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February 18, 2023

Good Morning,

Body found near Napier sees cyclone death toll rise to 8, Stuff's fundraising campaign hits $2 million NZD, Biden wants 'sharper rules' on unknown aerial objects, UN appeals for $1.6 billion USD to help Turkey quake survivors, China’s Top Tech Banker Goes Missing, The inventor of the web thinks everyone will have their own personal A.I. assistants like ChatGPT, and Tesla recalls 362,758 vehicles, says Full Self-Driving Beta software may cause crashes.

Let's jump in.

Before The Bell

Markets

  • Markets were mostly down on the day. The NZX 50 declined -0.1% down to 12,144.66, the ASX 200 lost -0.6% to 7346.80, the S&P 500 fell -1.4% to 4,090.41 and the Nasdaq dropped -1.8%. All treasury bond yields increased.

  • The dollar rallied and stocks dropped alongside US equity futures with expectations of steeper rate hikes growing after hawkish comments from Federal Reserve and European Central Bank officials (BBG)

  • Crypto Regulatory Crackdown Drives Investor Demand for CME Futures Trading (BBG)

Earnings and Data

  • U.S. energy firm Southern Co. beat estimates for fourth-quarter profit on Thursday, helped by higher rates and increased power usage. The Atlanta, Georgia-based utilities company posted adjusted earnings of 26 cents per share, compared with average analysts' expectations of 24 cents per share, according to Refinitiv data (RT)

  • Applied Materials positive on Q2 on resilient demand for automotive, AI chips. Applied Materials Inc on Thursday projected quarterly revenue broadly above estimates as it fills a backlog of orders and benefits from resilient demand for its tools used to make chips for the automotive and artificial intelligence industries (RT)

  • My Food Bag shares have plunged 28% to just 27 cents this morning, after it put out a profit warning ahead of its full year results. Its shares have fallen 90.6% over the past 12 months (NBR)

News Summary

  • The death toll from Cyclone Gabrielle is expected to rise. Authorities have confirmed that nine people have been killed as a result of the storm (1 News)

  • The ninth victim of Cyclone Gabrielle is George Luke, the father of rugby league star Issac Luke (Stuff)

  • Brisbane Olympics 2032: $7 billion funding to turn Brisbane into 'global powerhouse' (9 News)

  • Melbourne has recorded its hottest temperature in four years as a heatwave sweeps across the south-east of Australia, while the extreme heat may reach 50 degrees in Western Australia (9 News)

  • The United Nations has launched a US$1 billion (NZ$1.6 billion) appeal to help 5.2 million survivors of the most devastating earthquake in Turkey’s modern history (1 News)

  • US President Joe Biden says the US is developing “sharper rules” to track, monitor and potentially shoot down unknown aerial objects, following three weeks of high-stakes drama sparked by the discovery of a suspected Chinese spy balloon transiting much of the country (Herald)

  • China’s Top Tech Banker Goes Missing, Unnerving Finance Industry. The disappearance of high-profile banker Bao Fan is fueling speculation of a renewed clampdown on China’s finance industry (BBG)

  • The inventor of the web thinks everyone will have their own personal A.I. assistants like ChatGPT (CNBC)

  • Tesla is voluntarily recalling 362,758 vehicles equipped with the company’s experimental driver-assistance software, which is marketed as Full Self-Driving Beta or FSD Beta, in the US, according to a recall notice out Thursday. Tesla will deliver an over-the-air software update to cars to address the issues, the recall notice said (CNBC)

Deal Flow

Investments / M&A

  • Qatari investors are readying a roughly £5 billion ($6 billion USD) opening bid for Manchester United Plc, people with knowledge of the matter said, ahead of what’s expected to be a fierce bidding war for the English football giant (BBG)

  • BP will buy truck fueling provider Travel Centers of America Inc for about $1.3 billion USD, the companies said on Thursday, as the British energy giant seeks to expand its retail network in a bet on biofuels and electric vehicle charging (RT)

  • Indian automotive components maker Minda Corporation Ltd on Friday said it acquired a 15.70% stake in rival Pricol Ltd for 4 billion rupees ($48.3 million USD) (RT)

  • Two of the world’s richest sovereign wealth funds are interested in buying minority stakes in National Basketball Association teams, according to people familiar with the matter, in the latest example of how oil money from the Persian Gulf is pumping up values in global sports (BBG)

  • Adani Power Ltd. has called off its plan to acquire a coal plant project in central India, according to people familiar with the matter, as billionaire Gautam Adani looks to rein in spending and rebuild investor confidence in the wake of a bruising short seller report (BBG)

Equity Raises

  • The United Arab Emirates’ national oil company plans to raise $2 billion or more by listing its natural gas business in what could the largest initial public offering so far this year (BBG)

Debt

  • Apollo Global Management Inc. and HPS Investment Partners are among lenders that have offered to help provide a $5.5 billion loan supporting the buyout of health-care technology firm Cotiviti Inc., in what would be the largest buyout financing ever arranged by private credit firms, according to people with knowledge of the matter (BBG)

Daily Picks

  • Cyclone Gabrielle: Stuff's fundraising campaign hits $2 million - and counting (Stuff)

  • Cyclone Gabrielle: Breeder gets 60 dogs to safety on top of desks at flood-hit school (Stuff)

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