Foreign investment is not a black and white issue. Too often the populist reaction to the issue is knee-jerk and xenophobic.

Shanghai Maling Aquarius is understood to have a $300 million war chest to back its bid for a slice of the Kiwi meat co-operative.

Rental cars are costly. If the upfront hire fees aren't enough, there are lots of other charges that can double the cost. That can be anything from increased insurance costs to reduce excesses, to hiring a child seat.

You can make a standard KiwiSaver first-home withdrawal without the additional top-up from the HomeStart grant. Helen Twose talks about the rules.

The words "double Grammar zone" plastered across a real estate billboard is enough to make any red-blooded agent salivate, writes Bernard Hickey.

Pip Dunphy effectively blew the whistle on Solid Energy's pending insolvency when she resigned her chairmanship less than a year into the role.

There is a huge difference between the timing and level of disclosure of the four Government-controlled NZX-listed companies - Air New Zealand, Genesis Energy, Meridian Energy and Mighty River Power - and other Crown entities.

There's a problem with the male-female mix on television at 7pm, writes John Drinnan.

In a sea of "celebrity" chefs, Heston Blumenthal is a master of marketing, writes Bella Katz.

Being there for staff 100% of the time is neither good management nor good delegation, writes Robyn Pearce.

Even though NZ is a small player globally, we should pay a great deal of attention to what's happening with internet governance, writes Juha Saarinen.

There is already considerable foreign investment in New Zealand agribusiness, writes Fran O'Sullivan. Several Chinese companies have meat interests and there is major Japanese investment in Anzco.

Marketing consultant Graham McGregor says webinars are an extraordinary modern way to get your message out.

As businesses grow and expand, certain aspects of the day-to-day management of the organisation inevitably become more complex.

You'd think any government would do what it could to protect a valuable asset, however it's the big banks that are trying to save the Barrier Reef from destruction.

A new video series and website aims to get us on the on-ramp to savvy investment.

Persistence pays heaps. Most people in sales give up after the first go. Don't be in that category, writes Debbie Mayo-Smith.

A reader asks Helen Twose: Is buying a first home off a plan and putting a 10% deposit on it considered an estate in land under the KiwiSaver rules?

When you work with a new client, you do research on It. That's what I do too.

Sell-off critics do not realise how well the Crown has done.

Will a Kiwi white knight emerge to fully recapitalise Silver Fern Farms, or will Chinese interests emerge as 50-50 partners with a New Zealand consortium to take the company forward?

A reader asks Mary Holm: Is it true I could lose all my KiwiSaver fund if the investment crashed?

TVNZ chief executive puts a new twist on TV3 assertions that its news ratings slump has been caused by losing the rights to Home and Away to TVNZ.

After 68 weekly columns of irreverent fun, frivolity, jolly japes and an occasional fact or two, CaseLoad is spiked from the NZ Herald as of today, writes Jock Anderson.

Brian Fallow speaks to a New Zealand-based analyst who sees the EU sliding into paralysis and inevitable decay.

"Efficiency is a life-long discipline, and not everyone has it or can learn it," says Robyn Pearce's wise old aunt.

Iconic Kiwi businessman Lloyd Morrison would have been pleased to see New Zealanders now have four new options to weigh up should the vote be in favour of changing the flag, writes Fran O'Sullivan.

Graham McGregor takes a look at what he thinks are some of the keys to marketing success.