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The death toll from the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that hit southern Turkey and Syria has exceeded 5,000 people, Alphabet Inc lost $100 billion in market value on Wednesday after its new chatbot shared inaccurate information, AGL Energy has suffered a half-year loss of more than $1 billion and the Chinese balloon shot down by the US was equipped to detect and collect intelligence signals.

Before The Bell

Markets

• Craigs Investment Partners investment director Mark Lister suggests the relative stability of the NZX50 so far in 2023 could be the 'calm before the storm', with earnings reporting season just around the corner. However, he states "It's been a fantastic start to the year - we've had New Zealand shares rising 6% to 7%, while the US is up about 9%" (NBR)

• European stocks and US equity futures retreated as an unexpectedly strong US jobs report raised the prospect of more rate hikes from the Federal Reserve. Concern over US-China geopolitical tensions also weighed on sentiment (BBG)

• Bitcoins 2023 rally is stalling after coming tantalisingly close to forming a trading signal last seen when the token was setting records (BBG)

• British house prices were unchanged in January after falling in month-on-month terms in each of the previous four months as borrowing costs rose (RT)

• Boral and Suncorp upbeat profits lift ASX 0.4% as evidence of margin improvement fuelled investor confidence in the face of rising interest rates (AFR)

• US stocks rallied to a convincingly higher close, but trade was choppy as investors digested comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell about how long the central bank may need to tame inflation (RT)

• The UK’s trade deficit with the European Union widened to a record in the final quarter of 2022 as imports from the bloc jumped (BBG)

• Russia will cut oil production by 500,000 barrels per day, or around 5% of output, in March, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Friday, after the West slapped price caps on Russian oil and oil products (RT)

Earnings

Last weeks earnings:

• Homeware and sports goods retailer Briscoe Group has reported revenue for the 12 months ended January 29 rose 5.6% on a year ago to $785.9m NZD, although last year's result was affected by various Covid-19 lockdowns (NBR)

• The British energy giant BP posted underlying replacement cost profit, used as a proxy for net profit, of $27.7 billion for 2022. That compared with $12.8 billion for the previous year (CNBC)

• Pinterest shares reported revenue that missed analyst expectations and issued a light forecast for the first quarter. Revenue: $877 million vs. $886.3 million expected, according to Refinitiv. Earnings: 29 cents per share vs. 27 cents expected, according to Refinitiv (CNBC)

• Activision Blizzard beat Q4 EPS estimates on record quarterly net bookings and higher than expected monthly active users; the firm is due to be acquired by Microsoft for $69B in Q2 2023 (YH)

• When Credit Suisse Group’s Archegos disaster hit, its traders were in the midst of racking up a $US2.65 billion ($3.6 billion) quarter. Less than two years later, they produced a $US96 million quarter (AFR)

• Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) on Wednesday announced a sweeping restructuring under recently reinstated CEO Bob Iger, cutting 7,000 jobs as part of an effort to save $5.5 billion in costs and make its streaming business profitable (Reuters)

• Kellogg Co (K.N) surpassed market expectations for quarterly sales and profit on Thursday and said it would retain the plant-based meat business it had planned to spin-off (Reuters)

• Japan's ToyotaMotorCorp (7203.T) posted a surprise 22% rise in third-quarter operating profit on Thursday, as a weaker yen and higher sales volumes helped the world's top automaker overcome a jolt from the soaring costs of raw materials (Reuters)

• Lyft shares cratered 29% in extended trading after a disappointing fiscal fourth-quarter report. The ride-hailing company reported losses of 74 cents per share. Lyft also anticipates making roughly $975 million in revenue in the fiscal first quarter of 2023, lower than the $1.09 billion analysts anticipated, according to StreetAccount (CNBC)

• Shares of PayPal fell 3% during after-hours following the company’s quarterly report. Revenue came in at $7.38 billion, compared to analysts’ estimate of $7.39 billion, according to Refinitiv. PayPal CEO Dan Shulman also announced that he would aim to step down at the end of 2023 (CNBC)

