A review of things you need to know before you go home on Tuesday; few rate changes, APRA stunts ANZ, RBA takes a break, Moody's sees tame outlook, swaps firm, NZD soft, & more

Here are the key things you need to know before you leave work today.

MORTGAGE RATE CHANGES
No changes to report so far.

TERM DEPOSIT RATE CHANGES
Mutual Credit Finance has cut its rate card.

A FOCUS ON FUEL PRICES
The Commerce Commission found that the lack of active wholesale fuel market is stifling competition and costing consumers more than it should at the pump. But it ignored the fast-rising cost of taxes.

ELECTION PROMISE SCRUTINY
A new Treasury team is to be established to cost political parties' policies in the lead-up to the 2020 election. But an independent body to also scrutinise government spending won't be operational until mid-2021.

APRA IGNORES CER
The folly of thinking that Aussie regulators consider trans-Tasman issues in a holistic way was exposed today when APRA said it would limit their banks to a maximum allocation of 25% of tier 1 capital to a foreign subsidiary. This is down from the current 50%. ANZ is the main one exposed because it has about 30% exposed to ANZ NZ now. ANZ immediately said it would review its commitment to its New Zealand operations. APRA's rule change comes into effect in 2021, but ANZ will be working hard in the next 16 months protecting its options.

LOOKING DOWN
And staying in Australia, the RBA released the minutes from its last meeting, saying it is taking a pause from rate cutting to assess the impact of its last two cuts, and to see how the economic data plays out from here. But it sees risks to the downside and only mentions the possibility of "further easing" - and makes no mention of a possible rise.

A TAME OUTLOOK
Moody's Investors Service says in a new report that asset quality and capital will remain strong for New Zealand banks over the next 12-18 months, supporting its stable outlook for the system, but that slow credit growth, low interest rates and rising operating costs will weigh on profitability.

SWAP RATES FIRM
Wholesale swap rates have inched up again, but today's rises are minor. The 90-day bank bill rate is down -2 bps at 1.18%. Australian swap rates have fallen about -2 bps so far today. The Aussie Govt 10yr is up +2 bps to 0.94%. The China Govt 10yr is unchanged at 3.05%, while the NZ Govt 10 yr is up +1 bp at 1.08%. The UST 10yr yield is up minorly to just under 1.59%.

NZ DOLLAR SOFT
The Kiwi dollar is softer again, now at 64.1 USc and still its lowest since January 2016. Against the Aussie we are unchanged at 94.7 AU cents. Against the euro we are little-changed at 57.8 euro cents. That means the TWI-5 is unchanged at 69.5.

BITCOIN UP
Bitcoin has risen today, now at US$10,896 and up 5.1% in the past 24 hours. The bitcoin price is charted in the currency set below.

This chart is animated here.