KEY POINTS:
For the business world, the best news of the year might be that it is almost over.
It didn't have the drama of the 1987 market crash but 2007 has marked the end of a bull run on many world markets and the end of the golden weather for the property sector in the US, Britain, Australia and New Zealand.
It will certainly be remembered for the US credit crunch which is still threatening financial institutions around the globe.
In New Zealand it will sadly be remembered as a year of financial disaster, thanks to the meltdown of our unique and bizarrely unregulated finance company sector.
But it could have been worse.
That's not much of a good news message but when you look at the way the US recession and the credit crunch have ravaged some markets, New Zealand continues to hold up relatively well.
Our economy may be slowing but it is robust and well structured to weather the coming storm. Unemployment is low and - while it may generate inflationary pressure - the dairy sector remains a shining light. It ensures the country has cash flow, a vital piece of any economic puzzle.
The stock market has provided investors with a pretty wild ride.
But it hasn't been as wild as some.
At December 19, the S&P ASX200 had an average volatility of 16 per cent and the Dow Jones 14 per cent for the year. Relative to these markets, the NZX50 has displayed a low volatility level of 10 per cent.
In the past two weeks, the S&P ASX200 and Dow have fluctuated by 18 per cent and 21 per cent respectively, while the NZX50 is again at about 10 per cent.
The overall trend shows that when global markets are volatile, the impact on New Zealand's capital markets is somewhat less dramatic.
That hasn't stopped the NZX50 making a steady retreat from a September high of 4332 to yesterday's close at 3993.51. Still a drop of a few per cent is nothing compared with the dive some investments have taken this year.
The real exception to the "could have been worse rule" is the finance company sector where for investors in failed ventures like Bridgecorp and Five Star Consumer Finance it really couldn't have been a lot worse. How these companies were allowed to trade themselves into such an appalling state - with investors likely to get back less than half their principal - is hard to fathom.
Things aren't looking hugely promising for 2008. History would suggest that the economy has only just begun the comedown from a cyclical purple patch. Things should get worse before they get better.
But business confidence polls show most business people remain confident about the immediate outlook when it comes to their own ventures.
That's encouraging in times of otherwise gloomy sentiment.
* Liam Dann is business editor of the Herald.