• Topgolf Callaway Brands - The golf company’s shares rose 4% after the company reported fourth-quarter revenue of $851.3 million. Analysts called for revenue of $840.4 million, according to FactSet (CNBC)

• Cloudflare - The cloud services provider’s shares added 11% in after-hours trading. Cloudflare posted quarterly earnings of six cents per share, excluding items, on revenue of $275 million. Analysts were calling for per-share earnings of five cents on revenue of $274 million (CNBC)

This weeks earnings:

• Monday: Contact Energy (NZ), Ansell Ltd (AU), Ellerston Asian Investments Ltd (AU)

• Tuesday: Vulcan Steel Ltd (NZ), Candence Design Systems Ltd (US), Commonwealth Bank of Australia (AU)

• Wednesday: Fletcher Building Ltd (NZ), Steel & Tube Holdings Ltd (NZ), SkyCity Entertainment Group Ltd (NZ), The Coca-Cola Company (US), Airbnb Inc (US)

• Thursday: Skellerup Holdings Ltd (NZ), Data#3 Ltd (AU), Cisco Systems Inc (US), Shopify Inc (US)

• Friday: Healthco Healthcare and Wellness Reit (AU), Applied Materials Inc (US), The Southern Company (US)

News Summary

Monday

• Hundreds of people are dead and several hundred more injured after a huge earthquake struck south-eastern Turkey, near the Syrian border. The death toll is currently at just over 500, and is likely to rise (BBC)

• Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular news briefing on Monday that the Chinese balloon found had "mad an unintended entry into the airspace of Latin American countries" and was "for civilian purposes, and is affected by the weather due to limited self-steering capability" (BBG)

• The crisis engulfing the Adani group intensified on Monday as dozens of members of India's main opposition party were detained by police during protests, and parliament was suspended again due to disruptions over the saga (RT)

Tuesday

• The death toll from the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that hit southern Turkey and neighboring Syria has exceeded 5,000 people, as rescuers continue to dig through the rubble of collapsed buildings in search of survivors (WP)

• The RBA board on Tuesday announced the RBA was issuing a 25 basis point rise, taking the cash rate to 3.35 per cent. Australian with a mortgage will have to fork out an extra $12,000 for their yearly mortgage compared to this time last year (7NEWS)

• The Chinese spy balloon will be looming in Joe Biden's State of the Union Address, and the US's reaction to it, which has dominated headlines, captivated the attention of the American public and prompted sharp criticism of the Biden administration from Republicans (BBC)

Wednesday

• Tropical cyclone Gabrielle expected to 'rapidly deepen' into a category three South Pacific cyclone within 24 hours and is expected to bring severe weather to the upper North Island from Sunday onwards (Herald)

• The New Zealand Government is dropping its proposed social insurance scheme, dumping the biofuels mandate, and will only increase the minimum wage by the rate of inflation from April 1 (NBR)

• President Biden used his State of Union address to try to sell Americans on his economic agenda and called for renewed bipartisanship, but his appeals for unity were punctuated by Republican lawmakers' loud objections to his remarks (WJ)

Thursday

• Images of driverless buses and robot waiters may make workers nervous, but an artificial intelligence (AI) expert says most jobs are safe – for now (Stuff)

• AlphabetInc (GOOGL.O) lost $100 billion in market value on Wednesday after its new chatbot shared inaccurate information in a promotional video and a company event failed to dazzle, feeding worries that the Google parent is losing ground to rival MicrosoftCorp (MSFT.O) (RT)

• NZX-listed insurer Tower says it has received 4,810 claims following the significant weather event which impacted Auckland and the upper North Island, of which more than half are for home insurance (NBR)

• AGL Energy has slumped to a half-year loss of more than $1 billion as it accelerates an increasingly tricky shift to renewable energy and after extended outages at its ageing Loy Yang A and Hunter Valley power plants during last winter’s electricity market crisis (AFR)

