Auckland property: 44% of apartments sell for loss

Good Morning,

Markets stabilized this week after a sharp downturn. The S&P 500 neared correction territory, while the Nasdaq entered one. European stocks rebounded, with Germany and France posting gains. Chinese stocks declined despite higher inflation. Earnings reports were mixed, with tech companies delivering varied results.

Let’s jump in!

Before The Bell

Markets

• Markets ended the week slightly lower after a sharp rebound from the worst sell-off in nearly two years. The S&P 500 neared correction territory, while the Nasdaq entered one. Volatility spiked, with the VIX reaching its highest level since early 2020 (TRP)

• European stocks rebounded, with the STOXX 600 up 0.27%. Germany's DAX gained 0.35%, France's CAC 40 rose 0.25%, and the UK's FTSE 100 was flat. Italy's FTSE MIB fell 0.74% (TRP)

• Chinese stocks fell, with the Shanghai Composite down 1.48% and CSI 300 down 1.56%, despite higher-than-expected inflation. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.85% (TRP)

Earnings & Data

• Novo Nordisk on Wednesday said its net profit came in at 20.05 billion Danish kroner ($2.93 billion) in the second quarter of 2024, below forecasts. (CNBC)

• SoftBank Unveils $3.4 Billion Buyback After Elliott Builds Stake. (BBG)

• Reddit said Tuesday in a statement that current-quarter sales will be $290 million to $310 million. (BBG)

• Planemaker Embraer beats quarterly profit expectations (RT)

• China chipmaker SMIC beats Q2 estimates despite steep profit fall (RT)

• Rocket Lab reports US$85m loss, 70% revenue jump (Herald)

• Life360 shares hit all-time high, soaring 18% (AFR)

• Under Armour shares surge 20% after posting ‘better than feared’ quarterly sales (CNBC)

• E.l.f Beauty beat quarterly estimates with a 50% jump in sales (CNBC)

• Paramount Global announces it will cut 15% of U.S. workforce, shares rise on second-quarter earnings (CNBC)

• Eli Lilly reported second-quarter earnings and revenue that blew past expectations and hiked its full-year revenue outlook by $3 billion (CNBC)

News Summary

Monday

• All Blacks call up Harry Plummer and hand captaincy to Ardie Savea for Argentina tests (Stuff)

• Source of Melbourne Legionnaires' disease outbreak identified as cases grow to 77 (9 News)

• Joe Biden to meet national security team as fears grow of retaliatory Iranian attack on Israel (Guardian)

Tuesday

• The All Blacks are “bringing the Ferrari back out of the garage” for the start of the Rugby Championship. (Stuff)

• Return to Nature funeral home victims are owed $950M, but payout unlikely. (9 News)

• A US judge has ruled Google acted illegally to crush its competition and maintain a monopoly on online search and related advertising. (BBC)

Wednesday

• About 2000 parcels have been destroyed after an NZ Post truck caught fire last week. (Stuff).

• An Australian man is set to appear in court on Wednesday after being arrested for the alleged theft of more than A$600,000 ($393,000) worth of commemorative coins linked to the popular children's television show "Bluey", police said. (Reuters).

• Big changes are coming soon for Auckland's local alcohol policy, including stricter trading hours and a two-year freeze on new liquor licenses in some areas. (1 News).

Thursday

• Auckland property: 44% of apartments sell for loss (Stuff)

• Wall Street slumps again, led by falling tech stocks (Stuff)

• Plot to attack Taylor Swift show in Austria linked to Islamic State (RT)

Friday

• Ministry of Social Development to introduce new rules for cutting emergency housing numbers (RNZ)

• Cadbury Australia has doubled the price of its Freddo Frogs and Caramello Koalas chocolates after a surge in cocoa prices (BBG)

• Delta rejects CrowdStrike criticism, sees US$500 mln hit from cyber outage (RT)
  

Weekend

• Firearm allegedly fired at police in Palmerston North (Stuff)

• ASX to rise as earning season sheds light on health of economy (AFR)

• Nearly 100 killed in Israeli strike on Gaza school refuge: officials (AFR)

Deal Flow

Investments / M&A

Australia & New Zealand

• Jefferies grabs a piece of AirTrunk’s $20b auction (AFR)

• Texas-headquartered EnergyX lobs $US150m bid for Galan Lithium (AFR)

• Christie’s-backed art fintech puts finishing touches on recap (AFR)

• Bupa Aged care execs seek seed capital for recruitment startup (AFR)

• Nauru may swap Australian dollars for Chinese yuan if the Albanese government squanders its strategy of drafting in the big four banks to shore up regional security and counter Beijing’s growing influence in the island economy. (AFR)

• London-based trader LMAX has acquired a 20% stake in Auckland-based derivatives provider Black Bull Global. (NBR)

Key Global

• A deal between family-owned Mars and Kellanova, known for snacks brands such as Rice Krispies Treats and Pop-Tarts, would be one of the biggest ever in the packaged food sector. (RT)

• Roche considers options for $1.9bn cancer data start-up

  And examines options for Flatiron Health after acquisition has disappointed. (Financial Times)

Other Global

• Japanese appliance maker Rinnai Corporation, capitalised at ¥439 billion ($4.8 billion) on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, has acquired a majority stake in Byron Bay-headquartered Smart Energy which called in KPMG to shop the business last year. (AFR)

• Advertising group WPP is nearing a deal to sell its controlling stake in financial communications company FGS Global to private equity group KKR for about $800mn. (Financial Times)

• Recursion Pharmaceuticals, a biotech firm which uses AI to discover new drug candidates, has agreed to buy smaller rival Exscientia for US$688 million in an all-stock deal. (RT)

VC & Fundraising

• British insurer Phoenix Group (PHNX.L), opens new tab and fund management company Schroders (SDR.L), opens new tab have agreed to launch a private markets investment firm to channel up to 20 billion pounds ($25.68 billion) into unlisted assets over the next decade. (RT)

• Deep tech venture capital firm Pacific Channel is setting up a new fund in Australia following financial support of A$330,000 from Victoria’s start up agency, LaunchVic. The new fund, Pacific Channel Ventures, will target investments in 25 to 30 deep tech startups from pre-seed stage through to Series A. (NBR)

Equity Raises

Other Global

• Irrigation automation biz Rubicon in raise; ex UBS boss climbs to 19.9pc (AFR)

• Mexico fintech startup Stori closed a new funding round worth $212 million, in a mix of equity and debt financing that includes Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to boost investments and expansion to other markets. (BBG)

• Houlihan Lokey Agrees to Acquire Chicago Boutique Waller Helms (BBG)

• Walgreens Kicks Off $600 Million Sale of First Junk Bond (BBG)

Debt, Restructuring & Bankruptcy

• South Africa’s 15 water boards are owed 21.3 billion rand ($1.2 billion) by municipalities and the debt threatens their financial viability (BBG)

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