But other factors also needed to be a successful person.

One of the great marketing campaigns may not be enough to save diamonds' appeal.

Mattress manoeuvres reveal the business struggles behind a simple household necessity.

Taking the emotion out leads to better decision-making.

Schools should not be charged with teaching children "how to behave in public".

Many millennials think their parents are 'stingy' when it comes to the inheritance.

Vacuum cleaner company takes on electric car juggernauts.

Short-term thinking masks the true story of human progress.

The potential payoff - or downside - is crucial when deciding whether to take a risk.

Devastating hurricanes in the US are a wake-up call for Kiwis to get insurance sorted.

Musical instruments, art, stamps and other alternative investments surprisingly valuable.

Artificial intelligence revolution will not be as doom and gloom as some experts maintain.

Housing as an investment puts US home ownership in hands of financiers.

Company with reputation for extreme secrecy wants 70,000 new people.

We may not be vitally interested in politics but the results are important.

Lithium batteries needed to fuel electric vehicle revolution.

Bruce McLaren and Warren Buffett documentaries reveal key qualities for success.

Students who have chosen the wrong career path have a way to avoid lifelong regret.

Saving strategy challenges conventional planning - "pay yourself first".

Customers benefit as hotels combat threat by innovating themselves.

KiwiSaver has accustomed many New Zealanders to long-term savings they can't access.

Both sides of the "work harder" and "work smarter" debate have valid points.

Hedge funds can grow lots of cash - or can seriously trim your assets.

The need for speed can create unrealistic expectations - and company failures.

Is Warren Buffett the follow-him-at-all-costs investment adviser he used to be?

Italian solution to housing problems could hold lessons for NZ.

Snapchat has boosted revenue by 286 per cent but lost US$2.2 billion - so what's wrong?

Legalised marijuana fastest-growing industry in the world.

Wealth is not just about money, but mindset.

The art of working smart depends on overcoming work people can't switch off.

Secondhand goods attracting consumers...and companies.

What was the last toy you bought for yourself? Don't be embarrassed.

Company moves to stop people working from home may be the wrong call.

How trying to do better by diversifying can make it worse.

Even punishment favours males in big business.

Not all insider trading is bad - and can be valuable.

The issues associated with our ageing population should be discussed openly.

Parents paying for weddings a dying trend.

You wouldn't think cash - as in notes and coin - would be a polarising topic.

We apparel consumers are a tough lot to please.

Seven or eight years into married life, my husband sat me down to discuss our spending.

Election years are always interesting because the topic of retirement age.

nnovation expert Michael Schrage makes a bold claim in his book.

It is such a rare thing these days for products to live up to their hype.

Last year I read about a woman who bought 100 Christmas presents for each of her kids.

You know the investing world is changing when a tweet from the US President-elect causes a company's share price to fall one per cent

You will have read the claims artificial intelligence and robots are poised to replace a good chunk of today's workforce. However

Do you know who invented the CD? The compact disc was a pretty amazing innovation but few of us know of David Paul Gregg because

Mirror, mirror on the wall, which is the fairest KiwiSaver scheme of all? If you believe the media and some market observers, it's

COMMENT: The emotional aspect of retirement is important when considering retirement savings, Carmel Fisher writes.

COMMENT: Take care of the short runs and the long run takes care of itself.

COMMENT: Anyone with exposure to coal right now is enjoying a thrilling ride - though it's been a long time coming.

COMMENT: There's a reason great ads with exaggerated promises never feature in the financial services industry.

COMMENT: Before my first visit to a retirement village, I had preconceived ideas about 'an old person' home'.

Former Wall Street Journal journalist Morgan Housel recently wrote an uplifting blog entitled "What a Time to Be Alive". His list of reasons ran over seven pages.

COMMENT: The KiwiSaver water is ready and waiting. It's up to members to come and lap it up.

COMMENT: "Personal finance is more personal than finance".

COMMENT: Ride-sharing business Uber is not a public company but a number of analysts have begun assessing it as.

I recently learned of a personal shopping phenomenon hugely popular in China which, according to the Sydney Morning Herald, is "leading Australia's retail drive".

COMMENT: "If only the non-expert masses realised their forecasts can be just as accurate, and sometimes more so, than the professionals."

Economically speaking, 2016 has started on the wrong foot. The world seems to be suffering from a bad bout of economic pessimism.

Friendships can lift workplace productivity.

Volkswagen's emissions scandal is more than a PR disaster; it is a profoundly serious problem for VW because there has been a breach of trust.

After an enjoyable shopping experience last weekend, I feel compelled to write about the long-heralded death of retail. I don't believe retail is dead; it is just being redefined, with client service the key to its survival.

Retirees need to find the balance between activity and time out, writes Carmel Fisher.

According to the Family Business Institute, 30 per cent of family businesses worldwide survive into the second generation, 12 per cent make it into the third, and only 3 per cent last into the fourth and subsequent generations.

I have always remembered a tip from Peter Lynch - never invest in any idea you can't illustrate with a crayon, writes Carmel Fisher.

The Information Age has certainly meant easy access to vast amounts of information, but I'm not convinced it has made decision-making easier. You could argue we have so much information that arriving at the truth has become increasingly difficult.

There is a growing generational wealth gap between the old and the young - a function of financial, cultural and even emotional factors, writes Carmel Fisher.

Gold has limited intrinsic value, no cashflow, no earnings, no yield.

I could never be a currency trader. Uncertainty exists in all markets, but in currency markets you can be certain about very little.

Financial abuse happens to all sorts of people and can be administered by people who are far from the stereotypical bad guys - sometimes, the victim's loved ones are the perpetrators.

I suspect many women don't give a toss about equality when it comes to top pay and top roles.

As an investor I cut my teeth on small, under-researched listed companies where I hoped to have a competitive advantage.

Warren Buffett was quoted a long time ago saying: "It is not necessary to do extraordinary things to get extraordinary results."

Fashion retailing is a tough gig. It's an area that has always interested me as a consumer and an investor but, in this sector, investing success has proved as elusive as business success.

In investing, luck plays a huge role in determining results, especially in the short term, says Carmel Fisher.