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A review of things you need to know before you go home on Monday; mortgage rate cuts, booming used import sales, employees confident (but not some ANZ staff), NZD falls on Sri Lankan ban

A review of things you need to know before you go home on Monday; mortgage rate cuts, booming used import sales, employees confident (but not some ANZ staff), NZD falls on Sri Lankan ban
For Friday, October 6, 2014. <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/">Image sourced from Shutterstock.com</a>

Here are the key things you need to know before you leave work today.

TODAY'S MORTGAGE RATE CHANGES
ANZ dropped its four and five year fixed rates today, but only back to where almost all their rivals are. NZCU Baywide has introduced is 'Smart Call' mortgage product, which gives between a 10 and 21 bps reduction from their standard fixed rates. These new rates make NZCU Baywide very competitive with banks.

TODAY'S DEPOSIT RATE CHANGES
There were no changes today.

USED IMPORTED CAR SALES HOT
Data for the registrations of used imports came today for September. They were at 11,142, up a remarkable +44% from the same month a year earlier. About 40% more used imports are sold than new cars.

COMPETITIVE PERSONAL LOANS
Finance Direct has revised its personal loan and car loan rates lower today, cutting them quite substantially for secured borrowers. Their loans are now in two tiers around $20,000, priced at 9.95% above and 11.95% below that break point.

EMPLOYEES CONFIDENT
Workers are increasingly confident, according to the latest Westpac employment confidence survey. It reported further improvement in labour market conditions over the September quarter, even amid signs that the economy's momentum has passed its peak. This index rose from 109.9 to 111.5 from June to September. Perceived job security rose to a five year high.

SLOWING GROWTH
QV today reported national house values for September. These prices edged up another 0.2% in September, with annual house price growth easing to its slowest rate in 19 months (6.4%). The growth rate has been tracking lower all year.

BANK STRIKE?
Some ANZ staff have voted to strike following the bank's push for more flexible working schedules. The threat is to walk our 'soon', but negotiations are continuing. The FIRST union represents only a minority of ANZ workers, although in some branches it is a majority of staff.

WHOLESALE RATES
Up and down. Swap rates rose by a tiny +1 bp across the board today. But the 90 day bank bill rate was down today by -1 bp at 3.68%.

OUR CURRENCY
Check our real-time charts here. The Kiwi dollar fell sharply today on the news that Fonterra has been blocked from selling milk powders in Sri Lanka, a long standing trouble spot for the exporter. It is currently at 77.6 USc  and down a whole 1c on the day. It is at 89.4 AUc and the TWI sits at 76.1.

You can now see an animation of this chart. Click on it, or click here.

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32 Comments

NZs personal & car loans have been very expensive historically at 17 to 26%. 

Car loans in the US & Aus often at 0%, personal loans at 5 to 10%, NZ must be a great tolerant consumer market.   

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You are forgetting the US has 'positive credit scores' which allow lenders to identify borrowers with good credit risks. NZ hasn't had these until very recently and although we are getting them, it will take a while for the resulting competitive pressure to work its way through the personal loan market. Lenders here will increasingly target those with a good credit score by offering lower rates. (And the reverse for those that don't.)

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Yes, one of the benefits of the new credit system.  I wonder though at how accomodating the average consumer is in NZ of accepting rates. It's only been recently that a growing number of home loan borrowers are asking for better than carded rates.   

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tolerant? no.
stuck in barrel surrounded by fishermen... yes

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Also today (NZ Herald online):

Nicky Hager's house raided by police who searched and confiscated numerous electronic devices.

"Dirty Politics author Nicky Hager has had his home raided by police searching for the hacker Rawshark.

In a 10-hour search of his house, Hager said computers and papers were seized in what appeared to be an attempt to discover the identity of the person who provided information used in the Dirty Politics book.

"I believe the police actions are dangerous for journalism in New Zealand.

"It matters to all people working in the media who could similarly have their property searched and seized to look for sources. People are less likely to help the media if the police act in this way."

This is nasty stuff.

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Agree.

 

regards

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I'm very surprised he wasn't prepared for this, knowing how politicized the Parliamentarh Services were in the Andrea Vance affair. 

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He did make statements to the effect that he had prepared.

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Haha "dangerous for journalism " . Hagers book had nothing to do with journalism , its was an desperate attempt to smear the Government and con Kiwis into voting them out .

Which backfired terribly, when ordinary voters like me got irritated by what was so evidently a smear campaign  

We could all see it for what it , was it was dishonest , theft , and a breach of Privacy.

Hager is not a journalists backside , he is an articulate thug

   

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Which backfired terribly, when ordinary voters like me got irritated by what was so evidently a smear campaign

 

Are you implying the current batch of Nat supporters would have voted otherwise if Hager had not appeared armed with the disclosures, amongst others, concerning a certain previous National cabinet minister?  A situation reinforced by the PM's cabinet choices today.

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We shall see about that, if honest inquires as should happen, do happen.

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Has anything Hager written been challenged in court? no it has not because its looks like its fact, otherwise libel/slander cases would now be pending.

You are not an ordainary voter by any stretch of the imagination. 

Did Hager's book have an effect? yes, it looks like Crazy Colin and WP gained %s over it.  Meanwhile ppl ran from the prospects of a loony left Govn.

Thank Cunliffe and Laila for doing such a great job of frightening voters into Nats arms.

regards

 

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Boatman, you write "dishonest". Let's get this clear, when Slater went to court (and I would note his case has collapsed leaving him on the hook) under a Privacy tort to suppress the emails, part of doing that was affirming that the contents were true. So no dishonesty on Hager's part.

