A review of things you need to know before you sign off on Friday; some big banks make some small rate moves, some want faster rate cuts, credit card activity weak, swaps soft, NZD stays firm, & more

Here are the key things you need to know before you leave work today (or if you work from home, before you shutdown your laptop).

MORTGAGE/LOAN RATE CHANGES
ASB trimmed some of its rates today. Westpac did too. All rates are here.

TERM DEPOSIT/SAVINGS RATE CHANGES
ASB cut some TD rates today too. BNZ cut two rates. More here. All updated rates less than 1 year are here, for 1-5 years, they are here.

FACING A SECOND GREAT RECESSION
Economists call for faster rate cuts as the recent slowdown in economic activity outpaces the 2008 recession

SPENDING LESS AS BALANCES REDUCED
Actual spending on domestic credit cards fell a whopping -5.4% in August from the same month a year ago. That was a big shift from the +1.3% rise in July on the same basis. And it was the lowest August since 2021. But balances outstanding remain quite low, back to levels first seen in September 2022.

MORE LETTER COMBINATIONS TO LEARN - LEHVF
The Government has launched the Low Emissions Heavy Vehicle Fund (LEHVF) to promote innovation and offset the cost of hundreds of heavy vehicles by ones powered by clean technologies.

SQUIRREL EXPANDS INTO THE SOUTH ISLAND
Update: Auckland-based mortgage broker Squirrel is acquiring a majority stake in the Christchurch-based NZ Mortgages as it expands into the South Island. Squirrel describes itself as NZ's largest independent mortgage broker and says the deal means its advisory team will top 50, with the firm originating over $3 billion in mortgages each year, or one in every 20 new mortgages in NZ by value. Squirrel says. NZ Mortgages founder, Nathan Miglani, will join Squirrel's leadership team, with responsibility to grow market share throughout the South Island. 

NZX EQUITY MARKET UPDATE
Check out our quick update of how the NZX is faring today, as at 3pm. Pacific Edge and Gentrack make big gains, Serko, SkyCity and Kiwi Property fall again.

RISING INFLATION
Japan reported 3.0% CPI inflation in August, up from 2.8% in the prior three months. It is their highest level since October 2023. The Japanese central bank left its 0.25% policy rate unchanged, as expected. Japanese inflation now seems well embedded, after decades of deflation.

PBOC HOLDS
China left its loan prime rates unchanged today in its September fixing, as expected. These remain at record lows. (It doesn't wish to be seen following the US Fed, even if a cut is warranted at this time.)

SWAP RATES LITTLE-CHANGED
Wholesale swap rates are softer today, but probably not by much. Our chart below will record the final positions. The 90 day bank bill rate is -1 bp lower at 4.99%. That is its lowest level in 280 days. The Australian 10 year bond yield is down -38 bps at 3.95%. The China 10 year bond rate is up +1 bp from yesterday at 2.05%. The NZ Government 10 year bond rate is back down a sharp -9 bps at 4.21% and the earlier RBNZ fix was at 4.19% and down -1 bp from yesterday. The UST 10yr yield is down -3 bps at 3.71%. Their 2yr is now at 3.57%, so that curve is more positive, now by +14 bps.

EQUITIES MIXED, BUT US-EXPOSED MARKETS ROAR
The NZX50 is down -0.7% in its late Friday trade. The ASX200 is up +0.2% in afternoon trade. However Tokyo has surged again in its opening trade up another +2.1%. Hong Kong is up +1.5% but Shanghai is down -0.2%. Singapore is down -0.4% at its open. The S&P500 ended its Thursday session on Wall Street up +1.7% after the Fed's decisions were absorbed.

OIL UP
The oil price is up +50 USc from this time yesterday at just under US$71/bbl in the US, and now just under US$75/bbl for the international Brent price.

CARBON PRICE FIRMS
The carbon price has moved slightly higher today to $61.75/NZU. Volumes traded are still light. See our new daily chart tracker of the NZU price for carbon, courtesy of emsTradepoint.

GOLD RISES STRONGLY
In early Asian trade, gold is up +US$30 at US$2591/oz and back near its record high.

NZD HOLDS
The Kiwi dollar has stayed up, now at 62.4 USc, and another +20 bps gain from yesterday. Against the Aussie we have held at 91.6 AUc. And against the euro we have slipped -10 bps to 55.9 euro cents. This all means the TWI-5 is now at 69.8 and unchanged from yesterday.

BITCOIN UP AGAIN
The bitcoin price is up +1.1% from this time yesterday, now at US$62,942. Volatility of the past 24 hours has been modest at just on +/- 1.6%.

This soil moisture chart is animated here.

Keep abreast of upcoming events by following our Economic Calendar here ».