NZ budget – key points

Forecasts economic growth to average between 2% & 3% a year over the next four years.
Confirm that the Government remains on track to meet its
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NZ skilled job ad’s rise 5.4% in April from March

Australian unemployment falls to 5.5%

The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that the jobless rate fell to a seasonally adjusted 5.5% in April from 5.6% in March. The unemployment rate declined despite a
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NZ unemployment drops to 6.2%

New Zealand’s jobless rate fell to its lowest level in three years for the first quarter of the year as demand for workers in Canterbury,
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RBNZ wants more capital for mortgages

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand plans to make the big four Australian owned banks put up more capital for loans they make that are
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RBNZ intervenes in NZD

The New Zealand Reserve Bank let slip in Parliament that they had been intervening in the NZD. It appears the RBNZ have been selling the
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RBA cut cash rate to 2.75%

The Reserve Bank of Australia cut their overnight cash rate by 0.25% from 3% to 2.75% & indicated they may consider further cuts due to
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ECB cuts rate to 0.5%

The European Central Bank cut the official cash rate by 0.25% from 0.75% down to 0.50% overnight.

US unemployment falls to 7.5%, lowest in 4 years

NZ building consents fall by 9.1% in March

New Zealand building consents fell by 9.1% in March following a revised increase of 4.4% in March.

Chicago PMI slumps to a 3½ year low

The Chicago Purchasing Managers Index fell to its worst level since September 2009, from 52.4 in March to 49 in April.
A number below 50 represents
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NZ business confidence falls for a 2nd month

NZ business confidence falls for a 2nd month despite the construction sector remaining bullish as the agricultural sector was the most pessimistic over the economic
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NZ records a NZ$718 miilion surplus for March

US economy expands at 2.5% vs. expectations of 3%

UK Q1 GDP growth at +0.3% vs. expectations of +0.1%

Spain unemployment soars to record high of 27%

China overtakes Australia as NZ’s biggest trade partner

NZDAUD climbs into mid .82′s

RBNZ keep OCR at 2.5%

Apple announces share buyback of USD 50.0 Billion

Euro lower as rate cut looms

Blackrock says NZD overvalued on all metrics

Kiwi surges on weak yen, English’s comments

Kiwi moves higher in Asian trading

Yen breaks 99.00 vs USD – lowest since 2009

Aussie Consumer Confidence drops in April

China records trade deficit in March

Kiwi tests .8500 vs USD

Fed leaders debate inflation threat from QE printing

Gold falls to 1 year low on stronger US Dollar

Aussie home building still slow despite rate cuts

Yen falls after Bank of Japan beats expectations

European Central Bank to cut rates next month

NZ Exporters battling a rising tide of money printing

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pay big Divdends to US Treasury

US posts surge in house prices & new home sales

US house prices rose 8.1% from a year ago, whilst new homes sales were at highest level since start of 2008.

NZ trade data records a surplus of $414 million

Kiwi gains vs. Euro as markets shun the shared currency

US Fed Chief to quit in 2014?

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has given his biggest hint yet that he may leave his post at the end of his term in January. Bernanke is
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NZ GDP surges

NZ Q4 GDP came in at +1.5% for the for quarter of 2012 & at +3% for the year.
The figures represented the best increase since
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NZ Current Account Slightly Worse at -5% of GDP

Euro under pressure after Cyprus Votes No

Cyprus Votes Strong No to Deposit Tax Grab

US Tech Companies sitting on more than USD1 Trillion in Cash

Cyprus delays Vote on Deposit Tax Grab

Bank of England King says they are not targeting lower GBP

US Inflation rises as money flows into real economy

RBNZ Says will cut interest rates if NZD Stays Too High

NZD Down on Flight to Safety after Cyprus Deposit Tax spooks markets

Yen Gains on Safe Haven Flows Out of Europe

Euro Plunges on Cyprus Deposit Tax

NZ consumer confidence rises

New Zealand consumer confidence rose to 121 in January a 32 month high, from 118.3 the prior month boosted by low interest rates & increasing
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NZ manufacturing accelerates

