New Zealand business confidence rose to a six-month high in November, signalling a pick up in the economy. A net 14.5 per cent of businesses were confident about the general outlook for the economy over the coming year, up from 10.5 per cent last month, according to the ANZ Business Outlook survey. A net 32 per cent of firms see their own activity expanding in the coming year, up from a net 23.7 per cent in October. While the New Zealand economy is being weighed down by slower housing markets in Auckland and Christchurch, a surplus of labour and low prices for dairy products, the country's largest commodity export, ... (full story)