90 seconds at 9am: Greek bailout nearer; Copper price up; RBA rate hike expected

Watch on our video page here. Watch on YouTube here. Bernard Hickey details the key news overnight in 90 seconds at 9am in association with the BNZ, including news the German government is cooking up a bailout for Greece. The plan is for German state-owned banks to buy Greek debt with a German government guarantee. This is designed to clam German voters who don't want any of their money used to bail out the profligate Greeks. The 25 billion euro bailout would, in theory, rescue the euro, but Greece must reassure Europe it can slash its budget deficit by March 16. A bond sale is due in the next couple of weeks also. Many are concerned a Greek default could destroy the euro and trigger another round in the Global Financial Crisis. Meanwhile, the Chilean earthquake has stopped copper mining there. That is expected to boost copper prices in London trade. In Australia, the Reserve Bank is expected to hike its official cash rate tomorrow afternoon. A Bloomberg survey found 14 out of 19 economists saw a 25 bps hike to 4%, which would put the Australian rate well above the NZ OCR on 2.5%. A new mining boom is helping the Aussie economy, but there are many stressed home owners worried about higher interest rates in an inflated housing market.