So we have Slater confirming in court that he was in a conspiracy with a Minister of the Crown to undermine the Serious Fraud Office in a current investigation (though that was not one of Rawshark's emails), and the Police are raiding the person who reported it not (for example) Slater or seizing all of Collin's computer equipment.

I expect Hager is going have to discard all his equipment when returned anyway, because if you are an investigative journalist working on the Security Services overstepping the law, you kind of have to assume your computer etc will be compromised in the many weeks the Government is holding it.

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Power outages for businesses and homes in Auckland.  First business day. 

Where was the backup and redundancy systems!?

Does this highlight the dangers of corporatistion of public assets. - where electricity is a public good as well as a commercial service?    Where is the political opposition bringing this into the public debate?   

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It's always good to see just how fragile our modern society is.  

 

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Businesses should take responsibility to have some sort of backup system.

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I've been meaning to ask, Did you attend the Once-a-day milking forum in Masteron a few months back?

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I'm no fan of Hager, and I'm a National voter, but I still think exposing unscrupulous behaviour of those in power is ALWAYS a good thing.

The search of Hager is bullying from the police. Of course heavy handed bullying of innocent people from the police is nothing new and certainly not unique to Hager. Just ask anyone who has had a malicious, ficticious law suit run against them to make their lives a misery by someone with money to burn. In fact you could just ask Hager, he has also been the victim of exactly that in the past:

http://pundit.co.nz/content/updated-crosby-v-hager-there-is-something-v…

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Re the Crosby lawsuit et al: The Nats seem to have adopted the USA Replublican playbook.  They might even have adopted the tactic of hiring paid professional trolls.  Of course, none of those would appear here.

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C'mon , Hager the victim ? Get real , his use of the stolen documents to create conjecture and cast aspersions on the ruling party weeks before the election , was a calculated plan , as was the daily release of one e-mail at a time

Its now backfired on him .

Surely he knew there would be consequences for this type of lawlessness ?

His sudden claim of victimhood is a joke .

He MUST be prosecuted if found to be complicit in this .

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Fear not - he will disappear off the radar if Key gets to implement new legislation similar to that proposed and recently enacted in Australia.

 

The possibility of extending the regime comes on the heels of another legislation that could see journalists jailed for up to 10 years for reporting on matters relating to national security.  Read more

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... I don't know about you , but I'd like to go about my daily activities free from the thought that some stranger may suddenly leap out and attempt to slash my Gummster throat , in a random act of supporting the Islamist extremist movement .. .. or that a remote control bomb may go off in a crowded mall or airport , in this fine land , girt-by-sea ...

 

If that means the government of the day has to enforce some surveillance activities , then I'm OK with that ...

 

... in Pollyanna Land this would be unnecessary , of course ...

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I lived in London when the IRA were regularly bombing buildings in London (including my work destination railway station, more than once) and this level of hysterical response was absent and never proposed - the police just got on with normal enquiries under more than adequate existing law.

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Thay don't make men like they used too. A bit of fear pedaled by a complicit media and you own the people.   I expected more from you GBH.

 Minorites create change, the majority is more interested in maintaining its power base and the status quo. Minorities are important they force us to r look at ourselves and challenge our beliefs, which Hager certainly did to me prior to the election. 

 

http://rt.com/op-edge/192544-media-coverage-ukraine-bias/

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The teams of plastic surgeons look at the Gummy carcase with some amazement and mutter " they don't make men like they used to " too ...

 

... but actually , I'm in support of Hager releasing those Emails ... it's not so very different from when Cameron Slater hacked the NZ Labour Party website ... and I don't recall the Keystone Co  ... ahhh , sorry , I mean the NZ Police Farce coming after him so diligently ... ransacking the Slater Mansion for 10 and a half hours ... I think not ..

 

10 and a half hours ! ... you wonder if they hoovered the place , cleaned the gutters and left dinner in the oven for him when they left ? .... somethings cooking ...

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Indeedy - you gotta wonder who is pulling the string

 

This is a re-run of the tea-pot tape saga - where the key victim had his mutterings recorded (stolen?) in Epsom by a NZherald recording-artist, who was then pursued with a vengeance by the law

 

Same person on the end of the string

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... the police are re-enacting a " Keystone Cops " comedy ...

 

Hager is too smart for them , he will have left no incriminating evidence at his house or on his computer ... he will protect his sources implicitly , all " journalists " have to ....

 

... sadly , once again , the NZ constabulary are seen to be heavy handed buffoons !

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Not "buffoons"  they work by "preventative policing".  They don't expect to find anything - that's just a bonus. 
 It's that you should comply otherwise they'll drag you into expensive court systems, ignore decency and ethics so they can interpret the law their way, and as long as they can get a quisling to sign off on "just cause" they'll smash up your house "looking" for "evidence".

It's for "your own protection" to comply.

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NZ Police Academy training video    : - )

 

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8jphxpi1ro

 

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I'm surprised the fruit in the logo at the end didn't get someone arrested.

as for the rest,  I think their budget is less than James Cameron's.  Perhaps we need to make on a computer, in 3d and imax before the public can safely view it.

...at least the talent would have all been Union...

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Non of those so-called conjecture and aspersions have been challenged though. People complain how the information got out, but never deny it is true.

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So are the employees thinking of going out on strike, included in the "Confident" group?

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