COMMENT: The broader downstream benefits to New Zealand exporters from increased investment in trade routes and infrastructure are self-evident.

Zespri and the Government are batting away suggestions that politics has played any role in increased scrutiny of New Zealand kiwifruit entering China.

Wall Street was mixed to start its week, with energy stocks falling alongside a drop in the price of oil.

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has floated a proposal for a free trade zone to be created in Auckland near to the airport.

COMMENT: New Zealand should grab the opportunity to be at the forefront in creating the new narrative for global trade.

The gain in first-half profit reflects a recovery in the price of gold.

COMMENT: Looking beyond dairy, the picture is one of faltering growth in world trade volumes and mounting protectionism.

Wall Street was mixed amid disappointing earnings from Ford Motor and better-than-expected results from Facebook.

Trustpower may now have to pay nearly $15 million in tax and interest after losing a Supreme Court appeal.

Uncertainty persists as to what Britain's exit from the European Union will mean for New Zealand primary producers.

Tainui Group Holdings last week announced it was seeking expressions of interest from a range of world class port operators for Ruakura

Trade Minister Todd McClay has apologised to Prime Minister John Key for his handling of news reports about potential trade retaliation from China.

Britain's new finance minister Philip Hammond, under pressure from his peers from around the world, says there could be more clarity

COMMENT: China was the obvious elephant in the room when Joe Biden visited NZ as the Obama Administration moved to assert US supremacy in the region.

The latest GlobalDairyTrade auction offered few clues as to the likely direction of dairy prices in the season ahead.

A gain in whole milk powder offset a fall for most other products in the latest overnight dairy auction.

Wal-Mart hasn't met the target its manufacturing move had hoped for.

In the last leg of his visit to Indonesia, John Key stopped off in Surubaya to launch a competition which aimed to get more Indonesians interested in NZ.

Better-than-expected earnings such as from Bank of America as well as a US$45 billion tech deal helped bolster equities on both sides of the Atlantic.

NZ and Indonesia have taken an important step forward, the PM says, after the two countries agreed to put a multi-million-dollar export dispute behind them.

The Government says an ongoing dispute with Indonesia over its restrictions on New Zealand's exports will not overshadow the two countries' trade talks this week.

John Key says China has given no sign that it has concerns with New Zealand, let alone threatened to retaliate against Kiwi exporters.

Prime Minister John Key has arrived in Indonesia at a time of heightened tensions over the neighbouring South China Sea.

Trade Minister Todd McClay says he will be asking officials to contact the Chinese embassy in Wellington to clarify its position on competition issues.

Hillary Clinton delivered a shot across the bows to the Trans-Pacific Partnership as her bid for the US presidency was endorsed by Bernie Sanders.

Donald Trump has taken his anti-trade tirades to a whole new level.

Zespri's decision to team up with NZX-listed T&G to increase sales in Southeast Asia is already bearing fruit says Singapore regional manager, Andrew Common.

International dairy prices edged down at the latest GlobalDairyTrade auction, the GDT price index falling by 0.4 per cent since the previous sale last month.

Northland MP and NZ First leader Winston Peters says Northport is the logical place to take Auckland's shipping freight, saving hundreds of millions of dollars.

Shippers have given the thumbs down to one finding from the Port Future Study - that Auckland's next major port could be sited in the Manukau Harbour.