Wellington, Jan 22 NZPA - American scientists, including those who advise the United States government will visit New Zealand for a meeting with their counterparts here next week.

Wellington, Jan 19 NZPA - The New Zealand dollar briefly stretched above US74c today as non-US dollar currencies got a lift from reports that food company Kraft is likely to lift its bid for Cadbury Plc.

Wellington, Jan 15 NZPA - Increased spending on petrol and diesel continued to be the main factor as the amount spent using electronic cards rose modestly last month.

By Rachel Pinder of NZPA Auckland, Jan 14 NZPA - United States Ambassador David Huebner today expressed his disappointment at the postponement of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's New Zealand visit, due to start tomorrow.

Wellington, Dec 30 NZPA - Hamilton-based natural sweetener company BioVittoria's bid to float on the stock exchange and raise $20 million has fallen short.

Wellington, Dec 22 NZPA - Today will be the biggest day yet in December for retailers, according to electronic payment processing company Paymark.

Wellington, Dec 17 NZPA - Proposals for new food safety laws which will be in a bill to be introduced next year have been sent out for consultation, Food Safety Minister Kate Wilkinson says.

Wellington, Dec 16 NZPA - Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark says China could become a powerful force to help developing nations fight both climate change and poverty with low-cost exports of wind or solar technologies.

Wellington, Dec 8 NZPA - A North Korean official says serious malnutrition is no longer a problem after he was pressed by a New Zealand diplomat at a United Nations council about women and children starving in the communist state.

Wellington, Dec 1 NZPA - The New Zealand sharemarket had another good day, fuelled in part by fast food and coffee from Restaurant Brands. The benchmark NZSX-50 index, which gained 31.1 points yesterday, piled on another 21 points, or 0.674 percent, to 3146.6 points today.