90 at 9: US GDP fall not as bad as expected

Bernard Hickey delivers the key news overnight in 90 seconds at 9 am in association with ASB, including Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke defending himself against a hostile congress and encouraging Wall St to believe he will be reappointed by Barack Obama. Meanwhile US GDP fell at an annualised pace of 5.5% in the March quarter, which was better than expected. New Zealand's GDP figures due around 11am are expected to show our national output fell 2.3% in the March quarter from a year ago. Meanwhile, newspapers are reporting that Treasury put forward a plan to 'gift' up to NZ$1,200 per beneficiary or NZ$1 billion to boost the economy, but this was rejected by the government.