Here's my summary of the key news overnight in 90 seconds at 9 am, including news China has annointed a North Korean-educated economist and someone who has pushed debt-fueled infrastructure development to its ruling body.
Leader Xi Jinping is part of a new team of Communist Party hardliners, who are expected to speed up economic reforms at a time of slowing growth but oppose political liberalisation.
In Europe, the euro-area economy succumbed to a recession for the second time in four years as governments imposed tougher budget cuts and leaders struggled to contain the debt crisis that broke out in October 2009. Rising unemployment and fiscal austerity across much of Europe is deepening the bloc's economic malaise.
The news is not that much better in the US where the latest general economic survey slipped into contraction in the important industrial Northeast.
Also out overnight, US cost of living rose only marginally in October, confirming inflation is in check in America.
The Dow is down although staging a small comeback at mid-day in New York. Oil is weak as well.
And gold prices fell after the World Gold Council said that demand for the metal plunged by 11% in the third quarter. We will have more detail on this later in the day.
The NZ$ starts the day at 80.8 USc and 72.7 on the TWI, the lowest our currency has been vs the US has been in 10 weeks.
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