Shares in SLI Systems soared to a six-month high after the online search software developer’s service topped 1 billion search queries in December, the first time it crossed that threshold. The shares rose as high as $2.50, the highest since July last year, and recently traded at $2.45, up 20 percent on the day, after the company said search queries …

New Zealanders lifted retail spending on credit and debit cards last month, adding to signs an accelerating economy is making consumers more confident to open their wallets. Total electronic card transactions at retailers rose 0.6 percent, seasonally adjusted, in December from November and were up 5.5 percent compared to December 2012, according to Statistics New Zealand. Core retailing rose 0.9 …

New Zealand business confidence climbed to a 20-year high in the fourth quarter, lifting expectations for profits, hiring and investments, and raising the prospects for inflation to start to accelerate. A net 52 percent of businesses were optimistic in the December quarter, seasonally adjusted, the highest since June 1994 and up from 33 percent three months earlier, which was itself …