Here are the key things you need to know before you leave work today.
TODAY'S MORTGAGE RATE CHANGES
There are no changes to report today.
TODAY'S DEPOSIT RATE CHANGES
RaboDirect reduced rates for both its bonus saver account (by -25 bps to 3.50%), its term deposit rates, and its term PIE funds. F&P Finance has also cut call and term deposit rates today.
MILK PROSPECTS IMPROVE
Fonterra reported its 2014/15 final results today. They were better than expected. It is now predicting a milk price of $4.60 for the current 2015/16 season, up from previous prediction of $3.85. The milk price of $4.40 was confirmed for past season, plus a dividend of 25c. Farmers expressed disappointment. Production is now seen falling more than -5% in the coming season.
RETAIL WORKERS STRIKE
Aussie-owned hardware chain Bunnings, is facing worker unrest. Seventy of its workers from four Auckland stores picketed outside the company’s head office today. This comes after a strike at Bunnings Mount Maunganui and similar strikes in other retail chains like the NZ-owned Warehouse. They want an end to "insecure contracts".
GOOD BUT NOT GOOD ENOUGH - YET
Aucklanders took more than 80 mln public transport trips in the year to August. Train trips rose +20% above the same month a year ago boosted by the all-electric service, and were +2.3% above target. Bus travel was lower than target however, but still moved 60 mln passenger/trips in the year, dominating the service. Ferries moved 5.6 mln passenger trips. The Government set a target of 20 mln passenger trips on trains to come to the party on the Mayor's pet rail link project, so they are still only 72% the way to that level.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT DISRUPTERS
Uber said today that Kiwis have taken over 1 mln Uber rides, covering more than 4.5 mln kms since the service started operating in New Zealand in May 2014. Taxi's are the first target, but cheap, fast point-to-point service will eat away at bus services too.
REGULATOR FINES ANZ
The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission has fined ANZ US$150,000 for failing to comply with reporting obligations.
LOWER NZD WIDENS TRADE DEFICIT
The annual trade deficit deteriorated sharply to $3.3 bln in August, up from a revised $2.8 bln in July. The falling currency is causing higher import prices, and there was another one-off aircraft imports in August that pushed up the value of imports in the month, more than offsetting very good growth in meat and fruit export values. Higher import prices are here now; it will take some time for better export receipts to catch up so a widening deficit is likely until 2016. Also, today's data is for 'goods' only - the booming tourism and education sectors don't figure in these numbers.
HOT DEMAND BUT YIELD UNCHANGED
The latest bond tender of NZ$200 mln NZ Govt. 2020's received bids for NZ$569 mln, over-subscribed by 2.8x. Only a low number of bids were accepted. The weighted average yield accepted was 2.69% (vs 2.67% in the previous tender).
INVESTORS STILL BIG IN HOUSING
Investors show no signs of backing off from the housing market ahead of new restrictive rules, but the proportionate size of loans is shrinking. This is the takeaway from today's data release from the RBNZ. Related data shows that high-LVR lending is falling.
LOW GROWTH
The Australian population is growing at its slowest rate in a decade and now below its 20yr average, according to official demographic data released today to March 2015. Migration inflows are slowing noticeably.
WHOLESALE RATES HIGHER AND STEEPER
About half of yesterday's falls were gained back today is something of a small bounce, partly reflected in the earlier change on Wall Street. The 90 day bank bill rate is unchanged at 2.84%.
NZ DOLLAR DOWN
The Kiwi dollar gained some ground following the better-than-expected Fonterra results. But as the day has worn on, the currency has fallen back. It is now at 62.8 USc, at 89.8 AUc and at 56.2 euro cents. The TWI-5 is still at 67.3. Check our real-time charts here.
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4 Comments
If and when Uber Pool goes fully operational you can expect a significant decline in fixed route public transport patronage. It's one of those rare occasions when National's lethargy is working to everyone's advantage. With luck they will resist funding Len's Folly until it is obvious it is not needed.
Got to love Uber, Uber and Airbnb have changed the way my wife and I travel, Airbnb the most.
12500 Uber drivers in London, my daughters employer has an account, all the workers use it, often instead of public transport.
A friend in Miami lost his job so he started driving for Uber, he makes $200 a day, loves meeting new people and going that extra mile, slightly over qualified but lets face it, that's a common complaint today.
China, big problem? or not?
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/09/23/chinese-spillovers/?module=…
"Suppose China experiences a 5 percent slump in its own GDP; given an income elasticity of 2, which is reasonable, this would mean a 10 percent fall in imports — but that’s a shock to the rest of the world of just 0.3 percent of GDP. Not nothing, but not that big a deal."
0.3%, but for OZ? NZ?
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