90 at 9, Nov 17: Bernanke pledges low rates for longer; Hanover's black hole

Bernard Hickey details the key news overnight in 90 seconds at 9am in association with ASB, including news US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke spoke overnight about 'big headwinds' for the US economy, including weak bank lending and very high unemployment.

Bernanke repeated that interest rates would need to remain low for an extended period, Bloomberg reported. That reinforced perceptions of further US money printing, which in turn kept the US dollar weak. The NZ dollar headed for 75 USc this morning.

Meanwhile, growth figures in Japan overnight were relatively strong at 4.8%, but they were driven by stimulus spending. Most economists say the outlook for Japan's economy remains subdued into next year, the FT.com reported.

Meanwhile, back in the New Zealand, Hanover Finance has released its annual accounts showing writedowns of over NZ$308 million and a net loss of NZ$102 million.

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• Bernard Hickey
• 90 at 9
• Ben Bernanke
• Japan
• Hanover Finance