CREDIT WHERE CREDIT DUE

A wee birdy tells us that Mark Solomon raised the possibility that the banks are getting a bit touchy at the moment over the public controversy surrounding the tribes leadership ( or lack of it)at the Hui at Rehua Marae yesterday and at Kaikoura.

Ngai Tahu reputedly has a $200 million dollar credit facility ( note: credit)

Apparently Solomon suggested that all the raruraru ( arguing ) in the media was making the banks nervous.

Well for starters many companies are on notice from the banks - Credit is tight - full stop.
Secondly if they were worried it would not be because of what's in the papers or on the radio or TV or heaven forbid the Blogs. No, if they are in fact worried - it will be because they dont think that the current leadership is stable or horror of horrors maybe there some issues with financial performance or governance. We can only speculate.

But for Solomon to raise it as a big bogey is scaremongering at its worst and at best a limp attempt to make those who are opposing him feel guilty.

If the situation has got so bad that the financiers are reducing support for the tribe then, again we say that points to weak leadership.

Again we say that Solomon , for the sake of the tribe needs to step down.

And it is time for the Tau boys, Tahu Potiki and some of the other young Ngai Tahu businessmen and women to have a korero and develop a leadership plan to take Ngai Tahu into the future. It is time for them to put aside their egos ( and they all have them in spades) but put their wisdom and expertise forward.

The fate of the tribe is in their hands.

A BLOODY GOOD IDEA - FROM THE BANKS

A mortage holiday of up to a year if you are made redundant. Thats what theCommonwealth Bank in Aussie is planning - the bank is headed by Ralph Norris.

With CBA itself predicting last month that the jobless rate could blow out from its current level of 5.2 per cent to a peak of 7 per cent late next year, Mr Norris said that it was not in the bank's interest to see people "get into trouble".

"In the case of those unfortunate to be unemployed, we will provide repayment holidays for six months, and in some circumstances up to 12 months, with interest being capitalised," he said. Mortgage holders will ultimately have to pay the deferred payments, plus interest.

Mr Norris added that he could not rule out job losses at CBA because of deteriorating economic conditions.

The rest of the story in the Australian here

We think its time for the banks on this side of the Tasman to step up with someone similar.

MAORI RUGBY TEAM MUST STAY AND PLAY

We think this is just plain wrong.
We are pretty fond of rugby and the Maori Team has a special place in our hearts with us being Ngai Tahu and all that. So we are with the great Matt te Pou on this one. Is a bloody outrage.
However it does present some opportunities. Some enterprising Maori Trusts should have a yack with the RFU and take the risk of a tour on. I reckon with the right promotion it will be a bloody dead cert success.

THIS IS COSY - AUSSIE POLYS AND BIZ LEADERS GET TOGETHER TO SORT SHIT

Rudd brings in the CEO's for a korero about the financial crisis but he aint coming clean on the details that led him to take drastic action

Does this mean the details are really scary???????

Could you ever imagine Cullen having a yarn with the Biz roundtable to get a few pointers on what to do???



More in the Australian here

MANDATORY READING - WELLINGTON HIVE

Superb analysis from Queen Bee and the Drones


We are NOT out of the woods by a long shot

GLOBAL ROLLER COASTER CONTINUES

Just as we predicted - the markets are still up and down .

Its not over by a long shot see Stuffs latest report

DEPOSIT SCHEME RE JIGGED

We nicked this from Wellington Hive - they will undoubtedly have some follow ups in the morning

Further details of deposit guarantee scheme announced
Treasury and the Reserve Bank have this afternoon released further details of the opt-in retail deposit guarantee scheme announced by the Minister of Finance on 12 October.
The details include information about tighter requirements on non-bank deposit takers; a fee for finance companies that are rated below BB or unrated; rating requirements for new entrants; coverage of non-resident depositors with New Zealand branches of overseas banks; senior debt requirements; and the approval process.
The scheme will cover all retail deposits of participating New Zealand-registered banks and retail deposits by locals in non-bank deposit-taking entities, and is designed to give assurance to New Zealand depositors in the current uncertain international financial market conditions.
Reserve Bank Governor Dr Alan Bollard and Acting Secretary to The Treasury Dr Peter Bushnell noted today that "as the retail deposit guarantee scheme is being implemented, a number of policy issues are arising that are being addressed".
Decisions have now been made to:
* Tighten the requirements upon non-bank deposit takers
The deed for non-bank deposit-takers will be tailored to contain tighter controls including:
- limiting potential for stripping out funds through, for example,
dividends, or payments to related parties;
- increasing reporting requirements and allowing the Crown to
appoint an inspector; and
- enabling an assessment of whether business behaviour is taking
place that would then result in breach of the terms of the guarantee
In addition there will be personal undertakings required from directors.
* Introduce a fee for non-rated finance companies
A fee of 300 basis points per annum will be charged monthly to finance companies that are rated below BB or are unrated (on the cumulative growth in the book since 12 October 2008).
* Require all new entrants to the scheme to be rated BBB- or
better
New entrant requirements (eg companies seeking to come into the scheme that were not in existence or ineligible on 12 October 2008) must be
BBB- rated or better in order to be eligible to apply to join the scheme.
* Cover non-resident depositors in New Zealand branches of
overseas banks as at 12 October 2008
Non-resident deposits in New Zealand branches of overseas banks will be brought into guarantee coverage.
However, the guarantee is limited to the total amount of the non-resident deposit base as at 12 October 2008 and up to a further 10 percent per year of that deposit value (to cover for interest and any variation in deposit level).
* Ensure that deposits with building societies and credit unions
are covered
As building societies and credit unions issue subordinated debt the deed will ensure such deposits are covered by the guarantee. Subordinated debt issued by other entities will not be covered.
* Include collective investment schemes (with certain conditions)
As announced earlier in the week, it has also been decided to include, with certain conditions, collective investment schemes (CIS) that invest solely in government debt or institutions subject to a government guarantee and in debt of non-bank guaranteed institutions to the level held on 12 October 2008.
ASSESSMENT AND APPROVAL PROCESS:
Specimen deeds for banks (including branches) and non-banks will be made available via the Treasury website later tonight (Wednesday 15 October).
The specimen deed for collective investment schemes will be made available late tomorrow.
Dr Bushnell said: "While no applications have been approved yet, once the final deeds are made available (tonight and tomorrow), the Treasury will work quickly to ensure that applications are processed and approvals made public. We expect this process to take a matter of days."




