Apple reclaims $3T throne

December 11, 2023

Good Morning,

Alphabet's game-changing Gemini AI model and AMD's powerful new chips send tech stocks skyrocketing, with Apple reclaiming its $3T throne. Meanwhile, crypto companies face scrutiny as their lobbying spending explodes. Johnson & Johnson forecasts strong growth, NZ Goverment collects more tax than expected.

Let’s jump in!

Before The Bell

Markets

  • AI advancements fuel tech sector growth: Alphabet (5% ↑) unveils Gemini AI model, AMD (10% ↑) launches new AI chips, Apple recaptures $3T market cap (TRP)

  • Building on a three-week winning streak, the pan-European STOXX Europe 600 Index continued its upward trajectory, closing the week with a 1.30% gain (TRP)

  • Japanese stocks tumbled over the week, with the Nikkei 225 Index plummeting 3.4% and the broader TOPIX Index sinking 2.4% (TRP)

Earnings & Data

  • The Government has gathered more tax revenue than expected, while the deficit went deeper into the red. Core Crown tax revenue was 0.7% above forecast at $38.6 billion NZD. (NBR)

  • Crypto companies spent $18.96 million USD in the first three quarters of 2023 on lobbying, compared with $16.1 million USD during the same period in 2022. That was despite last year's spectacular meltdown of crypto exchange FTX, which had been a top-ten spender. Last year, companies including FTX spent nearly $22 million USD on lobbying in total. (RT)

  • Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) on Tuesday forecast revenue growth of 5-6% for the next year, as it banks on strong demand for cancer treatments Darzalex and Carvykti and resilient sales of blockbuster drug Stelara. (RT)

  • Endeavour Group chief executive Steve Donohue has told investors that the company will drive higher returns on funds employed and grow hotel earnings by more than $150 million over the next five years through property investment, buying fewer pubs and cutting costs. (AFR)

  • CVS Health forecast 2024 revenue above market estimates and said it would simplify the structure through which its pharmacies get reimbursed for drugs, in a push for more transparency amid scrutiny on surging healthcare costs. (RT)

  • Fonterra lifts earnings, milk price guidance (NBR)

News Summary

Monday

  • What really counts as poor in New Zealand now? (Stuff)

  • Teen, 15, admits firing gunshots at Perth school (9 News)

  • Evergrande rejects report it artificially ‘inflated revenue,’ court delays liquidation hearing (CNBC)

Tuesday

  • For the second year running, and after a considerable tightening up of the criteria, Meridian Energy retains its top position on a list compiled by Forsyth Barr looking at whether the country’s largest listed companies are walking the walk on their carbon, environmental, social, and governance (C&ESG) aims. (NBR)

  • Brittany Higgins says she received about $2.3 million AUD from the federal government of Australia to settle the civil claim stemming from her alleged rape in Parliament House. (AFR)

  • Israeli forces launched their storm of the main city in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, where hospitals were overrun with scores of Palestinian wounded and dead. (AFR)

Wednesday

  • Two brothers have been found guilty of murdering grandmother Meliame Fisi’ihoi after she was shot at point-blank range as she peered through her living room window after hearing a noise. Their cousin was found guilty of manslaughter. (Stuff)

  • The federal government will give the states $25 billion in GST top-up payments and extra health and hospital funding by the end of the decade, in return for their agreement to reform the NDIS and save it from collapse. (AFR)

  • Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI is looking to raise $1bn (£0.8bn) as the world’s richest man looks to keep pace with rivals including OpenAI, Microsoft and Google in the race to dominate the field. (Guardian)

Thursday

  • ACC system could be down for two weeks after 'fraudulent access' (Stuff)

  • Afterpay’s bad debts climb, just like its costs (AFR)

  • Google’s new AI chatbot beats OpenAI, human experts in tests (AFR)

Friday

  • The IRD calls for $2 billion of Covid business loans to be paid back. (RNZ)

  • SkyCity cuts profit guidance. (NBR)

  • Spotify CFO cashes in £7.2m in shares after value surges on news of job cuts. (Guardian)

Weekend

  • Five Wellington councillors breached code of conduct, investigation finds (Stuff)

  • Supermarket shelves stripped as Cyclone Jasper edges closer to north Queensland (Stuff)

  • Canada's surging cost of living fuels reverse immigration (RT)

Deal Flow

Investments / M&A

Australia & New Zealand

  • Woodside Energy and Santos’ talks on a potential A$80 billion merger started in earnest after Santos’ investor day last month, and a deal between the two listed oil and gas majors is about “5 per cent advanced”, according to sources close to the deal. (AFR)

