A review of things you need to know before you go home on Tuesday; no retail rate changes, auction activity jumps, ANZ sees much lower mortgage rates, eyes on SFO, swap and bond rates stable, NZD holds, & more

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

MORTGAGE RATE CHANGES
No changes to report today.

TERM DEPOSIT RATE CHANGES
No changes here either.

AUCTIONEERS MAKING UP FOR LOST TIME
Last week, there was a huge jump in the number of properties auctioned by Barfoot & Thompson, with the sales rate holding steady at two thirds.

A NEW DROP IS COMING
Meanwhile, ANZ is saying fixed interest rates for mortgages could fall to 1.75% early next year. Given that bank average two year rates are 2.70% at present, that represents nearly a -100 bps fall that is being forecast by the ANZ economists.

NATIONAL EYES BEEFED UP SFO
The National Party wants to almost double the Serious Fraud Office's annual budget to $25 million and change its name to the Serious Fraud and Anti-corruption Agency. Leader Judith Collins says National wants to give the SFO the resources it needs to deliver on its role as the lead law enforcement agency for investigating and prosecuting serious financial crime, including bribery and corruption.

INVESTIGATION UPDATE
And, the Serious Fraud Office says it will issue a statement in relation to the NZ First Foundation investigation at 5pm today. We will update this when it is released. Update: The SFO says they have filed a charge of ‘Obtaining by Deception’ against two defendants in the New Zealand First Foundation electoral funding case. The charges were filed on 23 September. They say "the defendants have interim name suppression and so cannot be named or identified at this time. We note, however, that neither defendant is a Minister, sitting MP, or candidate in the upcoming election (or a member of their staff), or a current member of the New Zealand First party."

JUMPED OR PUSHED?
The chief information officer of the NZX has resigned. This follows some very high-profile IT problems at the exchange operator in recent weeks. Being tripped up by the daylight savings time transition (!) was just the latest.

RATING UNCHANGED DESPITE PRESSURES
S&P Ratings has kept Auckland Council's credit rating unchanged at AA Stable. They say they see large after-capital account deficits and rising debt levels over the next few years as the council addresses infrastructure needs to "support its rapidly growing population". But they still expect "the city's strong economic and liquidity profile, the council's experienced management, and New Zealand's excellent institutional settings to help Auckland counter these challenges and underpin its rating".

DROUGHT BEHIND US NOW?
After being in a long dry period associated with an El Niño weather pattern, Australia has moved into the opposite La Niña weather pattern where they can expect wetter conditions especially along the eastern seaboard. In New Zealand, La Niña often brings rainy conditions to northeastern areas of the North Island and reduced rainfall to the lower and western South Island. Warmer than average air and sea temperatures can occur around New Zealand during this weather pattern. It is a pattern that can last one or two years.

GOLD PRICE HIGHER
The gold price is trading at US$1886/oz today in Asian markets and up +US$27 from this time yesterday. It is also higher than the US$1881 at New York close and much higher than London's US$1864 close last night. Silver is not showing the same gains.

EQUITIES UPDATE
On Wall Street, the S&P500 ended their session up +1.6%. But the NZX50 Capital Index is heading for a small retreat today, currently down -0.1%. The ASX200 is however up another +0.7% in afternoon trade, similar to yesterday's gain. Shanghai has opened up +0.4%, Hong Kong has opened up +0.3%, and Tokyo is down -0.5% in their mid-morning trade after yesterday's rise.

SWAP & BOND RATES STABLE
We don’t have the final data for today yet and if it is significant we will update it here. The 90 day bank bill rate is up +1 bp at 0.31%. The Australian Govt ten year benchmark rate is unchanged at 0.84%. The China Govt ten year bond is also unchanged at 3.15%. The New Zealand Govt ten year is up +1 bp at 0.46% and marginally above the earlier RBNZ-recorded fix of 0.45%. And the NZGB five year is still negative but less so at -0.03% pa. The US Govt ten year is unchanged from this morning at 0.66%.

NZD HOLDS
The Kiwi dollar is holding firm at 65.6 USc. Against the Aussie we are a little softer for a second day at 92.7 AUc. Against the euro we are at little-changed at 56.2 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 is at unchanged 69.2

BITCOIN SOFT
Bitcoin is -1.9% lower today than this time yesterday, now at US$10,700.

This soil moisture chart is animated here.

The easiest place to stay up with event risk today is by following our Economic Calendar here ».