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
Heretaunga Building Society cut their 6 month and one year term deposit rates.
THE MOMENTUM SWINGS UPWARD
The ANZ Truckometer index is signaling an improving economy. The Heavy Traffic Index lifted another +0.7% in November – the third rise in a row, while the Light Traffic Index, which leads growth in the economy by six months, increased +0.2% m/m. Q3 GDP data is due to be released on 17 December. The Heavy Traffic Index suggests that Q3 growth will be in a respectable 0.5-1.0% q/q range, with annual growth looking like +3.6%. With two months of data in, Q4 growth is looking stronger than that. The strong upward trend in the Light Traffic Index suggests quite strong momentum in the economy into next year. "Lifts in the Truckometer indexes in the past few months further support our contention that the New Zealand economy has emerged from a mid-year pit-stop, reaccelerated and is running faster than many realise", say ANZ. "The non-dairy agriculture, construction, housing, services and tourism sectors continue to perform very well."
MORE TAX, BIGGER GAINS
Confirming the ANZ monitoring, Treasury reports that the Government's Budget deficit before gains and losses in the four months to October was NZ$478 mln, which was NZ$687 mln better than expected due to better corporate taxes collected, and better ACC results.
FACTORIES VERY BUSY
Food and beverage related industries drove a large increase in manufacturing sales in the September 2015 quarter, Statistics NZ said today. After adjusting for seasonal effects, the volume of total manufacturing sales rose +3.5% in the September 2015 quarter, with meat and dairy product manufacturing sales up +6.3%.
BIG PLANS
Auckland Council has approved 19 big regeneration projects. Manukau and Onehunga are set for significant long-term improvements. In Manukau, there will be more housing, including affordable housing located close to employment opportunities. In Onehunga, Council land holdings in the town centre, along with the Onehunga Port in the future will be used to attract developers to build high quality, mixed style housing close to public transport and the water’s edge. Changing the Onehunga port to more public use is seen as the key to unlocking the economic, recreation and transportation potential of the Manukau Harbour. There is also an opportunity to work with the Government on more housing in the wider area.
WOOL RESEARCH
The Government said today that it will invest $8.4 mln over seven years in a research partnership that could transform New Zealand’s wool industry. The research partnership is between NZ Wool Services International, AgResearch, Lincoln Agritech, and Otago and Massey Universities.
MORE COST DECREASES
The Government today confirmed big ACC premium reductions. These price cahnges will help keep inflation low, especially non-tradeable inflation. “There will be a -33% reduction to the average motor vehicle levy, comprising the petrol levy and annual licence levy, from an average of $194.25 currently, to $130.26 per vehicle. The average work levy paid by businesses will reduce by -11% to 80 cents per $100 of liable earnings, and the earners’ levy, paid by everyone in the paid workforce, will decrease by four per cent to $1.21 per $100 of liable earnings. The savings take effect on April 1, 2016.
COMPLAINTS TO BANKING OMBUDSMAN ON RISE
New Banking Ombudsman Nicola Sladden says the office has seen a 17% rise in disputes so far in its 2015-16 financial year which began in July. Poor customer service remains one of the main underlying causes of complaints and disputes, Sladden says. She says unhappiness with bank decisions is also common, often in relation to property loans, KiwiSaver withdrawals, credit cards and life insurance. Since July 35 complaints about early repayment costs have been received, which typically increase in volume when interest rates fall and people want to shop around for a lower rate. Sladden says people with complaints are generally aware of break fees, but disputed how the cost was calculated. Banks need to explain how the cost is calculated, she adds.
WHOLESALE RATES FALL
Local wholesale swap rates fell today in a flattening trend. One year rates were down -1 bp, 5 year rates down -2 bps and 10 year rates down -3 bps. The 90 day bank bill rate fell even more, down -6 bps and is now at 2.81%. Markets are seeing a higher chance of a Thursday OCR cut. (They haven't read today's data obviously.)
NZ DOLLAR HOLDS
The Kiwi is now at 66.4 USc, at 91.4 AUc, and 61.2 euro cents. The TWI-5 is now at 71.8. Check our real-time charts here.
You can now see an animation of this chart. Click on it, or click here.
And don't forget to make history and vote in the Flag Referendum.
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10 Comments
If you had not yet realized the NZ government is in the pocket of corporations you have not being paying attention:
''The Government has backed off a key change to competition law, deciding that cartel activity - where companies or organisations fix prices - will not be a criminal offence.
In a statement Paul Goldsmith, the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs revealed he was stripping criminal sanctions for cartel behaviour currently contained in a the Commerce (Cartels and Other Matters) Amendment Bill.
He said on Tuesday that after a year of consideration he had made an "on balance decision" that the costs of introducing criminal penalties outweighed the benefits.'''
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/74871045/pricefixing-executives-will-no…
In Keyland cartel-like behave is just fine......
Austria - The most difficult country in the world to obtain citizenship
People who plan to stay longer than 24 months must sign an Integration Agreement, a process designed to enhance their German-language skills and ability "to participate in the social, economic and cultural life in Austria"
https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/five-hardest-countries-to-become-a-ci…
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