New Zealand manufacturing expanded at the fastest pace since May last year led by materials needed for the Christchurch rebuild. The Performance Manufacturing Index (PMI) rose to
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NZ card spending rises

New Zealand card spending rose a seasonally adjusted 0.3% in January, its 4th consecutive rise, led by consumables such as food alcohol & fuel indicating
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Aus home loan approvals continue to fall

Australian home loan approvals fell for a 3rd consecutive month despite the RBA cutting the main interest rate by 1.25% since November 2011. Approvals dropped
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NZ house prices rise again

New Zealand house prices rose 6.2% in January from a year ago latest figures show and have increased by 1.5% from December. Auckland’s prices show
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US trade deficit shinks

The US trade deficit narrowed by 20.7% to USD 38.5 billion led by record petroleum exports & overseas shipments of Gold.
Imports dropped 2.7% to USD
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Incoming BoE Governor: More printing not a certainty

Canadian Mark Carney, who will be the first foreign Bank of England Governor in its 318 year history dampened speculation that he will be looking for sweeping
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ECB hold cash rate

European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi left the cash rate unchanged at 0.75% for a 7th consecutive month as he expressed his concern over the
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Aus unemployment softer

Australian unemployment held steady at 5.4% as employers added 10,400 jobs in the 4th quarter as the 3rd quarter number was revised to show a
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NZ unemployment slumps

New Zealand unemployment slumped 1% in the final quarter of 2012 as Statistics NNZ showed a loss of 23,000 jobs.
The unemployment rate moved down from
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RBA leaves cash rate unchanged

The Reserve Bank of Australia have left the cash rate unchanged at 3%.
The board have previously cut the rate by a total of 1.25% between
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NZ CPI falls

New Zealand’s consumer price index (CPI) unexpectedly fell by 0.2% in 4th quarter vs. expectations of a 0.1% rise, increasing the potential of an Reserve Bank
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Aus unemployment rises

Australia’s unemployment rate rose from a revised 5.3% in November to 5.4% in December as employers unexpectedly cut payrolls. The number of people employed fell
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NZ business confidence jumps

New Zealand business confidence improved in seasonally adjusted terms for the quarter with a net 19% of firms now expecting business conditions to improve, compared
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NZ food prices fall

New Zealand food prices fell in December by 0.2% after falling 0.8% in November.

NZ house prices down, sales up

New Zealand house prices were down 0.6% from November’s 1.4% gain.
New Zealand house sales were up 8.2% in December compared to last year when they
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Aus job ads retreat

Australian job advertisements fell from the revised -2.8% in November to -3.8% in December, its 10th consecutive month of declines.
Internet job ads dropped 3.9%, while
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Aus home loan approvals fall

Australian home loan approvals unexpectedly fell in November for the 1st time in 4 months by 0.5% from October when they increased by 0.1%.
The market
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NZ Card spending rises

New Zealand card spending increased 0.3% from the prior month when it rose 0.7% led by consumables.
The only sector of the 6 retail categories was
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China’s trade surplus soars

China’s trade surplus rocketed to US$31.6 billion in December way above estimates of US$20 billion and November’s surplus of US$19.6 billion.
Data released showed exports gaining 14.1% as
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NZ trade deficit widens

New Zealand’s trade deficit widened to NZ$1.46 billion, the biggest in more than 3 years as imports exceeded exports for the 12 months to 30th
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Australian job vacancies slump

Australian job vacancies declined by 6.9% in November from the revised +4.1% from the previous quarterly survey in August, representing its lowest level in 2
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Aussie retails sales fall

Australian retail sales unexpectedly fell by 0.1% in November for the 1st time in 4 months compared to an unchanged October & a forecast of a
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NZ house building approvals surge

New Zealand building approvals for detached houses jumped to their highest levels since May 2010 as low interest rates & the Canterbury rebuild take effect.
Permits
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Australia’s trade deficit widens

Australia’s trade deficit widens to A$2.64 billion in November from a revised A$2.44 billion in October & against a forecast of A$2.3 billion.
Exports rise 1%
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US Fed may end bond purchasing program

