Wellington, Oct 24 NZPA - The New Zealand sharemarket rose firmly in early trade today, after US stocks clawed back from five-year lows in a volatile session.

National and Labour today welcomed the Reserve Bank decision to slash the official interest rates an unprecedented 1 percentage point to 6.5 percent.

Wellington, Oct 22 NZPA - The New Zealand sharemarket slid again today after falls in United States equities on fears of a global recession and a rash of disappointing earnings.

Wellington, Oct 22 NZPA - A Canadian oil company scheduled to drill exploratory wells next year at two sites north of Gisborne and south of Napier has dampened down speculation over an East Coast Basin oil rush.

Wellington, Oct 22 NZPA - The New Zealand sharemarket slid in early trade, after falls in United States equities on fears of a global recession and a rash of disappointing earnings.

Wellington, Oct 22 NZPA - Canadian oil explorer Trans-Orient Petroleum Ltd says it has found at least 12.6 billion barrels of oil on the East Coast.

Prime Minister Helen Clark and National leader John Key do not think record high inflation figures out today will impact on the Reserve Bank's decision on Thursday on whether to cut interest rates.

Wellington, Oct 17 NZPA - The sharemarket had a robust start to the trading day, after United States stocks surged in the last hour of trading as investors snapped up beaten-down shares a day before stock options expire.

Wellington, Oct 7 NZPA - Markets may have just had the worst month or so in memory, but the one certainty for investors is that the current credit crisis will resolve itself eventually, fund manager AMP Capital said today.

Wellington, Sept 23 NZPA - New Zealand shares dropped back in early trading, once again taking their lead from the United States where stock prices tumbled.