The near silence of Jane Diplock has been one of the great mysteries of 2008. The Chairman of the Securities Commission, whose main role is "to strengthen investor confidence and foster capital investment in New Zealand by promoting the efficiency, the integrity, and cost-effective regulation of our securities markets", has adopted a low profile even though investor confidence has been rocked by several disturbing developments during the year.

It is great to see next week's Hanover Finance debt restructuring meeting getting plenty of publicity. This is because there needs to be a serious debate about many of the company's activities, including the absence of strong independent directors, huge related party loans, massive dividend payments and misleading accounting policies.

The economic outlook is even more downbeat in Europe than it is in New Zealand. Share markets are tumbling and the media are dominated by reports of depressed housing markets, banking problems and job losses.

There is a huge difference between the current sharemarket downturn and the 1987 crash, particularly as far as New Zealand is concerned.

Attention has turned to the international and domestic economy now that the world credit crisis is showing signs of abating.

The credit crisis, which dominated financial markets again this week, looks as if it will have four distinct stages:

Two major developments, the transformation of Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley into bank holding companies and the heated debate over the US$700 billion ($1 trillion) US Government bailout, demonstrate that the international credit crisis is far from over.

New Zealand's savings problem, which was covered in last week's column, is usually assessed from the perspective of the individual only.

A major shareholder revolt is gathering steam at Guinness Peat Group as investors become increasingly concerned over the group's below-average share price performance, substandard communications, archaic capital management and antiquated corporate governance structure.

Results this month from Telecom, Telstra and Fletcher Building have an important bearing on the domestic sharemarket because the two New Zealand companies represent 25 per cent of the benchmark NZX-50 Gross Index and Telstra's performance is a benchmark for New Zealand's largest listed company.

Many finance company investors, particularly those who entrusted their savings with Mark Hotchin and Eric Watson, face a major decision. They must resolve whether a moratorium or a receivership is the best option when their finance company cannot meet its repayment obligations.

The latest quarterly inflation figures, which are arguably the country's most important economic statistics, sent shivers through financial markets on Tuesday.

The first half of the year was a shocker for investors with the benchmark NZX-50 Gross Index falling 21 per cent and the finance company sector in serious meltdown.

The Southern Petroleum insider trading High Court case finally came to an end on Tuesday following closing submissions by Gary Judd, QC, and Jim Farmer, QC.

Tony Gibbs would be a fantastic mentor of wayward teenagers. Based on his stewardship of Tower he has great patience, nurturing skills, the courage to make tough decisions and, most importantly, the ability to deliver a positive outcome over the longer term.

The proposed closure of PPCS's Oringi and Burnside plants demonstrates once again that the meat processing industry, which is the country's second largest export sector after dairy, continues to struggle.

The nationalisation of the country's rail system, which is yet another Government pre-election flip-flop, is a sad indictment of our political decision-making process.

Western media may be full of gloom and doom about an economic slowdown but there is no sign of an economic slump on the streets of Vietnam. The country is going through a major economic renaissance with GDP growth in excess of 7 per cent for six consecutive years.

The property market claimed another victim this week with the suspension of the $242 million Tower MortgagePlus Fund. Tower has joined a long list of major organisations, including ING and Macquarie, with poorly performing funds that were sold to the public as relatively moderate- to low-risk investments.

Current account or balance of payments statistics, which were released on Thursday, are arguably the country's most important economic indicator. This is because we are a small island nation and the Statistics New Zealand figures give a comprehensive outline of the country's total overseas receipts and expenditure and its international assets and liabilities.

The latest residential property statistics show that house prices are falling and there is unlikely to be any improvement in the short term.

Auckland International Airport

Major changes in the perception of risk have made an important contribution to the recent downturns in equity and housing markets.

Housing affordability and KiwiSaver, two of the major business issues this year, are interrelated.

Three major issues are dominating the business media in most developed countries. These are house prices, the prospects of an economic recession, particularly in the United States, and falling sharemarkets.