A review of things you need to know before you go home on Friday; mortgage rate cut, improved affordability, immigration record, consumer confidence up, swap rates rise

Here are the key things you need to know before you leave work today.

TODAY'S MORTGAGE RATE CHANGES
There was a change announced today which will be effective on Monday. Kiwibank has said it will slice -20 bps off its standard one year fixed home loan rate, reducing it to 5.79%.

TODAY'S DEPOSIT RATE CHANGES
There were no changes today.

ROOST REPORTS SEE AFFORDABILITY IMPROVEMENT
New Zealand's home loan affordability improved in August as interest rates and mortgage payments fell faster than the small rise in median house prices. It now takes 55% of the median take home pay to make a mortgage payment on a median-priced house. Affordability worsened however for first home buyers.

FLAT-LINING
The ANZ Jobs Ads index was out today. Total job advertising rose 1.4% in August in a partial bounce-back from its July -2.4% fall. The index has flattened out in recent months after a lift to a higher level of activity at the start of the year. 

IMMIGRATION HITS NEW RECORD
There was a net inflow of 4,695 people in the August month, the largest net inflow on record. This inflow drove annual net migration up to 43,483 people, its highest ever level. A sharp lift in foreign student arrivals and a swift drop in net outflows to Australia have been the main contributors to the lift in net migration - trends that are expected to continue through into 2015, pushing annual net migration towards 50,000.

WE NEED THE TOURISM MINISTER BACK ON THE JOB
Tourist arrivals dropped 3.0% in August, their third consecutive monthly fall. Arrivals for the month were at their lowest level since October last year. The biggest single drop last month was an 84% decline in arrivals from Indonesia. The timing of Ramadan, which was in late July this year rather than early August, appears to have been a big influence on the figures. Arrivals from Australia were also down 1.3% from last August, with fewer people holidaying here or visiting friends and family. (H/T GK)

SWEET SPOT
Consumer confidence popped back up marginally in September according to the ANZ-Roy Morgan survey. The party may be winding down a little but confidence levels are still high. People think it is a good time to buy a major appliance, and households are feeling better off financially, according to this data.

CREDIT CARDS STAY IN POCKETS
Credit card billing in August were surprisingly weak, barely above the level of the same month a year ago and at their lowest level since February. But perhaps we are not paying them off as fast as balances are actually +4.7% higher in August 2014 than they were in August 2013.

RENOVATING A BIG HOLE
The next steps in developing Auckland's Three Kings quarry housing site were taken today. When completed, up to 1,500 new dwellings will become home to about 3,000 people.This will be the largest housing project close in to the Auckland city centre, just 6.5 km from the Queen St.

WHOLESALE RATES
Swap rates have pushed on a little higher today, up another +1 or +2 bps across the curve. The ten year is up +3 bps. The 90 day bank bill rate however had a pull-back to 3.70%.

OUR CURRENCY
Check our real-time charts here. The main feature today is the rally by the GBP as it has become clear that Scotland will stay a part of a "United" Kingdom. The NZD has fallen to 49.3 UKp. The NZD has firmed just slightly from this time yesterday and now at 81.3 USc, up against the Aussie to 90.8 AUc. The TWI is also higher at 78.5.

You can now see an animation of this chart. Click on it, or click here.