• The chief executive of JPMorganChase& Co. (JPM.N), the biggest U.S. bank, cautioned against declaring victory against inflation too early, warning the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates above the 5% mark if higher prices ended up "sticky." (RT)

Friday

• Three prisoners are on the run in Auckland after escaping from a prison van on the southern motorway (Stuff)

• The Chinese balloon shot down by the US was equipped to detect and collect intelligence signals as part of a huge, military-linked aerial surveillance program that targeted more than 40 countries, the Biden administration declared (1 News)

• Australia’s central bank boosted its forecast for core inflation this year and is trying to ensure the economy avoids a wage-price spiral, underscoring the need for even higher interest rates (BBG)

Weekend

• Air India has sealed huge deal with Boeing to purchase 500 jets worth $100 billion (RT)

• Canada's Aurora Cannabis CEO is open to more M&A deals this year in order to expand its medical cannabis business (RT)

• Cyclone Gabrielle closes the Auckland Harbour Bridge as the North Island experiences heavy rain and wind (NZ Herald)

• Climate change puts the US $1.5 billion maple syrup industry at risk as winters get warmer (BBG)

Deal Flow

Investments / M&A

• Newcrest shares rallied 9.3 per cent after the world's biggest gold miner, Newmont, proposed a share-based merger with the ASX's largest gold company. The all-scrip deal would give Newcrest shareholders 0.38 shares in Newmont for each Newcrest share they own, and paves the way for securities in the enlarged Newmont to trade in Australia via Chess Depositary Interests (AFR)

• Adamantem Capital has snapped up a majority stake in the Boost Juice and Betty's Burgers chains in a deal valuing parent company Retail Zoo at around $350 million AUD, becoming the third private owner in a decade (AFR)

• Holcim AG, the world's biggest cement maker, has agreed to buy U.S. roofing systems manufacturer Duro-Last in a $1.29 billion (USD) deal, the Swiss company said on Tuesday, its latest move to bolster its presence in North America (RT)

• Pharmaceutical company CVS Health Corp is close to an agreement to buy primary care center operator Oak Street Health Inc for about $10.5 billion (USD)including debt, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday (RT)

• Apollo Global Management Inc is among a group of financial firms in talks to buy a stake in Credit Suisse Group's revamped investment bank (RT)

• Public Storage, the largest U.S. operator of self-storage properties, on Sunday unveiled an $11 billion (USD) hostile bid for Life Storage Inc, ratcheting up attempts to buy its smaller rival after its earlier takeover attempts were rebuffed (RT)

• Strike Energy has accepted rival bidder Hancock Prospecting's 35c AUD a share offer over its own one-for-one scrip offer, resulting in Perth Basin gas player Warrego Energy will end up in Gina Rinehart's control (AFR)

• Pharmco expands its dental portfolio with the acquisition of Oraltec (Scoop)

• AMCI stockholders have approved the merger of publicly-traded special acquisition company, ACMI Acquisition Corp II and New Zealand-founded and US-based carbon recyclerLanzaTech (NBR)

• Suncorp is weighing options for its New Zealand life insurance business (AFR)

• AGL is targeting owning up to 7 gigawatts of grid scale batteries and pumped hydro projects to drive its transition away from fossil fuels, which it says will generate more lucrative returns than wind and solar farms and underpin its return to profitability (AFR)

• Debt-laden GenesisCare has sold its 6 per cent stake in biotech small cap ClarityPharmaceuticals via Wilsons’ equities desk. The block trade saw 15.36 million shares change hands at 72¢ each on Thursday, which was a 13 per cent discount to the stock’s last close at 83¢ (AFR)

• Berkshire Hathaway, the investment company owned by Warren Buffett, has sold 4.235 million Hong Kong-listed shares of electric vehicle maker BYD (002594.SZ) for HK$1.09 billion ($139 million), a stock exchange filing showed (Reuters)

• ToshibaCorp. dropped after the Nikkei newspaper reported that a group led by Japan IndustrialPartnersInc. submitted a final offer of about ¥2 trillion ($15.2 billion) to buy the iconic Japanese conglomerate (BBG)

