OCR Cut – Petrol Up – Absent Controllers – Bus Driver Guilty – Saved And Incarcerated – Premature Babies
- OCR CUT: Mortgage rates have dropped following action by government bankers both here and in the United States. The
Reserve Bank cut the Official Cash Rate from 6.25 per cent to 6 per cent. The share market reacted positively. In the
United States, the head of the Federal reserve shaved half a per cent off the US OCR. The US share market received a
boost from the cut. The news means the New Zealanders who rely on interest for income, including many retired people,
will have to tighten their belts, but the interest rate cut is good news for home buyers. The Share market went up 53
points today on turnover of $114m.
- PETROL UP: BP says it will increase the price of petrol and diesel by 5 cents from midnight tomorrow.
- ABSENT CONTROLLERS: Air traffic controllers say a staff shortage that delayed flights at Auckland airport while the
control tower was shut down while the sole controller was forced to take a mandatory break, could happen again. Airways
say it was a one off situation.
- BUS DRIVER GUILTY: An Auckland bus driver has been found guilty of careless driving causing the death of a schoolboy.
The boy’s family say the lack of remorse shown by Stagecoach buses was unbelievable.
- SAVED AND INCARCERATED: A police hunt for a prison escaper ended today with the escaper being arrested after being
rescued after capsizing his kayak in Lake Rotorua. The fugitive escaped last May while serving a term for burglary.
Living rough around the shores of Lake Rotorua, police believe he could be responsible for hundreds of burglaries.
- PREMATURE BABIES: A shortage of hospital cots for premature babies has forced mothers to travel across the country
when it has become apparent their labour will arrive early. A Taranaki woman travelled to Dunedin when there were no
cots at Waikato Hospital.