More than 50 sawmill workers at two North Island sawmills have been told they will lose their jobs.

Grey District Mayor Tony Kokshoorn is calling for Pike River to be made into an opencast coal mine, amid efforts to keep the 114 skilled miners made redundant today on the West Coast.

Herald deputy business editor Grant Bradley, who has visited the Pike River mine and covered the company for the Business Herald, on why today's receivership move by Pike River was inevitable.

Managers say too many get-togethers are just a waste of time.

These days you have to be hyped-up and blissed out simultaneously ... but slow down and think.

British women in their twenties have smashed the glass ceiling and are now being paid more than their male counterparts.

Pike River Coal will have to reduce its workforce when it is ready to re-establish operations, but CEO Peter Whittall says reports of possible receivership were "extremely premature".

Gloomy building and manufacturing stats out this morning have prompted economists to raise the risk of negative GDP.

Pike River has rejected claims management was not approachable for staff with safety concerns before the November 19 blast.

Add Christmas and the associated financial pressures into the mix, and I suspect this unfortunate trend of employee theft and fraud may continue into 2011.

For a young person in a competitive job market, getting your foot in the door in your chosen industry is key.

NZ Oil & Gas has today provided the balance of a $25 million short term funding facility to Pike River Coal.

More can be done to improve the tax system to promote economic growth, says Treasury secretary John Whitehead.

Businesses are better off finding their own way, rather than simply copying others, say academics.