Here are the key things you need to know before you leave work today.
GOVERNMENT DEBT FALLS
Government securities on issue in May fell $800 mln to $75.1 billion from April. However it is $5.4 billion higher than this time a year ago.
RATE CHANGES
TSB changed three of its mortgage rates, one up, two down. But it left its market leading offers unchanged. Asset Finance raised its one year term deposit rate by 10 bps to 6.95%, up from 6.85%.
BIG AND DIVERSE BUT UNDERPERFORMING
The Productivity Commission has just released its final report on boosting productivity in the services sector. It has found a sector that now accounts for around 70% of GDP and this share is continuing to grow. It also found it lags behind that of other developed countries and shows little sign of catching up. The room for improvement is large so it deserves attention and it makes a raft of recommendations that will bring significant benefits.
CREDIT UNIONS TO REBRAND
The NZ Credit Union Association is to rebrand its members as "Co-op Money NZ". The Co-operative Bank is unimpressed with CEO Bruce McLachlan saying; "This is significantly detrimental to our brand and we will respond accordingly."
SATISFYING NO-ONE
The FMA has settled with Strategic Finance directors and auditor, extracting $22 million in penalties that will go to the receiver and a short-term ban on them running any business. Given the scale of the issues involved it seems a timid settlement to me. The auditors were BDO Spicers at the time.
A WEAK MORTGAGE MARKET
Home loan approvals for last week were ok compared to recent weeks, but are 11.7% down in volumes from the same period last year and down 9.4% in value. However, consistent with what we are seeing for house sales, the average loan amount was the highest we have seen in this series.
WHOLESALE RATES
Wholesale swap rates were pretty much unchanged today, but the 90 day bank bill rate was 2 bps higher and is now at 3.45%.
OUR CURRENCY
The NZ dollar has held its own today. Late this afternoon, the USD is at 84.4 USc, the Aussie is now at 90.9 AUc. The TWI is at 78.7.
4 Comments
Re services sector story , we seriously need to revisit the idea of us becoming a funds management hub for Asia , South America and the South Pacific region .
We have the tech knowlege , strong Institutions , a stable well run economy , a robust legal system and and sound banking and regulatory system .
We also have strong firms of Accountants as well as the Big 5 that are subject to porfessional scrutiny to do the compliance work for Fund Managers
We need to get the wheels in motion and get on with it
"Home loan approvals were ok" What do you mean ok? Are you reporting facts or applying your subjective feelings to the facts? You obviously think that loan approvals dropping are a bad thing. Why you think this is beyond me. You are entitled to your opinion but you shouldn't post subjective opinion as news.
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