Here are the key things you need to know before you leave work today.
MORTGAGE RATE CHANGES
No changes to report again today.
TERM DEPOSIT RATE CHANGES
None here either.
NO MORE MR NICE GUY
ANZ is advising its customers that from 1 October, the 9.95% interest rate for ANZ Low Rate Visa cards will automatically revert to the standard rates (currently 12.90% on purchases, and 19.95% on cash advances). (Kiwibank also has a 9.95% low rate Visa card, but that is not to suggest that Kiwibank will be raising that rate like ANZ. We have had no advice from Kiwibank of any changes.)
NEVER ENDING RISES
Westpac economists expect house prices to rise +8% next year, as interest rates to keep falling. They expect household debt levels to keep increasing, but falling interest rates will keep repayments affordable for the time being, they say.
REPAYMENTS RESTART
The IRD reports that student loan repayments are rising as expat Kiwis return. Almost 5600 overseas-based borrowers had returned to New Zealand in the 20 weeks between mid April and August this year.
BOOMING NOTEBOOK DEMAND
COVID-19 has had large impacts on demand for PCs as businesses prepared for lockdowns by purchasing notebooks to mobilise their workforce. In Q2-2020, New Zealand shipments of both commercial and consumer PC devices grow by 61% year-on-year and 13% respectively. Notebook sales leapt +61% while desktop sales fell -12%.
A NEW FRAUD
The Financial Markets Authority is warning people to be wary of scammers attempting to impersonate the FMA as part of a money transfer scam. On 5 August, the FMA was contacted by a woman who had tried to transfer a significant amount of money from China to New Zealand, saying she and her family had been “stranded in New Zealand” due to COVID-19 and had needed the money for living expenses. She said she had seen an advertisement on a community news outlet offering money transfer services, and arranged the transfer via WeChat. The money was sent to a bank in Inner Mongolia. However, when the money didn’t arrive, the woman was told it had been “frozen” by the FMA due to money laundering suspicions. She was later phoned by a man posing as an FMA official, falsely saying she would have to pay more to release the original sum – which, unfortunately, she did
AUSSIE BUSINESS CONFIDENCE STILL WEAK
In Australia, their business conditions got worse in August. They unwound most of the previous month’s gains, mainly reflecting a weakening in the employment index, though trading and profitability were also weaker. But underlying confidence did rise, even if it is still underwater.
STUPIDITY SPREADING
China, which arrested an Australian newsreader who was working for State TV, is now going after other Aussie journalists working there. This has unnerved them. The China correspondents for The Australian Financial Review and the ABC boarded a flight to Sydney last night after spending five days under protection in Australian diplomatic missions. China (and Russia) views journalists as newsworkers for the State and just can't understand they operate independently when working for Western newsrooms. It's a willful blindspot that generates stupid policies. (And is remarkably similar to the QAnon-type conspiracy theorists.)
EQUITY UPDATES
The NZX50 is up about +0.2% in late trade today. The ASX200 is up +0.6% in early afternoon trade. Shanghai has opened flat in early trade and Hong Kong is similarly flat. However Tokyo is up +0.5%. The S&P500 futures market is signaling a +0.2% gain when Wall Street opens tomorrow.
SWAP RATES UPDATE
Update: Swap rates for two and three years hit a new record low of 0.03% each. There wasn't an equivalent fall at the long end however. Swap rates details are not yet available yet. If there are notable changes again today, we will update this item. The 90-day bank bill rate is unchanged at 0.30%. The Aussie Govt 10yr is unchanged at 0.97% after yesterdays strong rise. The China Govt 10yr is down -3 bps at 3.15%. But the NZ Govt 10yr yield is up +1 bp at 062%. The UST 10yr is off -1 bp at 0.71% as it readies for Wall Street's opening tomorrow.
NZ DOLLAR HOLDS
The Kiwi dollar is marginally softer at 66.9 USc. Against the Aussie we are also marginally softer at 91.9 AUc. Against the euro we are little-changed 56.6 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 is marginally softer at 69.9.
BITCOIN FIRMER
The price of bitcoin is +1.1% firmer at US$10,354. The bitcoin price is charted in the currency set below.
This soil moisture chart is animated here.
The easiest place to stay up with event risk today is by following our Economic Calendar here ».
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