More than 30pc of New Zealand businesses have reported optimism in the latest Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion - the highers level since March 2010.

On Oct 17 the US faces its first-ever default on its $16.7 trillion debt - something that could plunge the nation - and the world - into a crisis worse than 2008.

John Key defended New Zealand's "100 per cent pure New Zealand" tourism campaign in a speech to a tourism conference in Bali focusing on sustainable development.

Bunnings has gone to lengths to make a proposed warehouse store fit into Grey Lynn, changing traditional design, layout and even exterior colour.

Eight homeowners have abandoned exclusive Auckland leasehold properties to the Cornwall Park Trust Board.

Fuelling dairy cows on high-end rations created from food waste has put Auckland's EcoStock in the running for a million-dollar business prize.

Better to have patience and aim for a comprehensive trade pact, PM says.

US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew has issued a categorical warning that the United States will default on its US$16.7 trillion debt.

Finance Minister Bill English has warned hard-won gains that saw the Government's year-end finances come in better than forecast would be wiped out under Labour's "lolly scramble" policies.

The government has posted a smaller operating deficit than forecast and affirmed its target to reach a surplus by 2015.

Telecom has raised the amount of mobile internet data offered in its new "4G-ready" plans, but some say users will still chew through monthly allowances.

A two-week US govt shutdown could cut 0.25 percentage points off fourth-quarter economic expansion, says one top Federal Reserve official.

There are not many New Zealand-based entrepreneurs who could say they learned about company culture from their first job at a certain well-known Seattle technology company.

The prospect of direct Emirates flights between Auckland and Dubai - which would become one of the world's longest commercial aviation routes.

A glitch means some Mighty River Power shareholders have yet to receive notification of how many shares they bought during the company's float.

Auckland University and Kiwi firm Framecad have worked together on a new flooring system designed to cope better than traditional full concrete flooring in earthquakes.

A mild winter and a favourable spring have boosted confidence in the New Zealand beef industry after last summer's challenging drought, says Rabobank.

Procter & Gamble executives say it was striking the first time they witnessed a man shave while sitting barefoot on the floor in a tiny hut in India.

Technology such as smartphones has led to spending more time working and increasingly taking work home, a survey has shown.

The second trial of a bankrupt Auckland property developer facing fraud charges over an alleged $50 million loan scam is due to begin this week after the first was aborted.

Why are some companies extremely successful while others operating in the same industry struggle?