It would be a big step for powerhouse to accede to TPP agreement, with intellectual protection a thorny issue.

Body corporates are governed by executive committees elected by members (owners), writes Fran O'Sullivan. Their competency ranges from highly skilled professionals to the palpably incapable.

New Zealand should have a critical rethink about whether it's time to join those that want to get the World Trade Organisation on to a two-tier system and reinvigorate global trade.

COMMENT: She doesn't have Tim Groser's intellectual subtlety and flair but Paula Bennett does have a strong opportunistic streak, writes Fran O'Sullivan.

If Andrew Little was hoping to craft a new Labour playbook, last weekend's sop to the party faithful at their annual conference was remarkably effete, writes Fran O'Sullivan.

One of the upsides of competitive trade liberalisation is that New Zealand is finally getting onto the runway to launch free trade talks with the EU.

Cabinet Minister Paula Bennett has played to the political gallery by jettisoning the $88 million Chinese bid to buy Lochinver Station because it did not provide enough new jobs.

There is already considerable foreign investment in New Zealand agribusiness, writes Fran O'Sullivan. Several Chinese companies have meat interests and there is major Japanese investment in Anzco.

Iconic Kiwi businessman Lloyd Morrison would have been pleased to see New Zealanders now have four new options to weigh up should the vote be in favour of changing the flag, writes Fran O'Sullivan.

Auckland Council chief executive Stephen Town is displaying all the hallmarks of a bureaucratic stealth bomber.

The country is not convinced a deal would have plenty of upside, writes Fran O'Sullivan.

Landcorp should be lined up for a partial privatisation to inject new private capital into the company instead of selling off farm assets at the bottom of the dairy cycle, writes Fran O'Sullivan.

Japan, Canada and the US are united in pushing NZ to ditch its demands for better dairy export access to their protected markets, writes Fran O'Sullivan.

Much of the available loans it will offer will likely pass straight to banks to meet debt-servicing costs, writes Fran O'Sullivan.

Fonterra chairman John Wilson's verbal sharp-shooting skills were put to good effect at the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) ministerial negotiations in Maui.

The TPP has the potential to transform the economies of the 12 Asia-Pacific nations - but the devil, as always, is in the fine print, writes Fran O'Sullivan.

If the party's key researchers are made of stern stuff they will now further test their analysis, writes Fran O'Sullivan.

If the turmoil knocks domestic confidence and with it internal domestic demand there will be a spillover effect, writes Fran O'Sullivan. The Chinese Government is a significant buyer of NZ Government bonds.

Fran O'Sullivan reflects on Craig Norgate - a man with much more to him than mere business.

New Zealand businesses should keep their nerve as international markets are spooked by the Chinese sharemarket sell-off, the closure of Greek banks and even a signal by Puerto Rico that it cannot pay....

Is it going to take the words of a dying unionist to shame John Key into pushing through long-overdue health and safety reforms, wonders Fran O'Sullivan.

It’s difficult to see how Key can axe his foreign minister without also turning focus back on his entire Cabinet, writes Fran O'Sullivan.

Murray McCully's controversial $10m deal bypassed the normal Govt control channels, writes Fran O'Sullivan. "The deal is now being challenged as an outright bribe."

Fran O'Sullivan asks, when is enough enough when it comes to Chinese investment in the New Zealand dairy sector?

Bill English has basked in the NZ economy's rock star status but ironically unforeseen rocky conditions have denied him the satisfaction of unveiling his first Budget surplus.

Fran O'Sullivan asks: Why is the Government holding back from stopping cashed-up foreigners from continuing to snap up homes at prices that mainly they can afford?

Tim Groser's warning that the dairy sector would effectively have to guts it out during a period of low milk payouts was timely.