Latest fromBest of Business Analysis

Juha Saarinen: What's next for Sky and Vodafone?
COMMENT: Sky shareholders must be jubilant with the proposed merger with Vodafone.

Brian Fallow: NZ mortgage boom ushers in danger
COMMENT: Debt is growing twice as fast as economic growth, writes Brian Fallow.

John Drinnan: Voda-Sky deal a win-win-win
COMMENT: Another day, another media merger. The combination of Sky TV and Vodafone amounts to a takeover of Sky.

Fran O'Sullivan: Media marriages leave rest searching
COMMENT: The Commerce Commission now has two major "media" marriages on its plate and others sure to follow as the sectoral shakeout ramps up.

Saarinen: Cloud can burst so be prepared
COMMENT: A big selling point for cloud computing is resilience.

Get Sorted: Greetings from the gig economy
COMMENT: How to survive today's changing working conditions and not derail plans for the long term.

Graham McGregor: Making your business unique and special
COMMENT: What do you do in your business that most other businesses in your field don't do?

Nation of Debt: Giddy new heights draw '87 reminder
COMMENT: NZ's total debt is poised to hit half a trillion dollars as mortgage lending surges to levels not seen since the global financial crisis.

Brian Gaynor: University numbers mean big business
COMMENT: Does tertiary education needs a new approach?

Mary Holm: Buying a home was never a doddle
COMMENT: How does buying now compare to 1989? The data may surprise.

Diana Clement: Travellers beware insurance snags
COMMENT: Medical conditions boost premiums but hospital bills are even worse.

Gear Friday: IoT and VR at Computex 2016
Juha Saarinen tries virtual reality and a number of gadgets at this year's Computex in Taiwan.

Twose: Put youth to work in boardroom
When Hamish Walker sits at the board table, all that's going through his mind is: will it make the boat go faster?

Lister: Investors wise to keep grounded
COMMENT: The domestic sharemarket has continued its march ahead, with the S&P/NZX 50 Index moving through 7000 points for the first time ever.

Brian Fallow: Fiddling while the emissions grow
COMMENT: Legislation has been taken to remove the Emmissions Trading Scheme's buy one, get one free provision.

John Drinnan: Maori TV: $11m, RNZ: Zero
COMMENT: Bill English gave Maori TV n a $10.6 million boost in the Budget, although it has a $12.9 million nest egg built up over years of taxpayer funding.

Bull running, but for how long?
Since May 2011 the market index has piled on an average increase of 14.6% a year, to the point where it is now almost double where it was in May 2011.

Graham McGregor: The high value of repeat and referral sales
COMMENT: What do most businesses focus most of their marketing activities on?

Why good customer experience makes dollars and sense
COMMENT: Think of the long term value of someone having a good experience in your business.

Get Sorted: Sex and money talks
COMMENT: Not talking about money with your kids is like not talking about sex. Avoiding it is not a great option.

What the oil price rise means long term
Oil broke through US$50 ($75) a barrel last week for the first time since October.

Sky TV's threat to TVNZ over sport clips
Sky TV bosses say Television New Zealand is grabbing too much of its exclusive sports footage to use on news bulletins and websites.

Stock Takes: Developer targets NZ aged-care
COMMENBT: Fu Wah International, which already has plans to build two hotels in Auckland, wants to take a stake in a Kiwi retirement village operator.

Brian Fallow: Spending caught in a squeeze
COMMENT: The population is up, the Govt wants debt to go down. Net result: not a lot left to play with, writes Brian Fallow.

Andrew Mulligan: Chiefs provide blueprint
COMMENT: Much has been written about the mana of the Chiefs, so let's nod our heads and agree it's awesome. What isn't is playing for the Warriors.

Pippos: Familiarity yet to breed contempt
COMMENT: In any relationship, familiarity can breed contempt if the needs of either party fail to be addressed, not yet so with Budget 2016.

Fran O'Sullivan: Battle of the surpluses looms
COMMENT: English faces challenge in curbing Key's enthusiasm for tax cuts before election.

Manhire: English twiddles while ute burns
COMMENT: The 2016 Budget is a mix of bullish and Billish, writes Toby Manhire.

Comment: 2016 the 'broccoli Budget'
Liam Dann writes the 2016 Budget is the greens before the treats, but Bill English has delivered his promise of boring and stable.