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Hello, 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
from China today.
Unaware of the obvious irony, leaders at yesterday's start of China's 'Third Plenum' meetings have
promised to allow the markets to play a "decisive role" in the world’s second largest economy
- and then they appointed a top level 'committee' centralising the powers to achieve their goals.
They have set 2020 as the deadline for getting results from these changes - and a specific
public date is an unusual benchmark by Chinese authorities.
More worrying, they also appointed another high-level committee to oversee the tightening
of social controls - especially of the media and communications - in a bid to constrain
the coming unrest as the various 'reforms' are pushed through. Stress points will not
only be within China itself, but Hong Kong and Taiwan are starting to feel the strains
too.
European Union negotiators in Brussels have clinched a deal on the 2014 EU budget after
grueling talks; and they have cut spending by about 6% compared to 2013. Still, about
two-thirds of the €135.5 bln budget will go on subsidies for farmers and on development
projects in the EU's poorer regions, as in previous years. But the spending on such projects
is being cut by about €7 bln.
In a surprise move overnight, Indonesia's central bank raised its benchmark rate to
the highest in four years, in a bid to shield the economy from expected market turbulence
when the US Fed begins to wind back its easy monetary policies.
At 9am this morning the our central bank will make its Financial Stability Report public.
Bernard Hickey will be there covering this and Governor Wheeler's testimony at Parliament
this afternoon.
The NZ dollar starts today at 82.1 USc - a new two month low - 88.3 AUc, and the TWI
is at 76.9
I’m David Chaston, and that was 90 at nine, brought to you by interest.co.nz.