Here are the key things you need to know before you leave work today.
TODAY'S RATE CHANGES
CU South today raised its floating mortgage rate by +20 bps to 6.45%. At the same time, CU Baywide raised their 18 month and 2 year term deposit rates by +20 and +30 bps respectively. And HSBC raised almost all its term deposit rates by between +115 and +20 bps, although they made an extra effort with their 18 month rate, raising it to 4.40%, up +40 bps. It is still not the best 18 month rate though; the Co-operative Bank offers 4.70% for that term.
ONLINE RETAIL GROWTH EASES
The BNZ Online Sales Report was out today and that shows further tailing off of the fast growth rates we were seeing this time last year. In May, the year-on-year growth is now 'only' +7%. The softness is mainly how we are buying from domestic suppliers; growth is still healthy buying from international suppliers. An interesting aspect of this Report is how much more engaged rural New Zealand is for online shopping - about a third more so than urban shoppers. They like international online as much as their urban counterparts.
SMEs HIRING
ANZ's small business monitor shows the sector is in healthy shape. Confidence among small businesses has remained at very high levels, just off the record heights recorded in the March quarter. Hiring intentions are now at their strongest since comparable data was first collected in 1999, with a net +20% of firms planning to take on staff in the coming year.
OWING (SLIGHTLY) LESS
Government securities on issue slipped down slightly in June according to RBNZ data out today. The Govt now has $75.2 bln outstanding as gross debt, down from $76.0 bln at the end of March.
EASIER TAX POOLING
Changes were announced today to tax pooling rules that will mean that taxpayers can use tax pooling to pay any interest owed as a result of a tax dispute or an amended tax assessment. Meeting tax obligations can present problems for many businesses as a result of timing and assessment issues. Tax pooling rules can be helpful in allowing businesses to pool their tax payments with those of other businesses, through commercial intermediaries.
ARE TERTIARY DEGREES NOW A COMMODITY?
New Zealand students completed a record number of undergraduate degree qualifications in 2013, according to new data released by the Ministry of Education today. In 2013, 25,800 domestic students completed bachelors degrees, an increase of around 400 on the 25,400 who completed degrees in 2012, and 24% higher than the 20,800 who graduated in 2008.
WHOLESALE RATES
Wholesale swap rates moved around within a tight band today. The changes were between -1 and +2 bps. The 90 day bank bill rate is up a tick again today at 3.66%.
OUR CURRENCY
The NZ dollar moved sideways today and is still at 87.6 USc, the Aussie weakened today as the RBA talked it down. We are currently at 93.5 AUc. The TWI is now at 81.4.
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2 Comments
US stocks double in 5 years...
But a 30% increases in property is a bubble?
Hard assets, income producing assets, are being re-rated higher as cost of global credit remains low.
Net present value uses an assumed discount rate to future earnings that is dependent on interest rates. Lower predicted interest rates mean higher present values for income producing assets. This is seen as higher P/E multiples in stocks, and lower acceptable yields in property.
And makes my 7% yielding palmy property be valued (by someone like me taking these things into account) at a lot higher than current market value.
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