• Medical device maker Globus Medical Inc. has agreed to buy smaller competitor NuVasive Inc. in an all-stock transaction valuing it at more than $3 billion USD (BBG)

• Nelson snack company Proper Crisps has been acquired by Griffin’s Foods (Stuff)

• Kotak Mahindra set to acquire Sonata Finance Pvt Ltd for $65 million (RT)

VC & Fundraising

• Singapore Wins Record $17 Billion Investment Pledge on Reopening (BBG)

• Chinese electric aircraft startup TCab Tech raised $15m USD in funding as it works on a prototype air taxi (BBG)

• Fabrum raises $23m NZD in a Series A financing round let by London-headquartered AP Ventures to advance hydrogen technologies and decarbonise the economy (Scoop)

• Smart cities and infrastructure engineering business LVX Global has picked up $4 million in a pre-IPO round, locking in supporting from existing investor Bombora and former WINconnect boss Tom Patsakos (AFR)

• Chinese electric aircraft startup TCab Tech raised $15m USD in funding as it works on a prototype air taxi (BBG)

• Goldman Sachs Asset Management has closed a $5.2b USD direct private markets funds that invests in high-growth businesses (RT)

Equity Raises

• New South Wales explorer Silver Mines asked investors for a $12m AUD cash injection to keep the wheels turning at its Bowdens project near Mudgee (AFR)

• Pet sitting, food and health business Mad Paws announced a $4m AUD equity raising (AFR)

• Strike Energy is raising capital (AFR)

• NZX-listed Freightways’ plan for a dual-listing is building momentum, with its chief executive telling NBR a move onto the ASX is slated for this year (NBR)

• Weight loss device maker Allurion Technologies Inc. is nearing a deal to go public through a merger with a blank-check company backed by former Medtronic Plc Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Omar Ishrak, according to people familiar with the matter (BBG)

• Solar power equipment maker Nextracker Inc. raised $638 million in an initial public offering, exceeding its target for the first major US listing of 2023 (BBG)

• Hesai Group, a developer of sensor technologies used in self-driving cars, has raised $190 million in an initial public offering, the largest by a Chinese issuer in the US market since the crash of Didi Global Inc. in 2021 (BBG)

• Solar power equipment maker Nextracker Inc. rose 27% in its trading debut after raising $638 million in the biggest US initial public offering of the year (BBG)

• Berkshire Hathaway, the investment company owned by Warren Buffett, has sold 4.235 million Hong Kong-listed shares of electric vehicle maker BYD for HK$1.09 billion ($139 million USD), a stock exchange filing showed (RT)

Debt Raises

• Pacific Hydro has banked a new $1.5B AUD debt package (AFR)

• Plenti, Columbus Capital, Pepper have kicked off securitisations for the year. Columbus Capital was seeking to raise up to $500m AUD (AFR)

• Westpac told AUD debt investors to expect to be shown a three-year and five-year senior unsecured medium-term note in the coming days. The notes were likely to be rated AA- by S&P and Aa3 by Moody’s (AFR)

• BlackRockInc-led investors in SaudiAramco's gas pipeline network are set to raise $4.5 billion from a sale of bonds to refinance a multi-billion dollar loan that backed their stake purchase, a bank document showed on Thursday (Reuters)

Job Board

• Jarden Investment Banking Intern/Grad Role Seminar - 6pm 27/02/2023  

• Jarden Intern/Grad Role Application Link

• Craigs Investment Partners Investment Banking Intern Seminar (Virtual) - 3pm 28/02/2023

• Goldman Sachs Investment Banking Intern/Grad Role Seminar - 5:30pm 01/03/2023

• Murray & Co Investment Banking Intern/Grad Role Seminar (Virtual) - 3pm 02/03/2023

• Cameron Partners Investment Banking Seminar - 3pm 21/03/2023

• Macquarie Intern/Grad Role Application Link 

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