New Zealand's unemployment rate fell from a 13-year high in the last three months of 2012 as people stopped looking for work and the participation rate shrank.

Auckland's property market had a booming January, with one real estate company selling 78pc more homes worth more than $1 million than the same month last year.

The New Zealand dollar has hit 76 on the Reserve Bank's trade-weighted index, its highest level since at least 1990, writes Brian Fallow.

Employment growth is moderate and wage inflation subdued, payrolls data for the December quarter suggest.

Almost two-thirds of the New Zealand workforce is looking for a new job in 2013.

The sale of a technology company to a British buyer has reignited debate over the Government's approach to research and development funding and Kiwi firms shifting overseas.

A stronger New Zealand dollar swamped further gains in world prices for export commodities last month.

Dry weather and the high kiwi dollar are causing "a deepening pessimism" to spread among sheep and beef farmers.

New Zealanders are showing a rising resistance to overseas investors, a business survey has found.

Kiwi power prices have increased at twice the rate of most other countries over the past three decades.

A slight rebound in the number of new home listings last month did little to alleviate pressure in the property market.

Alcohol company Independent Liquor sacked an employee over allegations of drunken misbehaviour at a Fight For Life charity boxing match it sponsored.

The idea that an overvalued exchange rate is the fault of the monetary policy framework has hardened into dogma, writes Brian Fallow.

Mighty River Power experienced 12 per cent growth in sales in the three months to December 31.

Salaries in high-demand industries are expected to rise by as much as $20,000 a year as New Zealand's talent pool dries up.

New Zealand Post will not rule out further cuts to mail services and Post Shops after outlining plans to move to three-day-a-week letter deliveries.