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Fed believes US economy healthy; factory output stumbles; S&P downgrades Greece; China growth slows; dairy prices still falling; oil and gold jump, NZ$1 = 76 US¢, TWI = 81.1

Fed believes US economy healthy; factory output stumbles; S&P downgrades Greece; China growth slows; dairy prices still falling; oil and gold jump, NZ$1 = 76 US¢, TWI = 81.1

Here's my summary of the key issues from overnight that affect New Zealand, with news of a third consecutive drop in dairy prices in the latest auction overnight.

But first, the US economy continued to expand in February and March, though a strong dollar, falling oil prices and harsh winter weather slowed activity in some sectors, according to the Fed’s latest beige book report.

At the same time the Fed reported on US industrial output in March, which showed it posted its biggest drop in more than 2½ years, as oil and gas well drilling plummeted

ECB boss Mario Draghi last night announced the bank would roll out its money-printing program 'firmly' and granted continued backing for Greece, saying there was no need to limit emergency funding for Greek banks yet.

Ratings agency S&P has downgraded Greece's credit rating again, saying it expects its debt and other financial commitments will be "unsustainable". It has dropped long and short-term sovereign credit ratings to CCC+ from B- and says its outlook is negative.

China's economic growth slowed to +7% in the first quarter, down from +7.3% in the fourth quarter of last year.

Dairy prices fell -3.6% in US dollars and -5.2% in New Zealand dollars. Whole milk powder was down -4.3%, while skim milk powder dropped -7.8%. It's the third fall in a row, and prices have dropped -23% since mid March. Analysts will be revising down their view of what Fonterra can support in the new season payout.  

UST 10yr yields were unchanged on Wall Street earlier today at 1.88%.

The US oil price has jumped today to US$57/barrel and Brent crude to $60 a barrel. There was a surprise fall in US production last week.

The gold price also rose and is up $10, now at US$1,203/oz.

The New Zealand dollar will start today higher at 76 US¢, at 98.9 AU¢, and the TWI is now at a very high 81.1.  

If you want to catch up with all the local changes yesterday, we have an update here.

The easiest place to stay up with event risk is by following our Economic Calendar here »

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15 Comments

 

657

Please compare:

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/photo/2015-04/15/c_134152703.htm

with

Christchurch rebuild.

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Hahahaha, that was hilarious. Some of those photos look they were produced by the Ministry of Truth. Notice the poor photoshop lighting job. Also notice how most people have the same before after clothes. Coincidence or staged? I also suspect some before and after photos should be swapped. And finally no smiles in the after photos. Why?

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Putting Brownlee and CERA in charge of the Christchurch CBD rebuild has been a success. Not.

 

Another developer abondons Christchurch for Auckland.

 

Also the guy in Treasury who gave the cargo cult advise that the most important thing for the Christchurch CBD rebuild was that property prices should be protected needs to be sent to do some important work on the Auckland Islands.

 

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'Abondons'?  Shurely ye've avoided 50SoG.  Perhaps you is referring to the enforced bondage of CBD businesses marooned behind an extensive cordon - unable to retrieve inventory, IT assets, fit-outs and tools of trade.  Now that's not a recipe fer Pleasure.......

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The Daily Disappointment: Industrial production down MOM -.06%,

http://atimes.com/2015/04/the-daily-disappointment-industrial-production-down-mom-06/

US industrial production has fallen in three out of the four past months, with the March print at -.6% (vs. -.3 expected).

 

 

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The clock is ticking for dairy... tick tock tick tock

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... another clock story , are you a cuckoo ... or is this a wind up ?

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I'm a Grandfather. And this is not a wind up, I'm just chiming in with my crystal quartz accuracy predictions.

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Noooo... Now Gummy Bear will make jokes about grandfather clocks........  : )

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Sure thing !

 

... there was a Grandfather clock in the Gestapo headquarters in WWII  Berlin ,  and it would just " tick " ... all day long it incessantly " ticked " .... drove the Nazis mad ... tick ... tick ... tick ....

 

Until one day an officer had had enough of it , and he swaggered over to the clock , drew out his luger and growled " all day long you tick .... just with the tick... ve have had enough of your tick .... you know ve are ze Gestapo , and ve haff ways of making you tock ! "

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Good on ya, gummy bear, some of these dairy farmers good do with a bit of a laugh.

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Wait a second, just a minute, clock this, its is not even Friday...yet. but let us go back in time.

NEW OFFICE POLICY  Time and Motion Study- EFFECTIVE SEPTEMBER 1, 2008

Zero Contracted hours update.

Dress Code:

1) You are advised to come to work dressed according to your salary.

2) If we see you wearing Prada shoes, Versace dresses and carry a Gucci bag, we will assume you are doing well financially and therefore do not need a raise.

3) If you dress poorly, you need to learn to manage your money better, so that you may buy nicer clothes, and therefore you do not need a raise.

4) If you dress just right, you are right where you need to be and therefore you do not need a raise.

Sick Days:
We will no longer accept a doctor's statement as proof of sickness. If you are able to go to the doctor, you are able to come to work.

Personal Days:
Each employee will receive 104 personal days a year. They are called Saturdays & Sundays.

Bathroom Breaks:
Entirely too much time is being spent in the toilet. There is now a strict three-minute time limit in the stalls. At the end of three minutes, an alarm will sound, the toilet paper roll will retract, the stall door will open, and a picture will be taken. After your second offense, your picture will be posted on the company bulletin board under the 'Chronic Offenders' category. Anyone caught smiling in the picture will be sectioned under the company's mental health policy.

Lunch Breaks:
* Skinny people get 30 minutes for lunch, as they need to eat more, so that they can look healthy.

* Normal size people get 15 minutes for lunch to get a balanced meal to maintain their average figure.

* Chubby people get 5 minutes for lunch, because that's all the time needed to drink a Slim-Fast.

Thank you for your loyalty to our company. We are here to provide a positive employment experience. Therefore, all questions, comments, concerns, complaints, frustrations, irritations, aggravations, insinuations, allegations, accusations, contemplations, consternation and input should be directed elsewhere.

Otherwise you might just  end up going through the motions.

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Now jump forward to today. A different man, of our times.

ECB man-date....well maybe not.  Lucky he did not go through the motions.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-04-15/meet-mario-draghis-attacker-he…

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Now leap forward in times, join the dots......TICK.......TOCK.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-04-15/why-walmart-mysteriously-shutt…

Plumb wrong, this time.

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The demise of starter housing in the US of A - good summary from Architect Mag

Interesting, innit, how many of those same factors apply here.  And notice the article fingers the cost of land, repeating Hugh P's refrain:  if the land price is wrong, it's all wrong.....

 

The BuilderOnline article linked in the one above is Here.

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