90 at 9 Dec 11: NZ$ near 73USc; Butter price record; New Chinese real estate tax

Bernard Hickey details the key news overnight in 90 seconds at 9am, including news the New Zealand dollar rose to almost 73 USc this morning from just 70.8 USc before yesterday's announcement from the RBNZ it would look at hiking the Official Cash Rate from the middle of 2010, which was slightly earlier than seen previously. This makes the NZ dollar slightly more attractive in the eyes of international investors.

Fixed mortgage rates may rise a bit in coming weeks after wholesale rates rose slightly, but variable rates are likely to stay put until after the OCR rises, which could be as early as April 29.

Meanwhile the butter price hit a record NZ$5,766, according to data out overnight from the USDA as Europe moves to reduce subsidies. The butter price has doubled since July to an all time record high in New Zealand dollar terms, but other dairy commodity prices have not risen so much.

In the United States Goldman Sachs is stripping cash bonuses for its top executivess and offering shares instead that can't be sold for 5 years, Bloomberg reported. Also, France's Nicolas Sarkozy said he would impose a 50% tax on bank bonuses, matching the British tax, FT.com reports.

In Asia, China has reintroduced a 5.5% tax on real estate sales within 5 years of purchase to slow its property boom, FT.com reported.

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