MOST WEALTHY: Hart's fortune is estimated to be almost $1b higher now than a year ago, according to Forbes magazine.

Hart Australasia's richest man

Kiwi billionaire Graeme Hart is the richest person in Australasia for the second straight year, according to Forbes magazine.

Interest rates held steady

By JAMES WEIR - BusinessDay.co.nz

The Reserve Bank has held rates at 2.5pc but has indicated they will start rising around the middle of the year.

Infratil to keep Shell branding

BusinessWire

1:01pm Infratil, which is in advanced talks to acquire assets from Shell New Zealand, said there is substantial value in being an overtly New Zealand-owned dominant petrol company.

Grocery prices fall in February

Food prices fell 1.3 per cent in February, with prices for fruit and vegetables, meat and fish, and groceries all falling from January.

Manufacturing picks ups

12:26pm Manufacturing showed signs of slow and steady improvement last month, with the latest BNZ-Business NZ performance of manufacturing index (PMI) indicating a continuing rise in new orders.

More Business headlines

NZ dollar slips after rates announcement

ETS will stoke inflation

Australia's jobless rate steady

Qantas heading towards bluer skies

Allied Farmers to be considered for NZX50

Australian shares open stronger

Crown's guarantee windfall

Share market loses ground as rates held

Britian's credit profile deteriorates - Fitch

US budget deficit hits record high

More Business headlines

Indices

	VALUE
NZX50	3,222.525	-3.667	-0.11%
ASX200	4,819.960	-0.100	0.00%
DOW	10,564.380	11.900	0.10%
NASDAQ	2,340.680	8.500	0.40%
FTSE	5,640.570	38.300	0.70%
NIKKEI	10,563.920	-3.700	0.00%
H-SENG	21,208.290	0.700	0.00%
NZX50 20 min delay, others last close

Top Movers

	PRICE
CER	0.010	-0.002	-16.67%
SLG	0.170	-0.020	-10.53%
TEN	0.920	-0.060	-6.12%
CYT	0.057	-0.003	-5.00%
WDT	0.085	0.004	4.94%
DGL	1.980	-0.100	-4.81%
RNS	0.210	-0.010	-4.55%
Price as at 2:17 pm, 11 Mar

Currencies

RATE
Australian Dollar	0.768
Euro	0.514
British Pound	0.469
Hong Kong Dollar	5.448
Japanese Yen	63.560
Singapore Dollar	0.982
US Dollar	0.701
Price as at 1:10 pm, 11 Mar

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Industries

Allied Farmers to be considered for NZX50

NZX, the New Zealand stock exchange operator, has confirmed that Allied Farmers won’t be included in the NZX50 Index at this time, but will be considered for inclusion at the June review.

Women join Meat and Wool board

Two women directors have been elected to the Meat and Wool New Zealand board, displacing men already involved in the industry's power structures.

Cubicle backers offer new options

World

Qantas heading towards bluer skies

Qantas is turning around the decline in yields - or average air fares - after they bottomed out last year, but it is still experiencing weakness in earnings from its international flights.

Australia's jobless rate steady

Australia added 11,400 full-time positions in February but not enough to stop the jobless rate edging higher after a revision for January.

Britian's credit profile deteriorates - Fitch

US budget deficit hits record high

British banks need to find billions

Britain's big domestic banks need to raise as much as 750 billion pounds ($1.6 trillion) in the next three years as the government prepares to wind down support for the sector.

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Market Data

NZ dollar slips after rates announcement

The Kiwi dollar fell after the central bank kept its policy assessment virtually unchanged from its December review.

Share market loses ground as rates held

The New Zealand share market slipped in early trading, with key stocks losing ground or staying flat after the Reserve Bank did as expected and left official interest rates at a record low 2.5 per cent.