Bernard Hickey details the key news overnight in 90 seconds at 9 am with BNZ, including news that the State Owned Enterprise (SOE) Landcorp has confirmed it will bid for the 16 Crafar Farms that are in receivership.
Landcorp has said the decision was commercial rather than political and it will be bidding at market rates, well less than the bid on the table from May Wang and UBNZ, which remains mired in front of the Overseas Investment Office.
Meanwhile, UBNZ received another blow as Andrea Fox at BusinessDay reported that its two New Zealand directors, Ralph Ngatata Love and Keith Rushbrook, had quietly stepped down as directors. UBNZ and May Wang are now very short of local experience and connections.
In Wellington, the effects of the Global Financial Crisis are being felt in the move industry there. The Dominion Post's Dave Burgess reports that concerns are growing that movie industry workers are moving north to work on the Power Rangers series being filmed in Auckland because of delays in filming Peter Jackson's The Hobbit.
The Hobbit's, financial backers, MGM, face massive debts and a restructuring that is stopping many new productions.
In Australia, the Reserve Bank of Australia is set to leave its rates unchanged.
In Europe, the European Central Bank President Jean Claude Trichet has pushed again for government austerity, arguing it will improve business confidence and bolster economic growth. The Euro fell. Canadian stocks were down, but the US markets were closed for July 4 holidays.
The New Zealand dollar was flat in quiet trade around 68.8 USc.
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