Bernard Hickey details the key news overnight in 90 seconds at 9 am in association with Bank of New Zealand, including news that Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has told President Georgio Napolitano he would resign after Italy's budget was passed.
This followed a humiliating near defeat for Berlusconi in a parliamentary vote where his government only won a budget vote because of abstentions.
Market reaction was relatively muted, given Berlusconi's likely resignation does little to solve Italy's budgetary problems and the threat to Europe's financial and banking stability.
Italian bond yields rose to an unsustainable 6.75%, given Italy has debt worth 120% of GDP, which means its borrowing costs are expected to rise over 5% of GDP.
Meanwhile, Greece remains in the headlines despite the resignation of its Prime Minister George Papandreou.
Reuters reports it is struggling to find a new Prime Minister that can form a government to enforce the austerity measures demanded by Germany and France.
The Dow closed up 0.7%.
The New Zealand dollar was steady around 79.8 USc.
See BNZ's currencies report on our site here.
(Updated with details, links, Dow close)
No chart with that title exists.
30 Comments
It's time we face the reality that Europe and the U.S. are full-blown financial alcoholics, addicted to illusion and debt. And what do they turn to as "solutions"? The very sources of their pain: illusory "fixes" and more debt.
Next In Line for Implosion: Pension Plans
"In short, the European project is failing at precisely the point that it had been attempting to solve — nationalism. The ability of leaders to make deals depends on authority that is slipping away."
Read more: Europe, the International System and a Generational Shift | STRATFOR
Have a look at the poll result.....easy to discover why Labour is almost below the 25% support level.....funny as ...... http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10764722
No leadership any which way you look at it.....
You have to wonder how anyone can continue to believe that ETs are visiting the Earth.
All they have to do is read even the most basic of astronomy books to see that it's so unlikely as to be essentially impossible.
They're all a bunch of Mulder wannabes who "Want to Believe" in the unbelievable.
They probably still think property is a good investment.
What does this tale tell you about Westpac as a bank?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10764770
But it only takes 24hrs to make another GBH......... so what can Italy expect now another former IMF or EU Banker to suddenly step into the breech.....!
There's stacking the deck and then there's this in your face crap that's going down in the E.U........a very ,....we will prevail at all cost to the taxpeyer by the Banking fraternity.
Not that I don't thik Bigasconee should not be gone......but that the people will have little to decide in Italy's future........
99.
Maybe I'm just having a bad day, but i reckon f**kit, lets default with iceland, greece, the italians and get the ball rolling... I know it'll cause pain, but aren't we already in pain?
This banking system is rooted to its core, and the pollies who are propping it up are uniformly revolting. Maybe it IS time to pull off the bandaid, have some painful years and start rebuilding.
I know none of the pollies would actually do this, but on the upside their incompetence is so vast that it might just happen by itself....
http://www.referendum.org.nz/votingsystems
But they missed out FRO as an option, which I thought might suit you better Vanderlei.
well scarfie i've always been of the opinion that "none of the above" should be a counted vote on any ballot. if it wins, the pollies can either FRO as you say, or come back with something better
suits me fine. this mob we currently have give me no confidence whatsoever. and as wol says we've had one shit govt after the other for decades now. why not wipe it clean?
yay ..! all for it V.L......or we could print some novelty currency with a picture of John Boy on one side doing the idiot wave
...and a superdove on the other with Bollards Head add the sub caption ... Nihil Facimus Sed Tam ...
worst case scenario ,...they know were crazy..!
Interesting, the Mayor of Dunedin trying to abuse trespass laws but has found the Police won't dance to his tune. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10764789
TV 1 seems fairly fixated on NZ'ers leaving for Aussie lately... Goff on there the other night blathering about closing the income gap and having more and better jobs in NZ etc... yeah yeah heard it all before, didnt happen then, not going to happen any time soon.
Interestingly they interviewed four 30+ women now working over there making far more money, better lifestyle etc. From something one of them said I interpreted her as being single before she left NZ, and I wouldn't be surprised if the others were as well.
This is the main issue, 95% of single NZers can't afford to buy a house near where they live and work. If they cant afford a house here they cant knuckle down and start a life here. If they cant start a life here why not move to aussie, get paid way more and have a better lifestyle, chances are they wont be able to afford a house over there but they're still better off.
Both National and Labour will continue to fail abysmally at keeping NZ'ers in this country because they are both far too afraid to address the real issue. A big fat elephant in the room in the form of a massively overvalued property market, kept in place with a low OCR provided by a complicit RB and council zoning regulations that are far too restrictive. Young NZ'ers cant even get a foot in the door here, is anyone surprised they're leaving in droves?
National and Labour will continue to protect the highly indebted voting public while paying nothing more than lip service to the idea of keeping NZ'ers here as the only thing that will keep them here is in direct conflict with their primary agenda.
Will NZ ever get a government with the balls to return interest rates to a sensible level, free up the zoning rules and instigate some creative destruction that might result in a rebalancing of the economy and a return to sensible house price levels? No of course not, anyone that would be inclined to vote for that kind of government has already left.
Yep, was going to put a comment re yours: "but on the upside their incompetence is so vast that it might just happen by itself" thats pretty much how I see it playing out. This country will never get a leader with the balls to put through a tough decision because it will never vote for one. Self interested voters and politicians alike will continute to dig their own grave until they realise they've burried themselves in it. Just like whats happened in the US and Europe. Only a matter of time there and by association for us as well.
Hamrod
So well put!!!!
NZ will slowly go down the gurgler because none of the politicians, left or right, will do what is required to transform the country. They will do a bit of tinkering, to look like they are doing something, but that tinkering will be largely meaningless
And its not rocket science!!!!!!!!!!!!
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