Stories by Patrick O'Meara

The record high price of bananas pushed food prices up 1.3 percent in August.

The sharemarket is booming, but investors are being warned not to take it for granted.

Electronic card spending has decreased a seasonally-adjusted 0.4 percent in August compared with the previous month, official figures show.

Another big trade deal is in doubt, with the controversial TransAtlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) now under threat.

New Zealand Post has delivered a slightly smaller profit as letter volumes continue to decline.

Uncertainty about the future of the Trans Pacific Partnership has prompted a former American trade representative to urge the 12 countries involved to go back to the negotiating table.

The music industry wants to dump the new copyright provisions in the TPP, saying New Zealand is the only country to sign up to such cumbersome and costly rules.

Analysts are confident the economy is creating more jobs, despite warnings that new employment figures need to be treated with care.

A prominent housing economist wants a rethink about how inflation is measured.

The Reserve Bank governor has defended his approach as MPs accuse the bank of losing its grip on inflation and failing to act decisively.

A cut in interest rates to a record low is considered all but certain this morning - but how much will retail banks pass on to borrowers?.

Employers are rejecting calls for higher wages, saying they can't afford to pay them.

With rates, rents and bills showing no signs of abating, unions say staff are increasingly considering strike action to get a meaningful share.

New Zealand has little to fear from a European investigation into the Panama papers, according to tax experts and the government.

As New Zealanders' housing-related debt rises to near record highs of 88 percent of GDP, there are warnings of risks to the economy.

As New Zealanders' housing-related debt rises to near record highs of 88 percent of GDP, there are warnings of risks to the economy.

The emergence of persistently low inflation has prompted calls for an overhaul of the Reserve Bank's inflation target.

An expected cut in interest rates by the Reserve Bank is unlikely to help lower the dollar, exporters say.

The housing market boom is continuing to underpin growth in the manufacturing sector and rising job ads.

Analysis - If the government was looking for swift action from the Reserve Bank on the housing front, it received a nasty shock, writes Patrick O'Meara.

Property investors are likely to be targeted when the Reserve Bank speaks later today about measures to cool the rampant housing market.

The deadlocked Australian election is not helping exporters already struggling to compete across the Tasman due to a high dollar.

The Reserve Bank will tomorrow release its first detailed look at the economy for 2016, and there's one question on everyone's lips: Will it cut the Official Cash Rate?

Lobby groups are at odds over the secrecy that enveloped the TPP talks and whether the government did enough to ease public mistrust.

The Labour Party will be forced to vote against the TPP as it stands after the government confirmed it would put the planned law changes into one overall bill. Video