Nine To Noon for Thursday 28 July 2011
09:05 Heightened anxiety about a possible US debt default
The White House is warning that the US will essentially be "running on fumes" to pay its bills from next week as the deadline looms to avoid a crippling debt default. Global stock markets fell sharply overnight amid mounting fears that Republicans and Democrats will fail to break the stalemate over raising the US borrowing limit by August 2 2011. Ted Truman, US economist specialising in international crisis issues.
09:20 NZ's central bank leaves interest rates on hold at 2.5 percent
Cameron Bagrie, ANZ National chief economist analyses the Reserve Bank of New Zealand official cash rate review. Governor Alan Bollard says provided current global financial risks recede and the economy continues to recover, he sees little need for the March 'insurance' cut to remain in place much longer.
09:30 Poor sales of NZ fiction
Fergus Barrowman, publisher at Victoria University Press; and Debra Millar, Penguin's General Manager of Publishing.
www.booksellers.co.nz/awards/new-zealand-post-book-awards
09:45 UK correspondent Ann Leslie
10:05 NZ's need to embrace sustainability in order to retain market access
Professor Caroline Saunders, Professor of Trade and Environmental Economics, and Director of the Agribusiness and Economics Research Unit at Lincoln University.
10:35 Book review with Phil Reed
The Amateur Science of Love by Craig Sherborne
Published by Text Publishing
10:45 Reading. 'Spider' by William Taylor (Part 9 of 10)
Small-town pianist, Spider Trent, discovers an unexpected ally as he enters the concluding phase of the Piano contest finals.
11:05 New Technology with Steve McCabe
Microblogging service Twitter marks its fifth anniversary; the imminent demise of the optical drive; and are scientists closing in on the 'God Particle'?
11:30 Mothers' coffee groups
Eleanor Black is an award-winning journalist and first-time mum. A former senior feature writer at The New Zealand Herald, she has also been deputy editor of Next magazine and is currently its books editor.
Confessions of a Coffee Group Dropout
Published by Allen and Unwin
11:45 TV Review
Simon Wilson critiques Monroe and Nothing Trivial.