The US Federal Reserve may cease its aggressive bond purchasing program in 2013 if the job market continues to improve & the economy sees moderate
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Japanese PM signals JPY intentions

New Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reiterated his aim of ‘breaking out of currency appreciation & deflation’ adding ‘bold monetary steps is one of three
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US continue to add jobs

US non-farm payrolls grew by 155,000 in December after a rise of 146,000 in November. The unemployment rate ticked up slightly from 7.7% to 7.8% as people
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NZ PSI expansion slows

New Zealand’s Performance Services Index expanded at a slower pace in November, falling to 54.1 from a revised 58.1 previously.
A reading above 50 represents expansion
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NZ consumer confidence rises

New Zealand’s consumer confidence rises to 111.1 in 4th quarter from 102.5 in the July – September period, its highest level since the 3rd quarter
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China’s HSBC PMI edges higher

The HSBC flash Purchasing Managers Index for December rose more than forecast to 50.9 from 50.5 in November.
The latest figure was a 14 month high
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Jobless rate falls as retail sales rebound

Unemployment claims fell for a 4th consecutive week  and to a 9 week low of 343,000 down by 29,000 from the prior week. The fall follows the
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US trade deficit widens

A slump in exports by the most in nearly 4 years, outweighing the fall in imports, saw the  trade deficit grow 4.9% to USD42.2 billion
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NZ House prices & sales continue to rise

New Zealand house prices continued to climb in November, with the median up 4.3% from the same month last year.
Home sales surged 24% from a
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Australian business confidence plunges

Australian business confidence plunges to lowest level since 2009. The confidence index dropped to -9 from -1 in Oct.
More RBA rate cuts imminent.

NZ card spending continues rise

Card spending in New Zealand, which includes debit, credit & store cards rose 0.5% from October when it increased by 0.4%.
Core spending which excludes sales
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Japan slipping towards recession

Japan’s economy contracted by an annualised 3.5% in the July to September quarter increasing the risk of the world’s 3rd largest economy going into recession
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Meat & Dairy manufacturing negates weak volumes

Q3 declines in 8 out of 13 sectors but was offset by a surge in meat & dairy manufacturing.
Manufacturing increased 2.6% in 3rd quarter after
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RBNZ continue ‘lower for longer’ theme

New Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Graeme Wheeler maintained the central banks lower for longer theme on the OCR saying ‘the overall outlook is
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China shows signs of improvement

China had positive data out in the form of industrial production production up over 10% from this time last year & retails sales up nearly
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ECB lowers forecasts

The European Central Bank lowered its economic forecast for the Eurozone whilst also looking at the possibility of cutting the main interest rate which currently
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China PMI

China’s PMI expanded to 50.4 in  November from 49.5 in October. The return to expansion after 13 months of  contraction signals that economic growth is
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Federal Reserve starts 2 day meeting

The Federal Reserve has started its 2 day meeting where it is widely anticipated that some form of austerity is likely to be added believing
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Euro rallies

The Euro rallied to a near one month high reaching 1.2748 as a European Official said that ‘a politically acceptable path will be sought for
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New Government by Wednesday

Greece’s plans to form a coalition government could be in place by Wednesday, European time with the New Democracy, Pasok and the Democratic Left parties
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Kiwi & Aussie dollars strengthen

The Australian and New Zealand dollars rose as an election victory by supporters of Greece’s bailout eased concern the nation will leave the euro bloc.
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New Democracy looking for large coalition

With almost all ballots now counted, New Democracy has 29.7% of the vote (129 seats), Syriza 26.9% (71) and Pasok 12.3% (33). There are 300
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RBNZ will hold for longer

Reserve Bank ofNew ZealandGovernor Alan Bollard confirmed that the OCR will remain at 2.5% for a 15 consecutive month & that it is likely to
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All eyes on Greece

This weekend’sGreeceelections will take centre stage although onNew Zealandwe will not know the result until early next week. It is anticipated that the Greek electorates
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