A review of things you need to know before you go home on Tuesday; TD rates fall, listings tight, house prices high, China and Japan surprise, swap rates inch up, NZD jumps +1c

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
Westpac has had to adjust its under $10K term deposit rates down because its rates above that level have sunk and reduced the premium. NZCU Baywide, which has just gotten a tick from their credit rating agency, reduced some term deposit rates for all terms from 1 month to 5 years.

TIGHT SUPPLY
Data out from realestate.co.nz today shows that listings have dried up and are now at a six year low. The market is tightening noticeably for summer, although there has been a surge of apartment listings.

$1 MLN, HERE WE COME
QV's November assessment of the national real estate market reports that prices have risen +15% year-on-year. If you think that is a little crazy, then don't read the next sentence. QV says prices in Auckland rose +24% in the year to November. That equates to an average Auckland price of $932,000. Our report has details for every town in New Zealand.

A DISAPPOINTING RESULT
NZ's merchandise terms of trade fell -3.7% in the September 2015 quarter, due to import prices rising more than export prices, Statistics New Zealand said today. This was weaker than expected. This fall follows a +1.5% rise in the June quarter.

A SHOT IN THE ARM
Two China PMI readings out today were not quite as weak as expected. And the China service sector continues to hold things together quite well even if there is shrinkage in the factory sector. This is the conclusion after reading both the official PMI and the unofficial Caixin PMI data, both out mid afternoon. But the biggest surprise actually came from Japan where output growth hit a 20 month high. Economy #2 and economy #3 are not rolling over yet. In fact, today's reports have given some commodity currencies a shot in the arm, ours especially.

A RATINGS AGENCY TICK
Standard & Poor's said today they liked the financial strength and governance in the NZ local authority sector, even though it is facing rising infrastructure finance demand. They think recent reforms have strengthened the situation.

CLIMATE 'ACTION'
New Zealand has agreed to ratify the Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol, helping push to final adoption. New Zealand has also called today for an end to fossil fuel subsidies, leading a large group of countries taking this position in Paris. And we are to spend another $20 mln (on top of $45 mln already committed) on an international program tackling agricultural emissions.

WHOLESALE RATES
Local wholesale swap rates put back yesterday's -1 bp fall with a +1 bp rise across the board today. Even the 90 day bank bill rate followed suit, now at 2.85%.

NZ DOLLAR HOLDS
Our currency jumped today at 2:20 pm (PMI release time). The Kiwi is now at 66.3 USc and more than 1c higher than this time yesterday, up to 91.4 AUc, and up to 62.7 euro cents. The TWI-5 is now up to 72.1, the highest since the beginning of November. Check our real-time charts here.

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

And don't forget to make history and vote in the Flag Referendum.