90 at 9: Poor US confidence drags NZ$, Dow down; US house prices fall; Pumpkin Patch shuts US stores

Bernard Hickey details the key news overnight in 90 seconds at 9 am in association with ASB, including news that poor US consumer confidence dragged the Dow 1% lower and nudged the New Zealand dollar down almost a cent to 64.5 USc as global investors worried about a longer US recession and took a less risky approach to currencies like the New Zealand dollar. US house prices are still falling and are down 33% from the peak.  Also, Pumpkin Patch is closing 20 of its 35 US stores and a PriceWaterhouseCoopers report for the government has found the Labour government paid NZ$320 million too much for Kiwirail. Meanwhile the Reserve Bank has tightened its prudential liquidity policy in a way that may push up lending rates a bit over the medium term, but will also keep upward pressure on term deposit rates.