Wellington, Oct 19 NZPA - The New Zealand sharemarket eased today as several smaller stocks slumped significantly, led by coal miner Pike River Coal's 11 percent decline after it again cut production forecasts.

Wellington, Oct 19 NZPA - The Commerce Commission is promoting regulation general manager Brent Alderton to chief executive in January, replacing Nicholas Hill who will leave the competition watchdog at the end of the year.

Wellington, Oct 11 NZPA - New Zealand Oil & Gas Ltd (NZOG) said oil production from the Tui area oil fields is likely to increase in the December quarter now that the Pateke-3H production well is operating again after being shut-in since late June.

Wellington, Sept 30 NZPA - Pike River Coal Ltd has negotiated an unsecured loan facility of up to $25 million with its largest shareholder New Zealand Oil & Gas Ltd (NZOG) to provide short-term working capital while its mine on the West Coast ramps up.

Wellington, Sept 7 NZPA - The New Zealand sharemarket opened relatively quietly this morning as trade overseas thinned since the US Labour Day holiday gave overseas markets no data to digest.

Wellington, Sept 3 NZPA - The New Zealand sharemarket rose in early trading as encouraging US data kept investors optimistic ahead of tonight's US monthly payroll figures.

Wellington, Aug 31 NZPA - The New Zealand sharemarket made up most of the ground lost early in a generally quiet session, with most focus on today's bailout of South Canterbury Finance.

Wellington, Aug 6 NZPA - The New Zealand sharemarket was quiet in early trading, following a relatively weak performance from overseas markets as US weekly jobless claims raised concerns and investors anticipate more disappointing US payroll numbers tonight.

Wellington, Aug 3 NZPA - The New Zealand sharemarket rose in early trading today as relatively positive global data incited overseas market investors to start their week on a bold note.

Wellington, July 20 NZPA - The New Zealand sharemarket turned its back on three consecutive days of decline, building momentum after an early small gain to close up more than 1 percent.