US and Russia Agree on Unusual Trade Deal 🤝

Good Morning,

NZ Police quietly reduce threshold for speed cameras, NZ shares flat as they await next week’s GDP data, Tesla's Troubles Are Piling Up While Elon Musk Is Distracted With Twitter, Russia frees US basketball star in swap with arms dealer Viktor Bout, and Dyson Ltd. is moving ahead with the launch of a pair of noise-cancelling headphones it says can purify air,

Let's jump in.

Before The Bell

Markets

• The New Zealand sharemarket ended the week on a flat note with some profit-taking – and is waiting for the next meaningful move from the United States Federal Reserve. (Herald)

• A return to risk-on sentiment saw short-sellers throw in the towel in November as the Australian sharemarket rallied to its highest level in six months, fuelled by hopes of China reopening and a Federal Reserve pivot. (AFR)

• [Global] Stocks climbed on Friday while the dollar and bond yields fell as investors looked to inflation readings for clues on the path of interest rate hikes. (BBG)

• Asian shares tracked Wall Street higher on Friday amid hopes that China's economy would pick up pace as COVID-19 curbs ease, although caution ahead of a week full of risk events, including the Federal Reserve's policy meeting, could cap sentiment. (RT)

Earnings and Data

• For the third quarter, Lululemon Athletica inc. beat expectations, reporting earnings of $2.00 per share and $1.86 billion in revenue. (CNBC)

• Shares of retailer Costco slumped 1% after the company reported revenue that fell short of Wall Street’s expectations. The company reported $54.44 billion in revenue. (CNBC)

News Summary

• Blood donor case: Baby who had heart op against parents' wishes is 'doing well'. (Stuff)

• Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has made a last-minute visit to the byelection battleground of Hamilton West in a final effort to rally Labour supporters on the last day of campaigning. (Herald)

• Almost 20,000 Hyundai cars are urgently being recalled over fears they could catch fire due to a manufacturing defect. (9 News)

• Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced a four-point plan to combat increasing energy prices, including a $1.5 billion package to provide energy bill relief. (9 News)

• Rishi Sunak is set to announce a collaboration between the UK, Italy and Japan to develop a new fighter jet that uses artificial intelligence. (BBC)

• Gas Prices Fall Below Last Year’s Average. The U.S. average for regular unleaded gasoline has declined to $3.29 (USD) a gallon, below its average of $3.36 (USD) last year. (WSJ)

Deal Flow

Investments/ M&A

• K3 Capital (K3C.L) said on Thursday it was in advanced talks to sell itself to U.S. private-equity firm Sun Capital Partners Group in a deal valuing the British professional services firm at 257.3 million pounds ($314 million USD). (RT)

• The US Federal Trade Commission is seeking to block Microsoft Corp.’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard Inc., saying the tie-up between the Xbox maker and popular gaming publisher would harm competition. (BBG)

• John Textor is inching closer to a takeover of French football team Olympique Lyonnais in what will be his biggest acquisition in the sport. (BBG)

Equity Raises

• After record profit's, oil and gas corporation Exxon will now repurchase $US50 billion ($74 billion) of stock through 2024, expanding its previous plan of $US30 billion through 2023, the Irving, Texas-based company said in a statement. (AFR)

• Xiamen International Bank Considers $1.3 Billion HK IPO. (BBG)

Debt

• Coal miner Yancoal Australia Ltd (YAL.AX) said on Friday it intended to prepay $459 million of its debt on or around Dec. 16, as elevated coal prices were supporting strong cash inflows. (RT)

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