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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
leveraged investors are getting more signals their time is passing.
Janet Yellen has suggested that it will be only six months or so after the withdrawal
of QE - and at the rundown rate of US$10 billion per month that will be done by September - that
we should expect to see the Fed raising its interest rates.
Guidance that far forward has rattled some market observers, but she is confirming the
cheap money era is ending. Bankers and the highly leveraged may not like it but rates
are going up, worldwide.
Sales of existing homes in the US declined in February to their lowest level since July
2012, down 7% from the same month a year ago. Median prices however were up 9% over the
same period. The slowing pace of sales suggests an industry out of step with the rest of the
economy, however.
Initial claims for American state unemployment aid increased 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted
320,000 last week. The rise was smaller than economists had expected and keeps claims close
to the three-month low hit last week.
At the same time, the closely-watched Philly Fed regional survey has factories coming out
of the cold snap busy with full order books.
US mayors put out a report overnight noting that the energy boom is having a remarkable
impact on their cities, raising employment and prosperity nationwide, and they see it
growing until at least 2020.
The Chinese currency has been depreciating remarkably quickly in the past few days, too
fast for some. Foreign exchange markets are scrambling to make sense of the fall on some
complex investments that risk falling out of the money and defaulting if the newly freed
up currency depreciates any further. Could be some rude shocks awaiting some investors.
The benchmark UST 10 year bond yields are up sharply today to 2.77% while the oil price
has slipped a little and the gold price has slipped a lot in mid-afternoon New York trading.
Gold is now down to $1,320/oz. Meanwhile, US stocks are up more than 0.5%.
The NZ Dollar is at 85.5 USc this morning, at 94.4 AUc and the TWI starts at 80.1.
I’m David Chaston, and that was 90 at nine, brought to you by interest.co.nz.