  • Origin Energy investors Allan Gray and Australian Retirement Trust voted in favour of an $18.7 billion takeover of the electricity retailer before a shareholder vote was postponed this week. Allan Gray has thrown its support behind a possible “alternative” transaction. (AFR)

  • Investment conglomerate Washington H. Soul Pattinson made a $3 billion offer to acquire Perpetual and break the funds management business up. (AFR)

  • Evolution Mining will pay a Chinese company almost $720 million AUD for the lion’s share of the Northparkes copper and gold mine in Central Western NSW after becoming part of a bidding war for the asset. (AFR)

  • Evolution Mining defeated Metals Acquisition Corp to buy an 80 per cent stake in Northparkes copper mine for up to $US475 million ($718 million AUD), after a sale process run by Citi and Standard Chartered. (AFR)

  • Rich Lister returns to his rock’n’roll roots with $180m US deal (AFR)

  • Private equity firm CPE Capital is closing in on a deal to acquire facilities maintenance business Modus Projects (AFR)

  • The New Zealand Shareholders’ Association will request a ‘please explain’ from Radius Care when it meets with the company this week, regarding past related party transactions with its executive chair and major shareholder, Brien Cree. (NBR)

  • The founder and managing director of an ASX-listed bottled water company has pleaded guilty to manipulating the company’s share price through using trading accounts held in the name of his family. (NBR)

  • Sharebroker and investment banking group Forsyth Barr has added to its advisory network with the acquisition of Auckland-based Hobson Wealth. (NBR)

  • Carbn in the driver's seat with Zilch acquisition (NBR)

Key Global

  • Elon Musk's SpaceX Valued at $175 Billion or More in Tender Offer (BBG)

  • AbbVie to buy drug developer Cerevel for $8.7 billion (RT)

  • Bottle maker Orora’s $2.2b French buy of Saverglass gives investors a hangover (AFR)

  • Alaska Air to buy peer Hawaiian Airlines for $1.9 billion USD (RT)

Other Global

  • UK's Smart Metering Systems set for London delisting after $1.63 bln KKR takeover (RT)

  • South Africa's Aspen Pharmacare to buy Sandoz's China business (RT)

  • LGT Crestone, the ex-UBS wealth management business that is now owned by the Liechtenstein royal family, has lifted five advisers from rival Escala Partners, which has been bleeding top talent this year. (AFR)

  • Japanese venture company Shiseido snaps up stake in Bondi grooming brand Patricks (AFR)

VC & Fundraising

  • India’s MoveinSync eyes $50–60M in fresh funding (TC)

  • Amsterdam-based medtech Nicolab International, which counts Washington H. Soul Pattinson, Regal Partners and Ellerston Capital among its investors, is back on the fundraising trail after just seven months. (AFR)

  • Salesforce.com Inc. and other investors have put $39.5 million into a UK startup, AutogenAI, that makes artificial intelligence for a mundane field: bidding for public contracts. (BBG)

  • Simply Homes nabs US$22M, leverages AI to tackle affordable housing crisis. (TC)

  • Saudi PIF Pumps More Money Into Alibaba-Backed Tech Venture (BBG)

Equity Raises

Australia & New Zealand

  • TPG Capital chases a $4b AUD payday at Novotech (AFR)

  • Metals Acquisition Corp set for ASX listing (AFR)

  • Listed uranium developer Boss Energy was chasing nearly $200 million AUD in fresh equity to bankroll an M&A bet after market close on Tuesday evening. (AFR)

  • Navigator Global Investments was in the market on Tuesday morning with a $120m AUD equity raise. (AFR)

  • 4DMedical readies $30m-plus raising to fund offshore acquisition (AFR)

Other Global

  • Gecko Robotics has raised $100 million for its robots that assess the safety and condition of infrastructure for industries including defense, oil and manufacturing. (BBG)

  • A rally across equity markets lifted Birkenstock Holding Plc and other newly public firms, but Wall Street still isn’t welcoming initial public offerings with open arms. (BBG)

  • AI Startup Sarvam Raises $41 Million to Tap India Growth (BBG)

  • A Canadian investment firm who is raising $US500 million woos super funds with Ed Sheeran & Madonna (AFR)

Debt, Restructuring & Bankruptcy

  • Sberbank (SBERR.MM) consumer lending dropped by 30% in the fourth quarter, the first deputy CEO of Russia's biggest bank, Kirill Tsaryov, said on Wednesday. (RT)

  • Mercon Coffe Group, one of the world's largest coffee traders, has filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. due to what it defined as "exceptionally challenging operating environment." (RT)

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