Here's my summary of the key news overnight in 90 seconds at 9 am, including news of an important tax increase in Japan tomorrow.
Japan's deflation battle has reached a critical point and the signs are troubling. Success is far from certain.
There is a slump in household spending in Japan and the Government recognises that as a big problem ahead of tomorrow's tax increase. It says it will speed up deployment of government cash in coming months as the drop in consumer spending may be showing even their modest inflation may be damaging purchasing power.
Japanese consumer prices increased by 1.3% in February compared with the same period last year, making it the ninth month in a row of gains. The figure met analysts' expectations, but is still well below Prime Minister Abe's inflation target of 2%.
Sales of gold bars are soaring in Japan as buyers rush to invest in the precious metal ahead of tomorrow’s controversial 3% rise in GST from 5% to 8%.
In the US. the latest personal income and spending data from the US for February was released and it is quite positive, supporting the economic expansion.
Benchmark UST 10 yr bond yields recovered a bit over the weekend and are now at 2.72%. The oil price marked time, hesitant as a huge new Iraqi field at Basra is about to open, and gold lost even more ground, closing at US$1,285/oz in New York. Equities were higher.
Here in New Zealand, the Green Party has announced it wants to set up a government-owned investment bank to fund new energy projects. But "you have an independent board so the government can’t meddle, and they’ve got to make a return on their investment. Its not a subsidy," said Russel Norman.
The NZ Dollar stayed at its elevated levels in the final trading sessions in New York on Saturday and starts today at 86.5 USc, the Aussie is at 93.8 AUc, and the TWI remains at 80.9 its all-time high.
If you want to catch up with all the changes on Friday, we have an update here.
The easiest place to stay up with today's event risk is by following our Economic Calendar here »
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