Wednesday night, we learned that the RBNZ held rates at 3 percent, as was expected. The bank’s governor, Alan Bullard, cited the recent earthquake and the havoc it has caused to the New Zealand economy as the main reason why the RBNZ was on hold for now and most probably for the near term. More importantly, Bullard was the second central banker in a week to note the slowing of the global economy, particularly the fact that the U.S. was “slowing noticeably.”