1Interest rates are on the way up for the first time since the global economic crisis hit. The last cash rate rise was nearly three years ago, in July 2007. Since then the cash rate has fallen to a record low of 2.5%. Today's rate hike comes after the economy grew at its fastest pace in two years in the December quarter. Most economists had expected that Alan Bollard, the Governor of the Reserve Bank, would lift the official cash rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 2.75%, and he has duly delivered this morning. So is this just the beginning of a new round of rate hikes?

2Reporters are combing through 9 boxes of documents detailing five and a half years worth of credit card spending by former Labour Cabinet ministers. The documents were released to the public at 9am this morning, and are believed to include some embarrassing revelations. Annette King, Labour party Deputy Leader and former senior minister, discusses ministerial spending and what is and what isn't acceptable as normal behaviour.

3A high-tech text-alert system between schools and parents is expected dramatically to improve truancy rates. The Ministry of Education has announced it will subsidise the early notification system for schools with large rolls to save those schools time and money spent chasing up unexplained student absences. The software has been developed by a Christchurch company, 'School-Links', and has a number of other uses in addition to monitoring attendance.

4News from the United Kingdom, including: the United Kingdom ministerial expense scandal; the Cumbria shootings and questions about the media's role in the coverage; World Cup soccer fever; and the story of a fox attack on a child in Hackney, London.

5Deutsche Bank economist Pavan Sukdhev is heading a study for the United Nations on the cost of biodiversity loss. He argues that the value of goods and services provided by the natural world -- such as pollination, fertile soil, clean air and water -- is up to 100 times the cost of saving the species and natural habitats that provide these goods and services. But what policies might actually incentivise individuals, companies and countries to preserve natural environments like forests, waterways and fisheries rather than harvest or exploit them?

6Revelations are emerging about ministerial credit card spending, following the release of eight boxes of documents on Labour Pary spending this morning. Former Building and Construction Minister Shane Jones has confessed to personal spending on his ministerial credit card, and said on Morning Report this morning that he can not rule out the possibility that his purchases might include pornographic pay-per-view movies. He says he has repaid Ministerial Services for the amount that he overspent. Brent Edwards has been looking at the documents released today detailing ministerial credit card spending.