90 seconds at 9am: SFO serious this time; 'Bridgecorp move soon'; US home sales slump

Watch on our video page here. Watch video on YouTube here. Bernard Hickey details the key news overnight in 90 seconds at 9am in association with BNZ, including news that the new head of the Serious Fraud Office, Adam Feeley, has told the NZ Herald he has set a deadline of March 31 to make decisions on charging finance company directors. He says he's disappointed it's been three years since the collapse of finance companies without prosecutions. Feeley sees a decision on Bridgecorp charges within three weeks. Bridgecorp's Rod Petricevic has already been bankrupted and faces criminal charges from the Securities Commission over misleading investors. The SFO is also investigating Five Star Finance and confirmed it was looking at Club Finance, which was associated with the First Step trusts set up by Money Managers and Doug Somers Edgar.

Meanwhile US existing home sales slumped 17% last month after the expiry of a tax credit, raising fresh questions about whether western economies can cope once government stimulus is withdrawn. Also overnight, Greece sold 5 billion euros worth of government bonds at a whacking 350 bps over base rates. Investors are watching Greece closely because of its parlous budget position.