Commercial, industrial and retail properties sales last year totalled more than $1.4 billion - but deals this year could be higher, says a property market expert.

Spirulina, that gooey green stuff that was all the rage with 1990s health fanatics, is big business for an Auckland firm that's one of the world's biggest suppliers.

The NZX is now back in operation after a technical glitch this morning kept investors in the dark.

As Rio Tinto and Meridian Energy haggle over the price of power for the Tiwai Pt aluminium smelter, optimism about the metal's future has faded.

The dollar has hit a 20-month high against the greenback after an early release of minutes from the last Federal Reserve policy meeting.

A New Zealand-developed process for dying wool hailed as a world first in the textile industry has been snapped up by a US active wear manufacturer.

The trade-weighted index of the New Zealand dollar rose above 78 for the first time since it was floated in 1985.

Why should a small business get involved with a charity?

Led by dairy products, prices for export commodities surged last month - and this time the rise in world prices was not eaten up by a higher exchange rate.

Mad Butcher chief executive Michael Morton says investors' strong appetite for the company's back-door listing has not surprised him.

Nostalgia channel Jones! starts soon in a move by Sky Television to discourage subscribers from opting out of the basic package.

Former NZX chief executive Mark Weldon received a $1.4 million remuneration package for his last five months in the job.