OpinionSusan Watson: Small shareholders' rights of control are mostly illusoryIn terms of time spent and where expertise sits, it is rational to leave the running of that business to the board and management, writes Susan Watson.27 May 05:30 PM
CommoditiesNo inquiry into Solid Energy collapseAuditor General Lyn Provost says she will not carry out an inquiry into what led Solid Energy to the brink of collapse this year.24 May 04:46 AM
New ZealandKey's $1b Solid Energy request in doubtNewly released papers raise fresh questions over Prime Minister John Key's claim that Solid Energy asked for $1 billion of taxpayers' money to fund its transformation into a massive resources company.21 May 05:30 PM
CommoditiesSolid Energy chair fought Govt planSolid Energy ex-chairman John Palmer opposed Treasury's wish to appoint an independent advisor to the company's board last year.21 May 03:05 AM
EnergySolid Energy a 'very different company'Solid Energy chairman Mark Ford says the struggling energy group - which is to cut another 105 jobs - is a "very different company'' to what it was a year ago.08 May 04:19 AM
EnergySolid Energy sheds another 105 jobsSolid Energy has confirmed it will shed 105 jobs as it restructures in a bid to stay viable.08 May 02:45 AM
New ZealandGuilty verdicts over Pike River disasterPike River Coal has been convicted of all charges arising from the November 2010 mining tragedy that killed 29 men.18 Apr 04:17 AM
AgribusinessSolid Energy spends $1.8 million on travelLabour's Clayton Cosgrove has accused Solid Energy of excessive spending in the year leading up to the company's near collapse.15 Apr 05:30 PM
New ZealandAngry Pike families denounce reportUpset families of the 29 men killed at Pike River "cannot accept" findings of a report that absolves government employees of any blame for the 2010 tragedy.10 Apr 10:50 PM
BusinessElder's extra $250k slammed by LabourFormer Solid Energy chief executive Don Elder will pocket more than $250,000 from the indebted state-owned miner while he remains on its payroll for another four months.27 Mar 07:02 PM
Banking and financeSolid Energy warnings ignoredWere senior Cabinet ministers asleep at the wheel? Did they fail to step in soon enough when problems at Solid Energy were apparent? John Armstrong investigates.25 Mar 04:30 PM
New ZealandGovt pushed Solid Energy despite bad reportsThe Gt kept insisting that Solid Energy would be part of its asset sales plan long after it had been informed of its declining health and unacceptable debt, official documents show.22 Mar 04:30 PM
New ZealandLabour rises at expense of alliesLabour and its leader David Shearer have had a boost in support in the latest <i>Herald-</i>DigiPoll survey - but it appears to have come at the expense of its potential coalition allies.20 Mar 07:24 PM
OpinionFran O'SullivanFran O'Sullivan: Spring Creek delay racked up debtsJohn Palmer's last act as Solid Energy's chairman was to announce the bad news: the state-owned enterprise had posted a $40.2 million net loss for the 2011-12 financial year on the back of major asset writedowns.19 Mar 04:30 PM
OpinionEditorial: Give private sector a go at Solid EnergyEditorial: If anything useful has been learned from the Labour Party's pursuit of Solid Energy, it is that there are severe limits to the present Government's asset sales.18 Mar 04:29 PM
OpinionJohn RoughanJohn Roughan: Too important for democracyLike the church, business is best led by a responsible few, says John Roughan.15 Mar 04:30 PM
EconomyRevealed: Solid Energy's $27b planPrime Minister John Key this morning released documents detailing Solid Energy's ambitious expansion plans.15 Mar 12:30 AM
OpinionJohn Armstrong: Elder finds the perfect straight bat as Labour probesYou cannot have a witch trial without a wicked witch. More so when the person whose vilification had reached lynch-mob proportions turns out to be a veritable Prince Charming.14 Mar 08:30 PM
CommoditiesBottom dropped out of coal market, says ElderFormer Solid Energy chief executive Don Elder says the main reason for the company's near failure was "a stunning blow" in the form of "an unprecedented collapse in coal prices".14 Mar 04:30 PM
New ZealandKey under fire over Solid Energy claimsPrime Minister John Key is facing claims he misled the public after former Solid Energy chairman John Palmer said the company resisted Government pressure to take on more debt - the very thing the Prime Minister said caused the company's problems.14 Mar 04:30 PM
New ZealandAltered contract was 'unusual'Former Solid Energy chairman John Palmer has conceded it was unusual to make changes to an employment contract on his last day in office.14 Mar 04:30 PM
BusinessSolid Energy opposed debt planFormer Solid Energy chairman John Palmer has told MPs he opposed the Government's 2009 direction that the state owned coal miner take on more debt.14 Mar 02:35 AM
OpinionDame Anne Salmond: Time to defend democratic rightsSince the 1980s, too, successive Governments have become increasingly high-handed, and ideologically driven, writes Anne Salmond.13 Mar 08:30 PM
New ZealandGovt told Solid Energy to borrowEx-Solid Energy chairman John Palmer will be grilled on whether pressure from the Government for the company to borrow contributed to its near-collapse last month.13 Mar 04:30 PM
Banking and financeWhat would you ask Don Elder?Prime Minister John Key says he would be amazed if any surprises emerged from former Solid Energy chief executive Don Elder's appearance before a select committee tomorrow.12 Mar 11:04 PM
Banking and financeWhat would you ask Don Elder?Both of the men who steered state coal miner Solid Energy to the brink of financial ruin will tomorrow face MPs questions about their oversight and management of the company.12 Mar 09:33 PM
OpinionFran O'SullivanFran O'Sullivan: Solid Energy duo deserve their sayThe fundamental conflict between the Govt's political imperatives and Solid Energy's commercial imperatives needs to be probed further, writes Fran O'Sullivan.12 Mar 04:30 PM
New ZealandEx-Solid Energy boss agrees to grillingFormer Solid Energy boss Don Elder has confirmed he will go to Parliament to answer questions about the company's problems.11 Mar 07:40 PM
