The Winklevoss twins, the square-jawed entrepreneurs best known for their bitter wranglings over Facebook, have turned their attention to dragging Bitcoin out of the shadows and into the mainstream.

Motorists will face petrol price rises tomorrow, with a three cents a litre government tax increase, pushing total tax on petrol to about 42.7 per cent of the pump price.

Infant formula is clearly where the action is on the international dairy markets.

It's been a roller coaster week for the New Zealand share market. The NZX 50 fell more than 1 per cent on Tuesday as the Chinese stockmarket fell to its lowest level in four years amid fears of a credit squeeze slowing its economy.

China's Bright Dairy will retain four seats on the eight-member Synlait Milk board, despite the likelihood it will lose its majority ownership status.

Well-connected lobbyists Saunders Unsworth worked with Solid Energy, Treasury and Cabinet Ministers to thwart questions about the company's problems.

Europe's main stock markets rode out a rollercoaster session after heavy losses in Tokyo on investor fears of central banks pulling the plug on their extraordinary stimulus measures.

Shares in cloud-computing software company Xero hit a new high yesterday despite the NZX 50 index having another day in the red.

Solid Energy withheld financial information from Treasury when challenged on its business plans in what an independent report says was a pattern of disrespect.

An independent review of events leading to Solid Energy's near collapse has raised questions.

The New Zealand sharemarket is expected to remain volatile over coming weeks as investors take profits amid jitters over the US Federal Reserve turning off its money tap.

Conservationists fighting a decision to allow an Australian mining company to dig for coal on the West Coast's Denniston Plateau have suffered a major setback today.

Shares in the newly-listed technology firm SLI Systems are up a further 25 per cent today.

The Denniston Plateau deal shows that National and the mining industry have learned their lesson from their last attempt to mine on conservation land.

Shares in the newest member of the NZX, SLI Systems, have jumped 18.67 per cent from its initial public offer price.

Fonterra says its opening forecast farmgate milk price had been set at $7.00 per kg of milk solids for the 2013/14 season - up $1.20.

In terms of time spent and where expertise sits, it is rational to leave the running of that business to the board and management, writes Susan Watson.