A review of things you need to know before you go home on Wednesday; GDT rise raises questions, AU GDP beats forecasts, mortgage debt surge, ACC wants levy cuts, swaps down, 90d bills up, NZD rises

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
No changes here either.

TENTATIVE RECOVERY
Auction prices for diary rose +3.6% earlier today, ending a run of falls. WMP was up 5.3%. But questions remain about whether latest revival will be enough to enable Fonterra to meet its $4.60 per kilogram of milk solids payout price to farmers. This is even more of a question given that the +3.6% rise was in US dollars, but in NZ dollars the rise was only +0.2%

UP BUT UNDERSHOOTING
The Australian economy expanded at a faster pace in the September quarter, with growth beating expectations, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. GDP grew at an annual rate of +2.5% in the three months to the end of September, up from +2.0% in the June quarter. The gain was due to selling more commodities, especially iron ore. But it is worth remembering the long-run growth is Australia is 3.25%. New Zealand will report its September growth on December 17. Expectations (ANZ) are for +1.7% pa compared to the June quarter of 2.0%.

HOLDING ON
The October data for the BNZ/Marketview online retail survey was out today and that showed local online retailing grabbing back some of the market share thas been leaking away to international retailers. But it’s too early to say whether this is a “blip”, or if factors such as the lower NZD are starting to affect volumes, they say.

DIVING INTO DEBT
Approvals for more mortgage debt are running strong. Data out from the RBNZ today shows last week approvals exceeded $1.5 bln in a week for the first time since April. That is only the second time ever at that level. There were 6,989 approvals granted in the week, the most this year. The rate of growth is slowing, but at these record levels that is little consolation.

NZ FINALLY RATIFIES UN CONVENTION AGAINST CORRUPTION
New Zealand has finally ratified the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) 12 years after signing it, Justice Minister Amy Adams says. Changes required to enable NZ to ratify the UNCAC, a legally binding global agreement to address corruption in both the public and private spheres, were made through the recently passed Organised Crime and Anti-corruption Legislation Bill. NZ joins 177 other countries to have ratified the UNCAC.

ACC RECOMMENDS $450 MLN LEVY CUTS
The Accident Compensation Corporation is recommending the Government makes $450 million of levy cuts next year. The following changes, after public consultation, are recommended from 2016/17; an 11% reduction to the average work levy, a 4% reduction to the earners' levy, and a 33% reduction to combined average motor vehicle levies. ACC is also recommending keeping the petrol levy at its existing rate of 6.9 cents per litre. This will increase the proportion of motor vehicle levy paid through petrol to 56% from 44%.

WHOLESALE RATE SIGNALS
Local wholesale swap rates followed New York down by -2 bps across the board today. But the 90 day bank bill rate rose by +2 bps, now at 2.87%, perhaps a market signal that they don't think Wheeler will cut next week.

NZ DOLLAR RISES
Our currency kept rising after yesterday's jump, this time pushed up by a fall in the USD. But in the past hour or so, the market is thinking the rise is somewhat overdone so we are seeing some pull-back. The Kiwi is now at 66.6 USc at 91.1 AUc, and 62.7 euro cents. The TWI-5 is now up to 72.3. Check our real-time charts here.

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