Latest FromEconomy
![Growth 'looks key driver'](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Growth 'looks key driver'
While 2013 will be remembered as a watershed year for New Zealand's capital markets, this year is also shaping up as being an important one.
![G20 agree on lifting pace of world output](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
G20 agree on lifting pace of world output
The world's key economies have agreed on a plan to accelerate the pace of global growth by more than 2 per cent over the next five years.
![Low-deposit loans to flow again](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Low-deposit loans to flow again
Banks' flow of money to borrowers with small deposits has all but dried up in the past three months - but the tide may be about to turn.
![The town that missed the boom](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
The town that missed the boom
Big business is buzzing about New Zealand's economic prospects. Confidence is at a 20-year high and only China is more bullish than our captains of industry.
![Slight dip in confidence 'merely noise'](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Slight dip in confidence 'merely noise'
Consumer confidence remains at heights not seen since the recession and only briefly before then.
![Donald Blair: Ireland-NZ comparison wrong](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Donald Blair: Ireland-NZ comparison wrong
The basic fundamentals of New Zealand's economy do not match those of the Irish and southern European economies, writes Donald Blair.
![NZ dollar weakens against US](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
NZ dollar weakens against US
The Kiwi weakened after Fed minutes of its January meeting showed some officials raised the possibility of rate rises "relatively soon".
![Brian Fallow: Power policy needs more illumination](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Brian Fallow: Power policy needs more illumination
Brian Fallow asks :Does the electricity market entrench the ripping off of consumers? Would replacing it with a single buyer model address the issue of energy hardship among some households?"
![Peter Lyons: We're still far from a rock-star economy](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Peter Lyons: We're still far from a rock-star economy
If we are a rock-star economy, we are a Justin Bieber rather than a Mick Jagger, writes Peter Lyons. Our celebrity status is unlikely to endure.
![Dollar weaker as English comments drag momentum](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Dollar weaker as English comments drag momentum
The dollar was the weakest performer overnight, after comments by Bill English that the kiwi may be 20% overvalued.
![F&P's healthy forecast](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
F&P's healthy forecast
Any weakening in the New Zealand dollar would provide the "cream on top" for medical device exporter Fisher & Paykel Healthcare.
![Diana Maitland: International tax plan could backfire](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Diana Maitland: International tax plan could backfire
Proposed new rules concerning international tax will increase information sharing between tax authorities and add to the growing compliance burden on multinationals, writes Diana Maitland.
![Reorganised Auckland port back on track](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Reorganised Auckland port back on track
Ports of Auckland chief executive Tony Gibson says the company is starting to reap the benefits of a reorganisation plan started in 2011.
![Kiwi 'ripe for plunge'](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Kiwi 'ripe for plunge'
A London-based hedge fund manager says New Zealand is like Ireland pre-global financial crisis and it's only a matter of time before the Kiwi dollar plunges.
![Shoppers fail to deliver lift](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Shoppers fail to deliver lift
Retail sales rebounded over the last three months of 2013 from a weak September quarter, but the bounce was less than other indicators had led economists to expect.
![Kiwi dollar '20 pc overvalued,' say analysts](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Kiwi dollar '20 pc overvalued,' say analysts
A London-based hedge fund manager says it's only a matter of time before the Kiwi dollar plunges.
![Chinese Ambassador plans to visit all of New Zealand](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Chinese Ambassador plans to visit all of New Zealand
New Chinese Ambassador Wang Lutong doesn't want to spend too much time cooped up in his Wellington embassy during his stint as China's top diplomatic representative in New Zealand.
![House-price expectations easing](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
House-price expectations easing
Expectations that house prices will rise have eased in ASB's quarterly survey of housing market sentiment, remain high by historical standards.