I pity manufacturers in New Zealand. They are the collateral damage of our narrow approach to controlling inflation.

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

The Greens, not always practical in these policy areas, have come up with a solution that addresses the problem, writes Charles Waldegrave.

Times are very tough in manufacturing. The global recession has merely contributed an additional woe to a sector whose share of economic activity has been declining for more than two decades.

"When was the last time, two years out from an election, an Opposition party policy pledge got a minister sacked?" asks Brian Rudman.

Deborah Hill Cone is fed up with New Zealand's oppressive attitude to home ownership.

I am writing this lying in bed and staring out at the Hokianga Harbour in the Far North.

Sir Owen Glenn has challenged New Zealanders "with the means, energy, ideas and determination" to set up a non-partisan council to lead the country's economic revival.

Massive earthworks sprawling across parkland through two Auckland suburbs are a prelude to the country's largest transport project - the 4.8km Waterview connection.

The number of sole parents on the domestic purposes benefit dropped by 5000 last year - a drop Social Development Minister Paula Bennett is attributing partly to her new policy requiring sole parents to get jobs when their youngest child turns five.

A large sector of a society may be shut out of the gains due to unemployment and a lack of retraining opportunities, writes Peter Lyons. The result is that social inequalities can magnify dramatically.

Across Australia, the young and talented children of expatriate Kiwis find their careers stunted when they leave school, cut off from higher education and government apprenticeships by costs and policies.

As Presidents cannot seek more than two terms, the political focus will inevitably be beyond them. This overall domestic policy context means Obama, like other 2nd-term Presidents in the post-war era, is likely to turn his focus towards foreign policy.

The Kingston Flyer tourist steam train will resume commercial operations on January 4.

House prices have hit new records in seven of the past 12 months, a review of the year in property shows.

Hundreds of thousands of bargain hunters are expected to make the most of the Boxing Day sales.

This has been another testing year for New Zealand businesses as they rock along the decade of "grumpy growth".

A Christmas story from an associate, who was in a Salvation Army op shop when a family - mum, dad, and three children - stopped by to drop off a new bike.

The decline in mortgagee sales of residential properties has been interpreted by a bank economist as a welcome sign of an improvement in the economy.

The face of New Zealand business changed over 2012 with a series of senior appointments made to some of the country's top jobs.