90 seconds at 9am: Bernanke fear hits market; Affordability worsens; OCR on hold

Watch on our video page here. Watch video on YouTube here. Bernard Hickey highlights the key news overnight in 90 seconds at 9am in association with BNZ, including news Wall St fell sharply on Friday night on fears about what Barack Obama's plans to restrict banks might mean for bank profits. Also, there were fears that the Senate might not reappoint Ben Bernanke as Federal Reserve Chairman. Since then Senate leaders have reassured markets over the weekend that Bernanke will be reappointed. That seemed to help the New Zealand dollar. It rose to $71.4 USc from a Friday night low of 70.9 USc. Back here, home loan affordability worsened to its worst level since late 2008 in December. House prices rose and interest rates rose. Many will be watching the RBNZ closely for its decision on Thursday on the Official Cash Rate It is expected to keep the OCR on hold at 2.5% and to keep its outlook for the first rate hike in mid 2010.