Power of monetary policy to drive global growth is nearing its limit. Further progress depends on government leaders.

A $611 million unsolicited takeover proposal for Chiquita Brands could lead to the scrapping of its pending merger with Irish competitor Fyffes.

I'd just landed back in NZ after five "trip-of-a-lifetime" weeks at the Fifa World Cup, writes Diana Clement. If there's a lesson from Brazil, it's be happy.

World Cup tourists have given a big thumbs up to the just-ended event in Brazil, according to a new study.

Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has resigned after the team failed to win the World Cup.

To Russia, with love. But the renewal of the people's vows with the World Cup will be severely tested by its money-driven forays into the uncharted territories of Russia (2018) and Qatar (2022). Was Brazil the last great folk festival?

German supporters have outnumbered Argentine fans at The Fox in Auckland's Viaduct Harbour.

If you think the All Blacks are consistent - take a look at the German football team. Just like their cars and appliances, German sides are uber reliable, in a much more global game.

Little things have every chance of winning or losing the World Cup final. But first, let's address the big things.

There is only one place for fired up Kiwi-Chilean Mauricio Olmedo-Perez to be.

As the eyes of the world are on the carnival of sport at the Football World Cup in Brazil, we meet Kiwis who have made the South American mecca home.

NZ-based Brazil fans are thrilled their team is through to the Fifa World Cup semifinals - but their joy is tempered slightly by the loss of key player Neymar.

Andre Schurrle says that Germany expect to win the World Cup after he set up their quarter-final tie against France in Rio de Janeiro.

Three bites and you are out, writes Chris Rattue. That should be football's response to a third Luis Suarez biting scandal in four years, this one damaging the image of the World Cup.

The video circulating around a gleeful Argentina has not been lost on the long-suffering Brazilians, just across the eastern border.

Pele is an ambassador for the World Cup but the association has been problematic.

There is nothing like the sight of a man, mere seconds ago a formidable athlete, now rolling around on the ground in agony because someone touched his shirt to tell you that the football/soccer World Cup is upon us.

Yellow fever is one of the least likely to pose a real threat. But there are two important things to know about the illness.

Goldman Sachs say buy Brazilian stocks because the country will win the World Cup, giving a boost to the local equity market. But investors need to move fast as the gains won't last.

Sao Paulo is facing "imminent water rationing" after the worst drought on record, less than six weeks before the city hosts the World Cup opening ceremony and first game.

At least 10 residents and police officers were injured yesterday as authorities ousted squatters from an abandoned building just steps from Rio's Maracana stadium.

Part of the stadium that will host the World Cup opener in Brazil next year collapsed today, causing significant damage and killing two people, authorities said.

Rio de Janeiro's endless beaches and lush tropical forest will be a photographer's dream during the 2016 Olympics. But zoom in on the likes of once-pristine Guanabara Bay, and the picture is of household trash and raw sewage.

From her office in a painted shipping container high up in Rio de Janeiro's biggest favela, the woman with the toughest police job in the city has a definitive view of the divided landscape.

Rio de Janeiro's famed Copacabana beach has been packed with tens of thousands of revellers taking part in the city's gay pride parade.