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 RATE CHANGES
No changes to report today. Update: ANZ has cut most of its key fixed rates to levels below its main rivals. More here. All rates are here.
TERM DEPOSIT/SAVINGS RATE CHANGES
Kiwibank added +20 bps to its six month TD rate taking it to 4.10%. The Police Credit Union cut all its term deposit rates, and its savings rates, including its bonus saver rates. Update: ANZ has but most of its term deposit rates. All updated term deposit rates less than 1 year are here, for 1-5 years, they are here.
TURNING SLIGHTLY HIGHER
Infometrics monitoring of Foodstuffs costs from suppliers shows they rose in July to be +2.2% higher than a year ago. They noted a "slightly faster" pace of increase in the last few months, "reflecting a number of key products seeing larger cost increases due to higher global food prices, like for dairy, meat, and chocolate products". That is up from +1.8% in February. In June 2025 these costs rose 2.1% and in July 2024 they were up +2.4%.
RIGHT WAY, LEFT WAY
Recent trends in political polling isn't positive for the current government.
NZX50 SARTS WEEK ON POSITIVE NOTE
As at 3pm, the overall NZX50 index is up +0.6% so far today. And it is up +1.9% over the past five days but down -1.0% year-to-date. It is sitting +5.2% higher year-on-year. Today market heavyweight F&P Healthcare is up +1.1%. Infratil, Vector, Oceania, and Fletcher all lift while Briscoes, Tourism Holdings, Serko, and Hallensteins all decline.
A SEVEN YEAR UPDATE
Deer farmers are getting a new Code of Welfare for deer, released today and coming into effect on September 8, 2025
MORE TEMP VISAS
Two new seasonal workforce visas are being added under the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) framework. The Global Workforce Seasonal Visa (GWSV) is an up to three-year visa for highly experienced seasonal workers in roles such as rural contracting, sheep scanning, winemaking, and snow instruction. The Peak Seasonal Visa (PSV) is a visa of up to seven months for short-term seasonal roles such as meat and seafood processing, calf-rearing, and wool handling. These are in addition to the existing RSE visa arrangements. Employers will still be required to advertise these roles, as well as engage with MSD, to ensure that New Zealand workers continue to be prioritised.
ANOTHER ZOMBIE FAILS
Hong Kong listed Chinese property developer, China South City Holdings, has been suspended after a Hong Kong court ordered its winding up. That ends a years-long process of attempting to survive through reorganisation and emphasises how tough the Chinese property development market is still
SWAP RATES HOLD
Wholesale swap rates are probably marginally firmer or stable today. Keep an eye on our chart below which will record the final positions closer to 5pm. The 90 day bank bill rate was down -1 bp at 3.15% on Friday. The Australian 10 year bond yield is unchanged at 4.26%. The China 10 year bond rate is also unchanged at 1.70%. The NZ Government 10 year bond rate is holding at 4.44% while up +1 bp at 4.42% in the earlier RBNZ fix today. The UST 10yr yield is down -1 bp from this morning at 4.27%.
EQUITIES MOSTLY POSITIVE
The local equity market is now up another +0.5% in late Monday trade. The ASX200 is up +0.3% in afternoon trade. Tokyo has opened up a strong +1.9%. Hong Kong is only up +0.1% at its open but Shanghai is up +0.3%. Singapore has opened down -0.2%. Wall Street looks like it will start its week tomorrow on a positive (short-term) note with the S&P500 futures indicating an open up +0.6%.
OIL DOWN AGAIN
The oil price in the US is unchanged from this morning's open, now just on US$63.50/bbl and holding its lower level. And the international Brent price is stillunder US$66.50/bbl.
CARBON PRICE DORMANT
The carbon price is starting out the week at NZ$57/NZU because we there are again no trades. The next official carbon auction is on September 10, 2025. See our daily chart tracker of the NZU price for carbon, courtesy of emsTradepoint.
GOLD SOFT
In early Asian trade, gold is down -US$21 from thsi morning's open at US$3377/oz.
