Happy New Year. I’m David Chaston with Ninety at nine, brought to you by interest.co.nz.
This is where you get everything you need to know in 90 seconds at 9 o’clock, including
news another Fonterra product recall.
But first, in Thailand overnight anti-government protesters began blocking main roads and the
financial district in Bangkok, disrupting traffic and increasing pressure on the Thai
Prime Minister to resign.
Indonesia has announced an export ban on raw minerals in an effort to get more processing
done within the country. The immediate market response has been to raise the demand for
Australia supplies.
Overnight, the IMF added Denmark, Finland, Norway and Poland to its list of countries
that must have regular check-ups of their financial sectors, under an effort to prevent
a repeat of the global financial crisis.
And in Switzerland, the BIS diluted a planned leverage limit for banks amid warnings that
the rule would penalise low-risk financial activities and curtail lending. A win for
bank lobbyists.
In Washington, the US Federal Reserve is investigating whether traders at the world’s biggest banks
rigged benchmark currency rates, raising the risk that firms will be penalised for lax
controls as regulators worldwide look for wrongdoing. The Fed has taken action in the
past on individual cases, but is now looking system wide.
In Australia, sales of new homes jumped to a two-and-a-half-year high - up 7.5% from
November - adding fuel to hopes a recovery is underway in their residential construction
sector.
Here at home, Fonterra said late yesterday that it is conducting a voluntary recall of
some fresh cream products distributed in part of the North Island due to the possible presence
of E. coli bacteria. It's news that is playing bigger in China.
Today we get the NZIER quarterly survey of business confidence, and will get the December
QV numbers.
The NZ dollar starts today quite a bit higher at 83.6 USc, 92.4 AUc, and the TWI is at 78.7.
I’m David Chaston, and that was 90 at nine, brought to you by interest.co.nz.
Its good to be back.