Dawn chorus: ASB backs down

ASB stops forcing landlords to have 40% deposit for new builds, telling brokers it now only needs 15%; Facebook deleting Australian news to avoid new Australian law forcing it to pay publishers

TLDR: Morena. ASB has backed down from its policy of forcing rental property investors to have a 40% deposit for new builds, telling mortgage brokers last night they now needed just 15%. The Reserve Bank’s LVR rules exempt new builds to encourage lending to increase supply.

“We acknowledge that in trying to do the right thing for Kiwis, and for first home buyers in particular, we may not have got the balance quite right,” ASB’s GM of retail banking Craig Sims was reported to have told brokers in an email. (NZMM) Balance restored? Certainly political pain reduced.

Elsewhere overnight, Facebook Australia and NZ’s MD William Easton announced Facebook would delete all links to Australian news from its platform to avoid having to pay Australian news publishers. Australia is passing laws to force Google and Facebook to pay for news links. This is what happens when you outsource your societal news distribution system and debate environment to a company focused on generating profits at all costs.

Easton said Australians using Facebook: “Cannot view or share Australian or international news content on Facebook or content from Australian and international news Pages.” That would therefore mean New Zealand news could not be shown on Facebook for Australian users.

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Elsewhere in the local political economy

Marc Daalder 😷 Wear a Mask, Scan QR Codes @marcdaalder

Choosing to leave lockdown when so much is still uncertain - close contact tests still pending, source unknown, undetected community transmission not ruled out - is a riskier move than the Government would previously have been comfortable with. newsroom.co.nz/nz-forges-new-… #nzpol

newsroom.co.nzNZ forges new, riskier path in dropping levelsIn deciding to move Auckland out of lockdown, Jacinda Ardern has decided to take on more risk than she might have previously.

Bernard Hickey @bernardchickey

FYI @CoreLogicNZ reports this morning landlords bought a record high 30% of houses sold in January as they rushed to get in ahead of LVR boom coming down. CoreLogic says first home buyers showing "signs of fatigue" with 3-year low share of 22% in January corelogic.co.nz/news/investors…

Bernard Hickey @bernardchickey

Here's who is buying the largest share of properties in Rotorua and how it's changed since the RBNZ began printing NZ$100b to generate a wealth-effect 'recovery'... Landlord share of house buying in Rotorua spikes 10 percentage points to 39% in a year.

Bernard Hickey @bernardchickey

FYI @CoreLogicNZ reports this morning landlords bought a record high 30% of houses sold in January as they rushed to get in ahead of LVR boom coming down. CoreLogic says first home buyers showing "signs of fatigue" with 3-year low share of 22% in January https://t.co/vf0qUIgnZ3 https://t.co/tuZDAZlLgO

Jenée Tibshraeny @JeneeTibshraeny

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development believes the Govt could help increase the supply of housing by underwriting private developments. A $350m scheme to do this (beyond KiwiBuild) was meant to be launched in Nov but is yet to come into fruition.

interest.co.nzMinistry of Housing and Urban Development believes stalled Government underwrite would help stimulate the construction sector and see more …Ministry of Housing and Urban Development believes stalled Government underwrite would help stimulate the construction sector and see more affordable houses built

Newsroom @NewsroomNZ

At the base of the Bombay Hills, developers are poised to build houses and apartments, commercial centres, schools and health facilities to serve 150,000 people. But there is a problem.

newsroom.co.nzUnlocking a housing impasseOne of Auckland’s big-four, urban fringe residential developments needs new thinking to solve the provision of its infrastructure. Eleanor Black reports

Newsroom @NewsroomNZ

Unsafe lead levels found in children's blood tests in East Otago dlvr.it/RswSDr

Dominion Post @DomPost

Wellington mayor wants to sell half of central library building to private investors

dlvr.itWellington mayor wants to sell half of central library building to private investorsAndy Foster is proposing the council sell half its earthquake-prone library building to private investors, delaying funding for a planned upgrade until 2023-24.

In the global political economy

CNBC Now @CNBCnow

Fed officials see economy 'far from' where it needs to be, meaning easy policy won't change soon, minutes show

cnb.cxFed officials see economy ‘far from’ where it needs to be, meaning easy policy won’t change soon, minutes showThe Federal Open Market Committee on Wednesday released minutes from its Jan. 26-27 policy meeting.

CNBC Now @CNBCnow

Retail sales surge 5.3% in January vs. 1.2% estimate

cnb.cxRetail sales burst higher in January as consumers use stimulus checks to spend heavilyConsumers flocked to spend their stimulus checks in January, sending retail sales for the month up 5.3% in a blockbuster start to 2021.

Aileen Gilpin @AileenGilpin

BlackRock's latest climate instructions come with a new threat

accountingtoday.comBlackRock’s latest climate instructions come with a new threatBlackRock has previously endorsed companies reporting climate risks based on frameworks developed by the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board. This year, it went a step further.

bernardchickeysubscribers @bernardchickey2

Australia should care about climate change a lot more than it appears to. If only to keep interest rates low. FYI from IMF. A 10% pt higher climate change vulnerability correlates with a rise ~ 30 bps in 10yr bond spreads vs U.S. benchmarks.

blogs.imf.orgWhy Climate Change Vulnerability Is Bad for Sovereign Credit RatingsBy Serhan Cevik and João Tovar Jalles Climate change has made the world a riskier place. The destruction wrought by heatwaves, droughts, hurricanes, and coastal flooding doesn’t stop with the toll on human lives and livelihoods—it can also have deep consequences for a country’s finances. Recent IMF…

CNBC Now @CNBCnow

BREAKING: Three North Korean computer programmers indicted for conducting a series of cyberattacks to steal and extort more than $1.3 billion of cash and cryptocurrency from financial institutions and companies

cnbc.comNorth Korean hackers charged in massive cryptocurrency theft schemeOfficials said the charges expand a case from 2018 that detailed the cyberattack on Sony Pictures and the creation of the ransomware known as WannaCry.

Guardian US @GuardianUS

Ford plans for all cars sold in Europe to be electric by 2030

theguardian.comFord plans for all cars sold in Europe to be electric by 2030US firm to spend $1bn converting plant in Cologne to become its first electric vehicle facility in Europe

Chart of the day

bernardchickeysubscribers @bernardchickey2

Here's a very term chart showing how big the Bank of England's Quantitative Easing (money printing and bond buying) programme is relative to GDP. From a BoE speech overnight. Bigger than two world wars and the GFC. Combined. bankofengland.co.uk/-/media/boe/fi…

Threads worth unravelling

UN Climate Change @UNFCCC

Confused about the #PolarVortex? Usually a strong jet stream confines Arctic air to the north, stabilized by a big difference in temperature between low and high latitudes. The smaller the difference in temperature, the more the wind belts meander (Via @RemoteLongitude & @NOAA)

Notable other views

Newsroom @NewsroomNZ

The status quo is holding fast and holding us up, writes Jess Berentson-Shaw

newsroom.co.nzScared, shouting and standing in the wayIn our legislation, in our democratic process and in our media the scared, selfish or cynical people opposing the changes we need are awarded more power than others.

Ka kite anō

Bernard

PS: Thanks to Glen for today’s pic

PPS Some fun things

Robbie @RobbieNicol

I fixed Facebook's statement. 🙂

Yashar Ali 🐘 @yashar

Watching episodes of a tv show that you’ve agreed to only watch with a significant other, friend, or family member, is a high crime. @bridgerton vm.tiktok.com/ZMeN1fKFB/