A review of things you need to know before you sign off on Friday; TSB & SBS cut home loan rates, job market tightens, consumers pull back, NZSA lash Agria over PGG Wrightson, swaps stable, NZD firm, & more

Of a 250 strong audience of 40 plus age group not a single person watches 6pm news: Steven Joyce 

For me I often watch 6pm bulletin on demand

Wow, Luxon well below Hipkins in latest poll. That takes some doing so early in a term

Plus his government's bowing down to the tobacco people. Any foreign multinational outfit that he isn't looking after?

'and is essentially an admission of defeat by Beijing.'

No, David, it is not. 

It is an admission of physical realities - as you should have learned by now.

If they are planning on running a future less-energy economy, they A MILE AHEAD of this 3-clown circus, and ahead of our (false but still peddled) assumption that GROWTH is (a) possible and (b) above challenge. 

The boys in blue are in charge, like it or not. We need a strong government, not popular pretty's.

To be an effective manager one may not win the popularity stakes. To be liked is a bonus.

Will not be top of mind for most in Nu Zillun, but the Bank Term Funding Program (BTFP) ends next week.  

Powell sticking to his guns and being open about bank failures. I'm sticking with the scenario that QE will be back sooner rather than later.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Thursday he expects to see some banks fail due to their exposure to the commercial real estate sector, which has declined significantly in value following the shift to remote work.

Powell said the banks that are in trouble with falling office space and retail assets are not the big banks, which were designated as “systemically important” in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. That episode, which resulted in a taxpayer bailout of the financial sector, was also triggered by unsound real estate assets.

https://thehill.com/business/4516758-powell-there-will-be-bank-failures…

Rousing SOTU even MAGA Mike clapping biden saying give weapons to Ukraine 

Massive welcome given to biden, greeting each and every person along the aisle. Trump wasn't that popular AFAIK

PS I can't believe its the weekend already yeehaa

Chinese offload property after failing to keep up with repayments

Tokyo | Middle-class Chinese are increasingly selling their properties in Australia and other countries, with some forced to offload their investments at below-market rates, as high interest rates and a sputtering Chinese economy bite, overseas data shows.

For decades, Chinese buyers poured money into high-rise apartments in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, lured by the prospect of quick capital gains in a low interest rate environment.

China’s biggest property portal, Juwai IQI, says the number of people selling overseas properties has doubled in the past 12 months. Michaela Pollock

Many had children studying at universities in Australia which fuelled the buying boom of apartments during visits to see their offspring. Others were cashed-up investors looking to make a profit in the future.

But data and anecdotal evidence suggest that trend is reversing, not only because they can no longer afford the mortgage repayments but also because of China’s strict capital controls on taking money out of the country to make up the difference.

Even if some can get the cash out, the slowing economy and a property crisis inside China mean many of the country’s middle class no longer have spare money to invest.

“For some, the only solution is to cut it loose and make sure they don’t bleed more money,” said Peter Li, the managing director of Sydney-based Plus Agency, which specialises in property sales to Chinese buyers.

“It started during COVID. A lot of Chinese buyers who own property in Australia started finding out the cost of keeping a property was outgrowing their capability of actually paying the mortgage.

“Because of the capital controls in China, even if the buyer wants to deposit more money in their offset account and pay off their mortgage, they can’t do it.”

Forced to sell

China’s biggest property portal, Juwai IQI, says the number of people selling overseas properties now accounts for 3 per cent to 8 per cent of all Chinese transactions, double what it was a year ago.

“We’re seeing more Chinese sellers in places like the USA, UK and Australia,” Juwai IQI chief executive Kashif Ansari said. While some owners were looking to sell so that they could upgrade to a bigger property, others needed to offload because they could no longer afford an investment property, Mr Ansari said.

Last month, a Beijing-based businessman was forced to sell his two-bedroom apartment in North Bondi’s Old South Head Road after failing to keep up with mortgage repayments. The man, who did not want to be named, bought the property for $1.25 million in 2014. The sale was well below market value, according to agents.

A Chinese owner was forced to sell this North Bondi property at below-market value. 

The data reflects Foreign Investment Review Board figures that show the value of applications for residential property purchases by non-residents is slowing. Foreign buyer surcharges adding up to 10 per cent to the cost of a new apartment are putting investors off. Figures published in February show the overall value slowed to $1.5 billion in the September quarter from $2.4 billion in June.

Another part of the problem is China’s tough capital outflow laws which make it difficult to exchange more than $US50,000 ($76,000) in foreign currency each year. While there are ways of getting more money out of China, it can take up to a year, leaving owners under pressure from lenders to sell.

A Shanghai businesswoman sold her two-bedroom apartment in Sydney’s Chiswick in 2022 for $940,000 after realising interest rates were going to keep rising. She was one of many Chinese buyers who use non-bank lenders which have variable interest rates and less flexibility. She bought the property for $665,000 in 2009.

There is no hard data for overseas property sales by mainland Chinese owners. Mr Ansari said that although investment properties were selling, Chinese interest in owner-occupied places, particularly larger homes, remained strong.

China this week set a GDP growth target for 2024 of about 5 per cent, but policymakers did not offer any concrete solutions to the country’s housing crisis. Consumers and businesses are holding back on spending, spooked by the property crisis and other challenges facing the world’s second-largest economy.

The abrupt halt to a Chinese property spending spree over more than a decade is affecting commercial and residential property prices globally.

Chinese investors are also selling off commercial developments. Chinese housing giant Country Garden has almost completed its exit from Australia after the sale of its last remaining estate, Wilton Greens, in January.

Read the herald today re TVNZ programme cuts. Though the comments would be interesting on this. You guessed it, an interesting item, comments turned OFF. I don't get it??

The next Stats NZ unemployment update not out until 1st May 2024.

Which is after the next MPS which is due 10th April.

Fools will say, "Full employment is not part of the RBNZ's remit", which completely misses the fact that unemployment is a core economic indicator of the rest of the NZ economy.

The May MPS gives the RBNZ plenty of time to make total mess of things and ensure a 'soft landing' remains a pipe dream.

The good ship NZ Inc. is heading for the rocks and there's little the ghouls at the RBNZ can do about it now.

The carded rates are a waste of time. I am getting new lending and have the following rates from ASB

• .8% cashback
• 1yr 6.89%
• 6m 6.99%
• Floating 8%

It's frustrating because the banks all play the game of "dropping rates" when they have non-carded rates the second you call them.

I wonder if the smaller banks are naive sometimes, because they often refuse to match non-advertised rates to their peril.

is there no interest in auction results 

Has the news got so bad?