Government Announces $300m Cyclone Package

Good Morning,

North Korea launched two more ballistic missiles off its east coast on Monday, the Government has established a $50 million fund to provide immediate assistance to businesses and farmers hurt by the impact of Cyclone Gabrielle, a meeting between the US and China has only worsened tensions over the balloon found in American airspace, and Finance Minister Grant Robertson has warned the total cost of Cyclone Gabrielle to the government could be similar to the $13.5 billion it spent rebuilding Christchurch after the 2011 earthquake.

Let's jump in.

Before The Bell

Markets

• The Reserve Bank of New Zealand is anticipated on Wednesday to lift the official cash rate by half a percentage point to 4.75 per cent and signal more increases ahead (AFR)

• Traders should prepare for a 20 per cent surge in iron ore prices in the second quarter of 2023, according to Goldman Sachs, as the physical market swings into a "significant" deficit which will lift prices to a projected $218 AUD per tonne (AFR)

• Asian shares edged up from their lowest levels in about one month but trading was slow ahead of minutes of the last Federal Reserve meeting and a reading on core inflation, with rising interest rates still seen as a risk for markets (RT)

• The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced, trading near a one-year high, as expectations for Chinese demand propped up in commodity stocks (BBG)

• Earnings disappointment from NIB Holdings and BlueScope kept Australian markets to a small gain on Monday. The S&P/ASX200 Index rose 0.1 per cent to 7351.5 (AFR)

• Australian supermarkets will reap bigger profits in fiscal 2023 half-year due to decades-high inflation and increased savings, but analysts warned of a rough second-half as households reel from mounting expenses due to higher cost of living (RT)

Earnings and Data

• BlueScope Steel has reported a net profit after tax of $599 million AUD, down 64% on the prior comparable period's $1.64 billion NPAT (FOOL)

• Australia's Ampol Ltd said it had a strong start to 2023 and was well-positioned to manage ongoing volatility in oil markets after soaring prices of refined products boosted its 2022 profit to a record level. Ampol's net profit after tax jumped to A$732.2 million for the year ended Dec 31. compared with a A$297.8 million profit last year (RT)

• Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd recorded a statutory net profit of $249 million AUD, up 49.3 percent (IT)

News Summary

• North Korea launched two more ballistic missiles off its east coast on Monday, with the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un saying Pyongyang's use of the Pacific as its "firing range" would depend on the behaviour of U.S. forces (RT)

• At the Cabinet meeting on Monday ministers established a $50 million fund to provide immediate assistance to businesses and farmers hurt by the impact of Cyclone Gabrielle, and agreed to give Waka Kotahi - the New Zealand Land Transport Agency - and local councils an extra $250m to help assess and fix roads (NBR)

• The US and China came to Germany last weekend looking to patch up a new rift opened by the uproar over a Chinese balloon, but this meeting between their top diplomats showed how difficult it will be to compromise (BBG)

• Meta Platforms on Sunday announced that it is testing a monthly subscription service, called Meta Verified, which will let users verify their accounts using a government ID and get a blue badge, as it looks to help content creators grow and build communities (RT)

• Heavy rains in coastal areas on Brazil's southeast have caused flooding and landslides that killed 36 people and dislodged hundreds of others, according to a statement from Sao Paulo state authorities on Sunday (RT)

Deal Flow

Investments / M&A

• Listed property group Mirvac has taken a stake in online discount fashion retailer The DOM as a part of a strategic partnership. The DOM, which pitches itself as an Australian version of The Outnet, inked the partnership earlier in the year (AFR)

• Electric vehicles giant Tesla has swooped on promised output from another Australian battery materials play, this time taking its big appetite to Magnis Energy Technologies. Magnis Energy, listed on the ASX with a $390 million AUD market cap, is understood to have a deal to supply Tesla with active anode material from a proposed new plant in the U.S. (AFR)

VC & Fundraising

• NZX-listed retirement village operator Ryman Healthcare has completed the institutional part of its $902 million capital raise, announced last week. The capital raise was launched to help the company reset its balance sheet and pay down mounting debt, which had exceeded $3 billion (NBR)

Debt 

• Melbourne's EastLink tollroad is flush with $705 million in new debt funding, setting in place the capital structure that's due to be shopped to potential new shareholders in coming months (AFR)

Daily Picks

• NZR reports that the Reserve Bank of New Zealand is expected to 'show some leniency' in its next offical cash rate announcement later this week. Learn more about why here!

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