Market players are divided over the attractiveness of Mighty River Power's bonus scheme and say it's hard to know if it will encourage investors to keep hold of their shares.

A startling aspect of the 73 per cent pay rise for directors of Mighty River Power is that John Key says it is "realistic" and "sensible" to do it now, writes Judy McGregor, before the company is listed on the sharemarket next month.

The Government has set a price range of $2.35 to $2.80 per share for the partial privatisation of Mighty River Power.

Mighty River Power directors are to get a 73 per cent pay rise, it has been confirmed ahead of the release of offer documents for the company's partial float tomorrow.

When people like the PM talk of an orderly transition to a post-smelter environment, they are talking about the scrapping of generating capacity, writes Brian Fallow.

Rio Tinto isn't going to get a deal out of the Government and is likely to shut down the Tiwai Pt aluminium smelter potentially at the cost of thousands of jobs over the next five years.

The Government and its flagship asset sale programme will not be held hostage by Rio Tinto over the mineral giant's threat to close the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter, Prime Minister John Key said yesterday.

Negotiating with Hollywood moguls must now feel like a bit of a doddle for John Key compared to mixing it with the cold-blooded, razor-wielding gang of cost accountants from Rio Tinto.

Tiwai Pt aluminium smelter's owners have contradicted a report from Meridian, saying they think a power deal can be agreed on.

Former Solid Energy chief executive Don Elder will pocket more than $250,000 from the indebted state-owned miner while he remains on its payroll for another four months.

I can't get excited about the Mighty River share float either as an investor or as an economist, writes Peter Lyons. NZers are being given a chance to buy shares in businesses that all of us already own.

Potential investors in Mighty River Power, Genesis Energy and Meridian will be exposed to the financial impacts caused by any new charges linked to water or geothermal use and land resumption.

Almost one in five New Zealanders who oppose the partial sale of Mighty River Power intend buying shares in the company anyway.

Labour and its leader David Shearer have had a boost in support in the latest Herald-DigiPoll survey - but it appears to have come at the expense of its potential coalition allies.

A flurry of last-minute pre-registrations for Mighty River Power shares is expected ahead of the Friday close-off.

Mighty River Power chairwoman Joan Withers has a formidable reputation for being one of the best communicators in business.

Transparency and engagement are important ingredients in building a successful business that serves the needs of all stakeholders, writes Paul Glass.

Editorial: Two recent events ought to have injected some urgency into the quest for cleaner, fairer and better use of New Zealand's most valuable resource, water.

Former Solid Energy chairman John Palmer has told MPs he opposed the Government's 2009 direction that the state owned coal miner take on more debt.

The record number of pre-registrations for Mighty River Power shares shows there is strong appetite for well-structured businesses, says one fund manager.

Government ministers urged Solid Energy to take on more debt and to pay bigger dividends despite company warnings that falling coal prices threatened profitability.

The fundamental conflict between the Govt's political imperatives and Solid Energy's commercial imperatives needs to be probed further, writes Fran O'Sullivan.

The 68 boxes carried onto Parliament's forecourt this afternoon contained 393,000 signatures. It is thought to be the biggest ever petition in support of a citizen's initiated referendum.

Labour Leader David Shearer says the fact someone was able to pre-register for Mighty River shares in his name shows how "shonky" the sales process is.