John Key's lip-smacking munificence has been writ large as he moves into agenda-setting mode in Auckland and Christchurch, writes Fran O'Sullivan.

Full marks to Synlait bosses Graham Milne and John Penno for hanging tough in the post-global financial crisis environment and going offshore.

This week, Dalziel finally declared for the Christchurch mayoralty. She believes she can do a better job than incumbent Bob Parker. And she probably can. Parker has been a great cheerleader in uncertain times.

The jobs are not being cut simply because the dollar is overvalued, as David Parker and the unions have stated, writes Fran O'Sullivan.

Judging by Peter Dunne's Twitter feed, he had become obsessed by the agency's wayward behaviour and was very much focused on civil liberties, writes Fran O'Sullivan.

Russel Norman exposed himself as a "Muldoonist" when he slammed into highly respected economist Brent Layton this week for daring to raise his head above the parapet and defend the work of the NZ Electricity Authority, which he chairs.

It remains an area crying out for regulatory oversight in case missteps by smaller players screw the market for our champions, writes Fran O'Sullivan.

The so-called debate on Auckland's draft Unitary Plan has become disconnected from the big-picture narrative that it serves: that contained in the overarching Auckland Plan, which aims to transform Auckland into the "world's most liveable city".

Fonterra would have been startled to wake up yesterday to the Herald's front-page photo of Sir Henry van der Heyden emblazoned with "Don't ever trust them", writes Fran O'Sullivan.

John Key and Bill English must sometimes wonder why National lost its nerve during the 2011 election campaign, writes Fran O'Sullivan.

Will the Government press on with IPOs in the wake of Mighty River Power?

NZ's leading business lobbyists tread a fine line as they publicly amp up their anger at being "ambushed" by the Opposition parties' plan to intervene in the electricity market.

The Serious Fraud Office has stopped a long way short of issuing Hanover Finance and its key protagonists - Eric Watson and Mark Hotchin - a clean bill of health.

It didn't take David Shearer long to zero in on the million dollar-plus pay packets of chief executives running the country's power cos as the next stage of his campaign for govt control of the market.

Both opposition parties will be hoping enough potential investors turn off the pending float so they can declare it a disaster, writes Fran O'Sullivan.

The ghost of Hugo Chavez is alive and thriving within the Labour Party as it turns its back on its free-market past to buy itself back into power courtesy of the taxpayers' chequebook.

Tim Groser will make the final shortlist of two for the top job in global trade if enough WTO members agree on a merit-based selection process, writes Fran O'Sullivan.

"Why don't John Key and David Parker come up with a common front towards Rio Tinto to send a message to the Tiwai Point owner?" asks Fran O'Sullivan.

John Key earned himself a fabulous reputation as one of the 'big swinging dicks" of the international foreign exchange business.

The way the Act leader ponied up to Kim Dotcom for anonymous political donations does not pass the smell test, writes Fran O'Sullivan.

The smile on John Key's face widened as broad as the sombrero that Juan Manuel Santos had just given him, when the Colombian President said, "We would love to have an FTA with New Zealand when they are ready to start negotiations."

John Key has had a great time telling journalists how he won the office bet on the outcome of the Supreme Court's hearing into the Maori Council water rights claim.

John Key and Bill English have been on tenterhooks waiting for the Supreme Court judgment on the Mighty River sales process, writes Fran O'Sullivan.

Steven Joyce is adamant that innovation has always been in New Zealanders' DNA - a product of the isolation which has driven us to a "do-it-yourself" mentality.

Prime Minister John Key wants New Zealand to be a "magnet for investment" but his Government faces a big sales job to persuade New Zealanders that "foreign" investors and "big business" should be embraced.

Tim Groser's European charm offensive in pursuit of the top job in global trade takes him to Switzerland later today, writes Fran O'Sullivan, where the World Economics Forum gets under way.