Bernard Hickey details the key news overnight in 90 seconds at 9 am in association with Bank of New Zealand, including news that milk powder prices rose 7.2% in last night's fortnightly auction to their highest levels since July 2008.
Prices of food and oil are surging internationally as governments and buyers in developing countries scramble to cope with demand for food amid fears about inflation, partly driven by central banks such as the US Federal Reserve that are trying to print money to restart their economies.
See more details here in globalDairyTrade's results.
Fonterra's auction platform has now sold NZ$4.5 billion worth of milk powder in 37 auctions since it started in July 2008, our records show.
Partly in response to the rise in the value of Fonterra's exports, the New Zealand dollar rose over 78 USc.
Appetites for risk globally also firmed after stronger than expected manufacturing figures in the United States overnight. See more here from Reuters.
The Dow rose more than 1% to over 12,000. See more here at Bloomberg.
Long term US Treasury bond yields rose slightly, increasing the spread between 2 year and 30 year bond yields to a record high of 4.03%. See more here at Bloomberg.
This measures the so-called 'steepness' of the yield curve and suggests investor are more worried about inflation in the longer term.
Meanwhile, more than one million Egyptians took to the streets overnight to demand the removal or resignation of President Hosni Mubarak. Some reports said he was on the verge of leaving. Also, in Jordan the Prime Minister resigned as people power revolts spread across parts of the Middle East.
In Australia, the price of copper hit a record high as the Queensland mining industry braced for Category 5 Cyclone Yasi, which has been compared in strength to Hurricane Katrina. See more here at The Australian.
Back in New Zealand, finance company NZF Group has told holders of NZ$20 million worth of capital notes maturing on March 15 that they will force a debt for equity swap rather than repay the notes in cash. Here are the details in NZF Group's announcement to the NZX .
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