Gyles Beckford

A second building products company has felt the strains in the construction sector resulting in lower profits.

Consumer sentiment is holding around two-year highs on the back of a strong labour market, continued low inflation and interest rates.

Major project losses, delays and asset writedowns have savaged Fletcher Building's profit and cost its former chief executive his job.

Reserve Bank Governor Graeme Wheeler has held interest rates steady, as expected, in his last monetary statement this morning.

The government's move to tighten tax rules for multinational companies may also spell the end of this country's foreign trust industry. Audio

Cyclones and earthquakes have more than halved the profit of the New Zealand arm of Australian insurer Suncorp.

A fall in petrol prices has pulled back the rate of inflation, and doused any prospect of higher interest rates in the medium term.

Borrowers are likely to face higher interest rates as banks move against a cooling housing market, tougher competition and more expensive money.

The European Union and Japan have agreed on the outline of a free trade deal to create the world's biggest open economic area.

Australian insurance company Suncorp has increased its offer for local operator Tower.

About a fifth of companies in Deloitte's latest survey have detected some form of corruption, most commonly through tip-offs or whistleblowing.

Sixty percent of Auckland home owners have mortgages greater than five times their income, the Reserve Bank says.

Insurance company Tower has reported a smaller half year loss as it managed to cut costs but was hit by hefty claims from a string of natural disasters.

New Zealand's housing market has a 40 percent chance of going bust in the next two years, according to the investment bank.

The country's only rocket company is set to attempt its first commercial launch into space.

The country's biggest bank, ANZ, has wracked up a solid rise in its profit on the back of increased deposits and lower costs.

A mega-merger to unite the country's two biggest media groups will likely get the thumbs down from regulators, says a competition law specialist.

Rising interest rates are expected to pose little difficulty to most borrowers, but a significant minority seem ill-prepared, a survey has found.

A decision on the proposed merger between NZME and Fairfax NZ has been deferred for a second time after the two companies tabled a lengthy new submission.

The Reserve Bank has kept the benchmark Official Cash Rate on hold at its record low of 1.75 percent and reiterated it will stay there for some time.

The country's only rocket company - Rocket Lab - has scooped $US75 million ($NZ107m) in new funds to help its first commercial launch this year.

A decision on the proposed merger between media groups NZME and Fairfax New Zealand has been delayed for a month.

The country's second biggest construction firm Hawkins has been bought by Australian engineering giant Downer EDI.

Sky TV's share price has slumped to its lowest level in eight years after the Commerce Commission torpedoed its plans for a merger with Vodafone. Video

Telecommunications company Spark and Sky Television will face off in court on Wednesday over the future of a merger that has yet to be approved, let alone put in place.