Steve Mason has been appointed the editor of the Marlborough Express and the paper's website, www.marlboroughexpress.co.nz.

Steve, currently the deputy editor of The Southland Times, starts at the Express on May 31.

Retail sales in March rose by 0.3%mth, weaker than the market expected: after a fall in February, the market was expecting a rebound in March. Sales are 1.2% higher than a year ago. We expected a flat result, but consensus expected a bigger increase, hence a disappointing 'headline' result.

Several hundred First National delegates will be gathering in Wellington this weekend to mark their 24th Annual Convention called 'Growth 2010' and present their annual industry awards.

Vacant industrial land in Manukau, the Auckland region's manufacturing and distribution hub, is likely to run out within less than 15 years.

Fitch Ratings-London-05 May 2010: Fitch Ratings believes the implementation of stricter liquidity criteria will intuitively result in improved bank and banking system safety, but recognises that the consequences could include a change in an individual bank's risk appetite or competitive position.

Household Labour Force Survey - March 2010 quarter

* Today's employment report was strong across the board, sending the unemployment rate sharply lower to 6.0 percent from 7.1 percent.

The Commerce Commission has granted clearance for Novartis AG to acquire Nestlé S.A.'s 52.15 per cent shareholding in Alcon, Inc.

The Commission considered the impact of the acquisition on four eye care product markets in New Zealand where aggregation would occur.

SmartPay (SPY:NZX), New Zealand's leading merchant services provider, today announced it has further streamlined operations, moving to an outsourced (or OEM) manufacturing model to replace in-house assembly capability.

Local tissue manufacturer SCA Hygiene Australasia has responded to recent media coverage concerning the origins of New Zealand pulp imports by confirming the environmental credentials of its products.

The belief 'An apple a day keeps your doctor away' seems pass as Indians now seem to be eating a lot more than just apples to stay healthy!