A review of things you need to know before you go home on Friday; home loan affordability improves, new PSA outbreak, creative reporting at Auckland Council, Yellen signals a hike

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

TODAY'S MORTGAGE RATE CHANGES
There are no changes to report today.

TODAY'S DEPOSIT RATE CHANGES
Kiwibank cut its call and bonus saver rates today.

AFFORDABILITY IMPROVES
Housing getting more affordable as prices ease, interest rates fall. House prices have started falling at the lower end of the market, with Auckland's lower quartile selling price declining for three months in a row.

A NEW PSA OUTBREAK
There has been a Psa-V positive test result on Hort16A and male vines on a kiwifruit orchard in Whangarei. This is the first confirmed case of Psa-V on an orchard in the Whangarei region. Local growers will be very disappointed as they have avoided the scourge for the past four years. No kiwifruit plant material, including budwood and nursery stock, along with any potentially contaminated orchard equipment, can be moved between orchards in the region.

$784 MLN WORSE
A PR release from Auckland Council brought the good news that in 2014-15 they had a surplus of $80 mln. Revenues were $3.6 bln, expenses were $3.5 bln, and total assets were $42.2 bln. But a closer reading shows this was "before gains and losses" which this year amounted to a "loss" of $230 mln. Last year it was a "gain" of $483 mln. This year's Note 6 items not included in the $80 mln result were a $61 mln gain in the fair value of investment property, a $141 mln loss in the fair value of financial assets, a $131 mln loss on currencies, and a $13 mln loss on the disposal of fixed assets. Dodgy reporting Auckland Council. Those losses on fair value and currencies are real. Before tax results were actually a loss of $98 mln, far worse than the $686 surplus in 2014.

YELLEN SIGNALS HIKE
It is worth noting that earlier today, Janet Yellen came out with a clear statement that the Fed expects to raise rates before the end of 2015. It's a long but worthwhile read. They have meetings on October 29 and December 17. The signal is very clear and markets will be brutal if the Fed now doesn't deliver.

PROMOTING TOURISM
The Tourism Growth Partnership Fund is 'investing' $1.1 mln in five new projects across New Zealand. This funding is on top of the $1.5 mln announced last week to help promote direct flights from Guangzhou, China to Christchurch.

STRIKES SPREAD
Workers from 17 Bunnings stores are to strike as unrest spreads. After strikes in Auckland and the Manawatu today, workers from an additional 17 Bunnings stores will strike tomorrow in a national day of industrial action.

LESS SLEEP
Daylight savings starts at 2am on Sunday. Put clocks ahead one hour.

MYND CYMRU
Even thoiugh they have had a very bad run of key injuries, I (and the rest of the rubgy world it seems) will be rooting for Wales at RWC 2015 this weekend.

WHOLESALE RATES RISE
Following the Yellen speech, local swap rates rose +3 bps across all terms. The 90 day bank bill rate is unchanged at 2.84%.

NZ DOLLAR UP
The Kiwi dollar gained some ground today especially against the Aussie. It is now at 63.2 USc, at 90.3 AUc and at 56.6 euro cents. The TWI-5 is now at 68.1. Check our real-time charts here.

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