Australia and New Zealand will consider adopting a single currency under a proposal jointly floated by the countries' productivity bodies. The productivity commissions of the two nations indicated a shared Trans-Tasman currency could reduce business costs but pointed to Europe as an example of possible downsides. A paper released by the commissions says the lower transaction costs of a single currency need to be weighed against mismatched business cycles such as the sudden boost to exports caused by the current Australian mining boom. The proposal was raised as part of a discussion paper examining ways to bolster ... (full story)