NZD ON HOLD
The Kiwi dollar is unchanged from this morning at 59.5 USc. Against the Aussie we are down -10 bps0 bps again at 91.2 AUc. Against the euro we are also down -10 bps at just on 51 euro cents. This all means the TWI-5 is down -10 bps at 67.2.
BITCOIN RISES
The bitcoin price is now at US$121,820 and up +2.7% from this morning in a strongish push. Volatility has remained modest, although slightly higher, at just on +/-1.9%.
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10 Comments
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Australia will recognize a Palestinian state, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Monday, joining the leaders of France, Britain and Canada in signaling they would do so.His remarks followed weeks of urging from within his Cabinet and from many in Australia to recognize a Palestinian state and amid growing criticism from officials in his government over suffering in Gaza. Australia’s government has also criticized plans announced in recent days by Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu for a sweeping new military offensive in Gaza.Albanese told reporters after a Cabinet meeting Monday that Australia’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state will be formalized at the United Nations General Assembly in September. The acknowledgement was “predicated on commitments Australia has received from the Palestinian Authority,” Albanese said.Those commitments included no role for Hamas in a Palestinian government, demilitarization of Gaza and the holding of elections, he said.“A two-state solution is humanity’s best hope to break the cycle of violence in the Middle East and to bring an end to the conflict, suffering and starvation in Gaza,” Albanese said.
New Zealand, in contrast, is boldly noncommittal:
https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/nz-considering-recognition-state-pa…
BTC back in the 122k range and retesting it's All Time High...
Ratty hits new ATH in AUD today. North of $186K. And now over $200K in Aotearoa pesos.
Hong Kong listed Chinese property developer, China South City Holdings, has been suspended after a Hong Kong court ordered its winding up.
Unrelated but related. The seemingly endless stream of rich Chinese trying to get their money out of China is often cited as reasoning for predictions of China's economic collapse. In reality, many of the rich Chinese getting their assets out are on the lamb or embezzling funds, moving their money to countries with large Chinese diasporas, without extradition treaties with China.
Chinese banks now engage international litigation funders and third-party agencies, often operating on “no win, no fee” contingency arrangements that can take 35%-55% of recovered assets due to the complexity and risks of global asset tracing.
Chinese court judgments can now be enforced in at least 47 countries (35 of which have treaties supporting cross-border debt recovery). Despite these links, legal procedures in foreign jurisdictions are lengthy and costly, sometimes topping $20 million per case.
https://www.caixinglobal.com/2025-08-06/in-depth-why-chinas-banks-are-h…
In reality, many of the rich Chinese getting their assets out are on the lamb or embezzling funds
So they're actually political scapegoats trying to flee.
Never upset the party kids.
US banks admit to debanking though they blame the regulators. Much as Biden officials pressured social-media companies to censor dissenters during the pandemic, bank examiners have pressed banks to cut off certain groups, businesses or individuals. Good on the WSJ for bringing this to light.
President Trump’s family business sued Capital One this year for allegedly closing the company’s accounts after the Jan. 6, 2021, riot and claimed other large banks rejected $1 billion in his cash deposits. We can’t confirm his claims, but people across the political spectrum in recent years have said their accounts were cancelled for unexplained reasons.
Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen last autumn said he was aware of 30 tech entrepreneurs who were “debanked in the last four years.” The Alliance Defending Freedom keeps a list of de-banked conservative groups. The Blockchain Association has identified “more than 30 concrete cases” of de-banking owing to “involvement in the digital asset industry.”
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/donald-trump-debanking-executive-order-bank…
You couldn't make this sh^t up. But seems to be true.
In the UK, Rushanara Ali has resigned from her role as Minister for Homelessness in Keir Starmer’s left-wing government following reports that she removed tenants from her east London townhouse and relisted the property with a £700-per-month rent increase.
https://inews.co.uk/news/homelessness-minister-threw-out-tenants-increa…
I guess she could argue that there are still the same number of people living in her house so no increased homelessness!
One thing no one is thinking about for the next election - will Winston carry on? If he doesn’t (eg health issues), would NZF even make the 5% threshold? If not, it seems unlikely the right can retain power.
Surely he'll go out on a high, deputy PM a good win. Can't see to much of NZF vote going to the left though.
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