Here are the key things you need to know before you leave work today.
MORTGAGE RATES FALL, MOSTLY
Over the weekend and earlier today we saw rates cut by ASB, BankDirect, Sovereign, Kiwibank and SBS. This afternoon Housing NZ Corp increased its floating rate to 6.25% from 6.00%, cut its two year by 10 bps to 6.20%, and increased its 5 year rate from 7.2% to 7.4%.
ASB INCREASES TD RATES
ASB has raised its 6 mth term deposit rate to 4% matching its main rivals except Westpac who is still the laggard for this term. It also raised its 1 yr, 18 mth, and 2 year term deposit rates to the same level most of its rivals are at - but none of them are matching ANZ for terms 18 mths and over who are offering at least 0.25% more.
RBNZ REPORTS ON APRIL SPEED LIMITS
The latest data from the regulator on high LVR lending shows all banks still have heaps of capacity to do more. As at April 30, they had only used 4.3% of the 10% regulatory limit.
TRADE BALANCE STILL A BIG POSITIVE
At $534 million in April - along with upward revisions for February and March - we are still selling more abroad than we are importing. In April 2013, the trade balance was +$170 million. Still, most of the commentary was that the we are "post-peak" and on the slide. That's probably the case because the July to October period is when exports are seasonally weak.
GENTRACK TO FLOAT
Specialist utilities and airports software solutions provider Gentrack today said it will launch an initial public offering (IPO) at the NZX and the ASX. It is trying to raise more than $100 million.
SERKO TO FLOAT
Another software developer wants to float as well. Serko, a cloud-based technology company that provides corporate travel booking and expense management applications to approximately 6,000 corporations and government agencies across the Asia Pacific region, is looking to raise more than $20 million from an NZX listing.
WHOLESALE RATES STEEPEN
Wholesale swap rates were a little soft for terms 5 to 10 yrs today, dropping 2 bps. The 90 day bank bill rate is unchanged at 3.41%.
OUR CURRENCY
Its a holiday in the US markets today (and one in London too I think). That makes markets trades very thin indeed. The NZ dollar has slowly softened as the day progressed and is ending with the USD at 85.3 USc, the Aussie at 92.4 AUc. The TWI is at 79.8.
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