Top Business Stories for Tuesday, Jan 20

The top four business stories from nzherald.co.nz for Tuesday, Jan 20:

Big rate cut due as inflation plunges to 3.4pc
A big interest rate cut next week is now all but certain, as the latest Consumer Price Index confirms a big slump in inflation. Annual inflation fell to 3.4 per cent in the December quarter, from the 18-year high of 5.1 per cent in the three months to September.

Contact shares down 10pc after earnings warning
Contact Energy, one of the biggest companies on the NZ stock exchange, says earnings this year may fall by more than 20 per cent this year.
Its share price has fallen 9.8 per cent on the NZX, down 72 cents to $6.63 a share.

Fiat in talks with Chrysler: reports
Fiat is holding discussions with Chrysler about taking a stake in the US car maker and creating a partnership that would allow the Italian auto maker to build and sell its small cars in the United States, two publications reported yesterday.

Trade war fears as subsidies restored
European export subsidies are stirring fears of a trade war with echoes of the 1930s protectionism that sparked the Great Depression.