Here are the key things you need to know before you leave work today.
TODAY'S MORTGAGE RATE CHANGES
No changes to report so far.
TODAY'S DEPOSIT RATE CHANGES
There were rate cuts from a range of institutions today. RaboDirect, BNZ and SBS Bank all cut their offers to investors.
LESS LENDING
Banks are cracking down on mortgage lending in Australia, prodded hard by their regulators. Data out today shows falls that were more than markets were expecting.
NO LIGHT IN THE TUNNEL ...
There were some more worrying signals from the dairy market today. The USDA reported that Oceania prices basically fell US$100/tonne over the past two weeks for milk powders. The falling Kiwi dollar limited the impact in local currency to a drop of about $25/tonne. But the trends are still going the wrong way.
WINTER BONUS
Overseas visitors to New Zealand pushed up the number of guest nights sold in May and two thirds of the growth was in the South Island. May to August is always 'low season' in New Zealand so occupancy rates are low. This year the overall May occupancy rate was 34.3% which we think is the highest ever for this month. In May 2014 it was 32.8%.
RECOVERING ?
The Chinese and Hong Kong share markets are up again today, about +4% at this time in China, +2% in Hong Kong. But how real or sustainable this all is is up for debate. There are reports the China Securities Finance Corporation has pumped in about NZ$100 bln (CYN 400 bln) to boost their markets over the last two trading days - that is according to the semi-official financial magazine Caixin. When/if the current scare passes, I suspect the damage assessments will be very unfriendly. Who would invest only to suddenly find you are locked-in and will have no liquidity for six months? Chinese authorities may have miscalculated rashly in the middle of their stress.
REACTION
Meanwhile, the Australian government says it is embarking of 'preventative action' ahead of the fallout that is expected to hit 'the luck country'.
WHOLESALE RATES STEEPEN
NZ swap rates rose in an aggressive steepening bias today following the signal's from Wall Street last night. The increases ranged from +1 to +10 bps today. Even the 90 day bank bill rate rose and was up +1 bp to 3.17%.
NZ DOLLAR FLAT
The NZ dollar has risen modestly today. It is at 67.5 USc, at 90.2 AUc, and 60.9 euro cents. The TWI is still at 71.9. Check our real-time charts here.
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