Zealand will face another crisis like the 1987 sharemarket crash and the 2008 global financial crisis, says a top investment banker.

Just imagine if economic growth wasn't a natural thing. Bernard Hickey looks at the possibilities.