Builderscrack, a site that allows you to request quotes from Tradesmen, has introduced a service to save you time. A job cost estimator which provides instant estimates of the cost of building, rennovating, landscaping, plumbing, paving, decking, flooring and other jobs. It lets you get a sense of

The people behind one of New Zealand's best known jam labels have found themselves in a pickle. But they're determined to make a comeback. This story is about the founders of Anathoth jams and pickles, Owen and Kaye Pope and what happened to their business when a partnership with a consortium

Got me baffled ...

BP looks set to create new records in recklessness as the true extent of the disaster gets out from underneath the massive spin job that has been spun to the American public.

A US based firm is providing an interesting twist to employee onboarding. At the end of four weeks of training, they pop the question: “If you quit today, we will pay you for the amount of time you’ve worked, plus we will offer you a $1,000 bonus … no questions asked, no ill feeling." Sho

From tonight, people with 025 phones will not be able to make or receive calls or text messages, including emergency calls using a 025 mobile. Telecom shuts down its 025 mobile phone network at six o'clock March 31,2007, after a three year winding-down operation.

Part of the big delusion in our banking system is the reality that debt has become a large source of money flowing through the economy. This is why housing made the perfect vessel for Wall Street and banking speculation. Banks create money by issuing loans and there is nothing larger to loan on than a home. Think about the fact that banks were giving out $500,000 for trashy run down homes over

New Zealand job applicants exaggerate their skills and experience when applying for jobs and managers don’t trust their CVs, according to an international survey by recruitment company Robert Half International.

In its 2007 Workplace Survey, Robert Half asked 5098 managers across 17 countries

In the matter of one year, the once fifth largest investment bank was bought out for a pittance of its once mighty price. Bear Stearns has a long and storied legacy going back to 1923. Bear has lived through numerous recessions and the Great Depression. The company has approximately 14,000 people a

Another New Zealand fund set up by Australian hedge fund Absolute Capital Group, now in administration, is to be liquidated.

Absolute, half-owned by giant Dutch bank ABN Amro and half by staff, suffered a disastrous decline in revenues in the wake of the US sub-prime mortgage crisis and was put

Well, if you thought things were bad now, just wait. Think bank failures, recession, soaring default rates, home prices plunging by at least one-third and layoffs rippling across the economy. The unwinding could take five to seven years before the housing market hits bottom, he says.

As a former

A key historical investment pattern is for non-residential investment in structures to follow residential investment by about 4 to 7 quarters (both up and down). See Investment Matters for some graphs on this subject.

Clearly the CRE slump is here. Now the questions is how deep and how fast will

Information and warnings about Paypal egold or moneybookers exchanges. They breach the TOS but they're available all over the place. You risk losing your funds and your reputation.

The SFO is cracking down on investors getting big mortgages using dodgy paperwork. I wonder who they are?

Almost half of Auckland’s finance and accounting professionals would consider trading off a lower salary for flexible working hours, according to the 2008 Robert Half Auckland Salary Guide.