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Bernard Hickey details the key news overnight in 90 seconds at 9am in association with ASB, including news that the New Zealand dollar was firm again over the last 24 hours after stronger than expected retail sales figures increased speculation that the Reserve Bank will put up the Official Cash Rate earlier than expected.

The RBNZ has forecast leaving the OCR on hold until the latter part of 2010, but markets are saying it is now more likely to start lifting in early 2010 and rate hikes will be quite fast.  Wholesale interest rates are rising and so are government bond yields.

However, Finance Minister Bill English returned from his overseas bond sales trip saying he found strong demand for the bonds, NZHerald reported.

However, nervousness is growing inside the US banking system again on fears about big commercial property loan losses and as small business lender CIT nears collapse.

Goldman Sachs was also downgraded by Meredith Whitney, the analyst who was first to predict banking disaster last year.