Consumers using credit cards could soon face higher costs after a Commerce Commission ruling gave merchants the right to charge levies.

Settlement means shops can now start imposing levies on shoppers using credit cards.

BNZ has decided to appeal the $645m tax avoidance case it lost in the High Court last month.

The way Securities Commission chief executive Jane Diplock sees it, New Zealand's investor protection was way behind the rest of the world when she arrived. Since then, she says, there has been significant progress, but we are not there yet

While news channels still report the daily stock market moves from the floor of the exchange, the real US trading action is increasingly taking place in "dark pools" managed by computers.

Westpac New Zealand looks likely to follow the BNZ in cutting unpopular but lucrative penalty fees.

The Guardians of the Superannuation Fund hold grave fears for the NZX.