Even if you have been closely following the euro crisis, you would still be astonished by recent developments. The dramatic stand-off between the Greek Government and the rest of Europe is something we have not seen before. Read more

For anyone who has recently travelled abroad, the pleasure of coming home to New Zealand is spoilt by an unpleasant observation. We have become one of the most expensive places on earth. Read more

Wellington has little to gain and a lot to lose by opting for a super-city, argues Oliver Hartwich. New Zealand’s local government units are typically already large by international standards. Read more

Australian politics always enjoys a reputation for being just a little more vicious than elsewhere. You only need to think of the way in which Abbott’s Labor predecessors Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard fought each other between 2008 and 2014. Read more

When Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis visited his German counterpart Wolfgang Schäuble in Berlin last week, there was a telling scene at their joint press conference. Schäuble, in trying to keep a diplomatic semblance of harmony despite the fundamental disagreements between the two governments, claimed that they had “agreed to disagree”. Read more

Abel Tasman beach is not only a beautiful South Island spot. It also shows us the beauty of property rights. Read more

There are many things one might accuse the new Greek government of: scaring investors, breaching diplomatic protocol or rather odd sartorial choices. In fact, new finance minister Yanis Varoufakis has ticked all those boxes in his first week in office. Read more

The biggest loser in Greece’s snap election was not even on the ballot paper. It was German Chancellor Angela Merkel whose austerity policies in the euro crisis were rejected by Greece’s swing to the radical left. Read more

Having become leader only a couple of months ago, there were great expectations for Andrew Little to spell out what Labour would focus on under his watch. He delivered in his ‘State of the Nation’ speech. Read more

Ending the Swiss franc’s peg to the euro surprised market participants, analysts and commentators alike, including this writer. Unlike the introduction of the euro peg in 2011, which was flagged beforehand, the end of the measure was prepared in secret. Read more

Usually, we call things stable when they do not change and unstable if they do. Apparently this is not the case in monetary policy. Read more

In my last column of 2014, I wrote that European leaders usually pick the least appealing policy option and still manage to make it worse (A Greek olive branch for Steve Keen, 18 December). Maybe that was a premature assessment. Read more