A resurgent US dollar and more bearish talk from the Reserve Bank combined to drive the kiwi dollar 2pc lower in active trading this morning.

Everything hinges on a deal on agriculture and automobiles between the US and Japan, writes Jane Kelsey. Despite intense negotiations for more than a year, they remain poles apart.

Trade Minister Tim Groser says he has concerns that New Zealand's market access for its dairy products under the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) could be sewn up in private talks.

NZ exporters will have better access to up to more than $2 trillion worth of government contracts, with a trade deal signed two years ago expected to come into force soon.

In a few weeks, Australia will welcome leaders of the world's major economies to Brisbane for the G20 Summit.

NZ's monthly trade deficit has widened more than expected as falling prices for logs and dairy products weighed on exports.

It is well established that "cultural differences" exist between New Zealand and Asia, which of course must be taken into account when an organisation seeks to establish itself in the Asian market.

Interest rates in New Zealand are likely to stay lower for longer, after today's unexpectedly low inflation numbers were released.

The Reserve Bank's introduction of limits to low-equity mortgage lending last year had "a dampening" impact on house price inflation, Graeme Wheeler said today.

A fifth generation member of the famously rich Rockefeller family, will speak to a New Zealand philanthropic conference next April.

A long-awaited free trade agreement between New Zealand and South Korea appears close to being inked following talks in Seoul last week.

A New Zealand exporter has won a $450,000 judgment against the suppliers of "defective" Philippine bananas.

Two-way trade with China has doubled every five years since the early 1990s but the historic growth rates may not continue.