New World and Four Square stores in Auckland have axed their 5c charge on plastic bags.

Licensing tobacco retailers and turning cigarette packs into plain packages bearing only health warnings is among five new proposals to reduce smoking.

The number of plastic bags used by NZ shoppers has been slashed by 157 million over five years - almost a quarter of the original total.

Warning for retailers as more than 100 weapons are seized.

Profits at New Zealand's largest energy distributor, Vector, have risen 16.3 per cent, but the recession means growth in new connections has slowed and volumes are down.

Appliance retailer Noel Leeming has reached an eleventh hour settlement with interests of its former owner Eric Watson over an unpaid debt.

Mastercard will let merchants surcharge customers when they use their cards to make purchases under a settlement announced today.