It will be interesting if this allays some , or all of the concerns in the money markets

NZ ONE OF 13 MOST " AT RISK" COUNTRIES FROM GLOBAL CREDIT CRISIS

We have been posting on the Iceland issue a lot - ( thanks to the Sweeper) and it seems we were on the money again - We should be watching what happens on the big Popsicle in the North very carefully.

New Zealand is among 13 nations named by BusinessWeek as most at risk from the global financial crisis.

The article compared New Zealand to Iceland because of its heavy dependence on foreign money to fund its current account deficit.

"Like Iceland, New Zealand was a favourite of investors playing the yen carry trade. And like Iceland New Zealand is hurting," the American magazine said on its website.

BusinessWeek compares Iceland with NZin the Herald

AUSSIES REACT QUICKLY TO GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS

From the Australian THE Reserve Bank cut interest rates by 100 basis points today, in a bid to shield the Australian economy from the global wreckage.The bigger-than-expected reduction in official rates to 6.00 per cent was the largest cut in rates by the Reserve Bank since May 1992. The stock market, which had been battered earlier by a rout on northern hemisphere bourses overnight, rallied into positive territory after the shock move. Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens said conditions in international financial markets took a “significant turn for the worse” last month.

More here

A BIO WORTH READING - ALEX SUNDAKOV

BB bumped into Alex on Friday and enjoyed a pleasant hour with this affable man with an exceptional intellect.
Anyway it seems that Unlimited caught up with Alex recently - the interview is well worth a read here .
I would be surprised if Alex doesn't have some sound advice for John Key and Clark about whats needed to help NZ counter the Global Financial crisis..

WE NEED A PLAN - OR OUR ECONOMY COULD BE IN THE CRAP

Mark Weldon is saying it at Stuff

Fran O'sullivan is saying it in the Herald


And Gareth Morgan says we are " Unbelievably Exposed"

ad we agree - we need to hear from both political parties about what their strategy will be to counter the global credit crisis - we are burying our collective heads in the sand if we think that its not going to trickle down and impact on the families on Struggle street.

We can't afford to wait and then have to do a patch up job like the bail out the US has just voted on. They waited until their country was on its knees. And it is clear it might be too little too late.

We are a very small nation and we depend on exports for our economic survival so we must to plan to protect our fragile existence on the global stage.


We need leadership
We need a strategy
We need to hear from Clark and Key this week.

SOUTHLAND REMAIN STOIC IN THE FACE OF VOLITILE MONEY MARKETS

The Southland Times reflects the Southland conservatism as the Wild West Show raises nary an eyebrow in the deep south.

Impossible to predict impact of sharemarket fall: advisers

Southern investment advisers yesterday said while the fall in the New Zealand sharemarket was of concern, it was impossible to predict the full impact.

Forsyth Barr Invercargill manager Paul Tuckey said he expected at least short-term market volatility.

"But the current market is down about 3 percent while the United States market is down about 7 percent; at this stage it has not hit quite as hard." While the downturn in stocks could be concerning for some investors, for others it created a new opportunity to expand their portfolios, he said.

"A lot of investors these days have a good understanding of the market," he said.

Mr Tuckey said he had not had any phone calls from concerned clients yesterday.

Southern investors were more conservative than elsewhere, which was often reflected in their investment portfolios, he said.

"Good advice is important, but no more now than always," Mr Tuckey said.

ABN Amro Craigs Invercargill branch manager John Wilson said the sharp drop in share prices was largely reactionary to the events overnight but was buoyed by the stability shown by the New Zealand sharemarket at its close.

However, he said there could be market fluctuations until a resolution was found in the United States.

NZ - "UNBELIEVABLY EXPOSED" - GARETH MORGAN

If you are trying to make sense of the impact of todays credit crisis bailout failure then its worth listening to Gareth Morgan here

It is sobering - he says we are " toying with depression" if something isn't done to sort out the financial mess that is America..

FINANCIAL CRISIS

If you are looking for the good oil on whats happening

try Business Day and NBR - both have excellent coverage

and the Herald has a good local take as well especially the comment from Gareth Morgan who says we will be impacted..