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A review of things you need to know before you go home on Friday; mortgage rate changes; small business roadshows; plastics recycling; Australia's housing boom; Apple vs Samsung; Netflix eclipses Disney; rates higher; bitcoin lower; NZD holds

A review of things you need to know before you go home on Friday; mortgage rate changes; small business roadshows; plastics recycling; Australia's housing boom; Apple vs Samsung; Netflix eclipses Disney; rates higher; bitcoin lower; NZD holds

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

MORTGAGE RATE CHANGES
Housing New Zealand Corporation has reduced its 2 yr, 3 yr and 5 yr rates by -10 bps. The floating rate has gone up by +1 bps.

TERM DEPOSIT RATE CHANGES
No changes to report today.

SMALL BUSINESS ROADSHOWS
Small Business Minister Stuart Nash will next week launch the 2018 series of small business roadshows. The roadshows give business owners the opportunity to learn more about assistance available from the Government. Taking Care of Business is a series of 12 events across New Zealand between May and August. The roadshows bring together the private sector with representatives from government agencies to explain what they do and how they can help small businesses. See here for list of events.

PLASTICS RECYCLING
Plastic recycling company Astron is getting $500,000 under the Government’s Waste Minimisation Fund to expand its plastic recycling facility in New Zealand. Astron will use the funding at its Auckland plant, including to install a pre-shredder and extruder, to filter out contamination from organics and other waste. This technology will add to one of the plant’s existing recycling lines, allowing it to run at optimum levels and increase the range of hard-to-recycle plastics, numbered 2 and 4, that can be processed. The expanded capability will mean agricultural plastics, such as silage wrap and milk powder bags, will be able to be recycled. “The Government is committed to reducing the amount of waste going to landfill or being shipped offshore,” Associate Environment Minister Eugenie Sage said.

AUSTRALIA'S HOUSING BOOM
Bloomberg looks at seven reasons why Australia's housing boom is ending. Tougher credit rules, increased supply and subdued wage growth are combining to put an end to Australia’s long housing boom. The downturn is most obvious in Sydney, where average home prices were down 3.4 percent in April from a year earlier. The city was previously the epicentre of the boom -- as recently as a year ago, Sydney prices were increasing at an annual pace of 16 percent. Away from the urban centres and in smaller cities, where homes are more affordable without the need for large loans, prices are still rising or seeing smaller falls.

TWO WEEKS' PROFITS
Apple has won US$539 mln from Samsung in a patent case seven years after the battle began. Samsung was previously held responsible for infringing three of Apple's design patents and two utility patents but damages were only decided today. The amount is equal to about two weeks' profits Samsung earns from sales of mobile devices.

NETFLIX ECLIPSES DISNEY
Netflix's stock market value ballooned to a record $153 bln and eclipsed Walt Disney Co for the first time, making it the world's most valuable entertainment company, following a monumental shift by viewers away from cinemas and cable television. With 125 mln global subscribers, Netflix's stock has surged 80% so far in 2018, more than any other company in the S&P 500.

BENCHMARK INTEREST RATES SLIGHTLY HIGHER
Local swap rates are slightly higher today, with the short end unchanged and the long end up +1 bps. The UST 10yr yield has also flat at 2.99% today. The Aussie Govt 10 yr is now at 2.79% (down -1 bps). The China 10 yr is at 3.69%, up +1 bps. And the NZ Govt 10 yr is up +1 bp to 2.79%. The 90 day bank bill rate is up +1 bps to 1.99%.

BITCOIN LOWER
The bitcoin price is now at US$7,559 which is down -0.7% from this time yesterday.

NZ DOLLAR HOLDS
However, the NZD is also stable at 69.3 USc. We are little changed against the Aussie at 91.6 AUc, and up slightly against the euro at 59.2 euro cents. That has the TWI-5 now at 72.2.

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8 Comments

Zachary Smith, earlier this year you commented that Sydney property prices were about to take off based on the then reported small increase in auction clearance rates. You believed Auckland would follow closely behind. I didn't agree with your logic then but, I can't resist asking one question. Does your same logic apply on the way down?

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China's Terrifying "Social Credit" System Has Already Blocked 11 Million From Taking Flights
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-05-24/chinas-terrifying-social-cred…

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Bow to your Chinese overlords insubordinate!

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Bank of China customers get special status from NZ govt depts. Hmmm...stinky. Wonder if Shipley had any influence here.

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There is no corruption in New Zealand ... there are no sheep in our fields ...

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To be fair the glacial pace of processing visitor visas is a national disgrace. My UK relatives are just waived in but my PI relatives are grievously handicapped by random processing times and arbitrary decisions. They are scared to complain because of fear they will be victimised in future.

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