Here's my summary of the key events overnight that affect New Zealand, with news Vancouver is slapping a new property tax on foreign buyers.
But first, in the US, consumer confidence held steadier in July than economists were expecting, and new single-family home sales hit their highest level in more than eight years in June.
This is the latest data that suggests a sustained momentum in the American economy, which would allow the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates this year. The Fed's decision making process is back in focus because they have a review due tomorrow. Markets expect no change then and are not pricing much in for the rest of the year either.
And north of the border, in Vancouver, BC, Canada, they have announced an "additional property transfer tax" of 15% for foreign nationals and foreign companies. (H/T CJ099) This is on top of the graduated 1%/2%/3% tax they already have for property transfers province-wide. The provincial government says it is targeting foreign buyers because they are distorting the Vancouver markets to the disadvantage of local residents.
However, the new tax will exclude permanent residents of Canada, regardless of nationality. Rich and foreign-earning immigrants, including millionaire immigrant investors, mostly from China, have flocked to the city in their thousands. More than 60,000 millionaire migrants and family members have arrived in Vancouver since 2002. All of these will be exempt from the new tax. The local real estate agents are up in arms over the 'surprise move' which takes effect on August 2. Interestingly, the 15% tax is the same rate Hong Kong imposes on housing transfers to foreigners. Also, at this stage, no word on how this affects Canada's existing treaty obligations and whether further exemptions will flow from that.
In Australia, the head of their competition watchdog, the ACCC, has sharply criticised both state and the Federal governments for "blatantly" structuring asset sales to maximise profits at the expense of consumers. He says it has gotten to the point that further privatisations should be stopped until adequate regulation and consumer protections from the monopolies being created over there are in place.
Back in New York, UST 10yr yields are unchanged at 1.57%.
The US benchmark oil price has slipped further and is now just under US$43/barrel and the Brent benchmark is just under US$45/barrel.
But the gold price is also slightly lower, down to US$1,320/oz.
The NZ dollar will start today a little higher from this time yesterday, now just on 70.4 US¢, at 93.7 AU¢, and at 64.1 euro cents. The TWI-5 index is now at 74.3.
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 today is by following our Economic Calendar here ».
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