Here are the key things you need to know before you leave work today.
JOHN KEY TO FLOAT GENESIS
The Government gave some details on their 'last' asset sale today.
McCARTEN TO LABOUR
Former Alliance Party stalwart Matt McCarten has been appointed as Labour’s new chief of staff.
MIGHTY RIVER ACHIEVES TARGETS
The partly privatised MRP reported its first post-float results today and there were no surprises.
MORE RELIANCE ON HYDRO
The Electricity Authority is reporting hydro storage has gone from well above average to just below average during the first two months of the year. There are three main reasons for this. The Maui platform and processing station are out for maintenance, which means that many of the thermal stations are unable to generate and are taking advantage of the downtime to do their own maintenance.
The Tekapo canal is also out for maintenance, which means that the two Tekapo hydro stations are unable to generate. Lastly, hydro inflows have been lower than usual, and there have been several weeks in which wind generation has been very low. Together, these factors have resulted in hydro operators generating a lot of energy and running down lake levels that are not being replenished by inflows. As a result, electricity prices in the spot market have been very volatile, particularly when wind generation has been low.
ANZ RAISES MORTGAGE RATES
ANZ today raised its six and twelve month fixed mortgage rates. For these terms, they are now above their main rivals.
MORTGAGE APPROVALS SOFT
Home loan approvals are still not showing any growth nor any recovery in first home buyer lending.
WHOLESALE RATES
Swap rates fell marginally across all terms. The 90 day bank bill rates also edged back a tick today are now at 2.95%, with a full 25 bps OCR rise still fully priced in.
OUR CURRENCY RISES
The NZD reacted very little today - its like we have fixed rates. The TWI is still at 78.1.
We welcome your comments below. If you are not already registered, please register to comment.
Remember we welcome robust, respectful and insightful debate. We don't welcome abusive or defamatory comments and will de-register those repeatedly making such comments. Our current comment policy is here.