More than half of New Zealanders appear to have made up their minds already about whether the Trans Pacific Partnership is a good or bad thing.

New Zealand is prepared to fight for "the principles of trade" in its beef battle with Indonesia, says our ambassador to the Southeast Asian nation.

The country's trade deficit was smaller than expected in July as exports of fruit and meat drove overseas sales higher.

Australian steel products group Bluescope is to review its steelmaking operations in Australia and New Zealand, saying it needs "game-changing" savings in operating costs.

Trade Minister Tim Groser says Southeast Asia is New Zealand's "number one insurance policy".

Asian markets are developing a sweet tooth, creating export opportunities for Wellington chocolate maker Whittaker's.

Investment bank says there is a 25 to 30 per cent risk of New Zealand's economy going into recession in the next 12 months.

Seeka Kiwifruit Industries's profit gains reflected record kiwifruit volumes, the company said.

The true extent of swamp kauri being sent overseas has been revealed - with exports jumping by more than 2500 per cent in five years.

Solid Energy acting chairman Andy Coupe admitted it was "unlikely" that any sale, or sales, would cover its outstanding debt.

Our senior business leaders are becoming increasingly concerned about the slowing economy, the Government's strategy and our reliance on China and dairy exports.

Fonterra lacks people who understand the impact of new and disruptive technologies, writes Keith Woodford.

The US beef cow herd is expected to grow by more than three million head in the next three to five years.

The protest group set up to halt wharf extensions is upset at being excluded from a study into the wider impact of the ports on the city.

New Zealand's listed companies are expected to present solid results to the market in the coming months but analysts are predicting cautious outlooks.

Genesis Energy announced its last two coal-burning electricity generators at Huntly Power Station will be shut down.

DairyNZ says New Zealand milk production is expected to fall by 2 or 3 per cent this season as farmers focus on improving the efficiency of their farming systems.

Whole milk powder prices have dropped to their lowest level since 2008, putting more downward pressure on Fonterra's farmgate milk price forecast and reinforcing the market view that the Reserve Bank will cut interest rates twice this year to partly compe

In as little as seven days, you could have 19 litres of award-winning homebrew beer - a successful invention which has allowed homebrew kit company WilliamsWarn to eye up the global market.

The ANZ Commodity Price Index for July fell 11.2 per cent to the lowest level since October 2009.

Mr Key said Solid Energy had $300 million of outstanding debt and was in a "precarious position".

Our fruit trade has become a heavy hitter as an export, helping to at least partly offset weakness in the dairy and forest products sectors.

Concentrating on marketing its cuts rather than processing them is paying dividends for a niche meat exporter.

Germany is the largest export market for New Zealand onions, followed by Indonesia and Japan.

Open Country has told its farmers that their forecast payout has been cut back due to slumping world dairy prices.

Editorial: The resource is not being used as it should be, and stricter policing of the current trade will not, in itself, change that markedly.

New Zealand manufacturing activity increased in June, snapping three months of decline, as a weaker dollar supported exporters in the sector.

Chief Theo Spierings admits news unsettling for staff as co-op tries to reduce its payroll bill by up to $60m a year.

Liam Dann says axing 523 jobs may make financial sense to Fonterra's chiefs but the dairy slump is bigger than that.