New World and Four Square stores in Auckland have axed their 5c charge on plastic bags.

A Wellington supermarket is forced to axe a compulsory plastic bag charge it introduced only four weeks ago.

The number of plastic bags used by NZ shoppers has been slashed by 157 million over five years - almost a quarter of the original total.

Appliance retailer Noel Leeming has reached an eleventh hour settlement with interests of its former owner Eric Watson over an unpaid debt.