The crunch time is getting closer for the Government's banker, Westpac, and others seeking lucrative contracts.

As Labour begins the long process of rebuilding, it seems other people are having trouble coming to terms with the election outcome.

As Winston Peters manoeuvres himself into the kingmaker's role, people of a military disposition are holding their breath.

While most eyes are on our local election, diplomats are still focused on October 16, the day for voting on New Zealand's bid for a UN Security Council seat.

If Auckland real estate seems overpriced, the latest UK figures from property website Zoopla put things into perspective.

The rights and wrongs of selling synthetic highs may be debatable, but there seems no doubt that the business was incredibly profitable. Ministry of Health figures show those doing the importing and selling were making mammoth margins.

When ministerial credit card spending details were first made public, it sent a frisson of excitement through many journalists and yielded some great yarns.

Westpac turned 197 on Tuesday, and to celebrate, the bank paid A$334,000 ($359,200) to buy Australia's oldest paper money.

Never mind all those surveys and statistics - when businesses start buying trucks, you know things are on the way up.

Hundreds, if not thousands, of Wellingtonians make a living providing consultancy services to government departments.

The blood pressure of a few Ministry of Foreign Affairs mandarins went through the roof this week, when John Key confirmed to one journalist that he would be going to China.

Gang patch advice, Newmarket firing out press releases, the Feds are too broke to talk and sleeping expert witnesses...

An interesting battle is developing among blocs of research institutes, universities and private companies as they seek to set up research hubs, or centres of excellence.