Chris Hipkins Appointed NZ's New PM 🇳🇿

Good Morning,

India bought a record amount of Russian oil last month, Insurer Cigna has been fined $3.575 million​ at the High Court in Wellington, Russia posts record current account surplus of $227 bln in 2022, NZ knocks on recession’s door after ‘shattered’ business survey and Chris Hipkins has been appointed as the new leader of the Labour Party and consequently the new prime minister of NZ.

Before The Bell

Markets

  • The markets in the US had a mixed week with the Nasdaq up slightly and the Dow and S&P 500 down. This week bought many signs of an economic slowdown, the most notable being the 1.1% slowdown in retail sales (TRP)

  • Australian shares advanced 0.8 per cent on Monday to the highest level in nine months despite the ASX's iron ore producers suffering from a renewed crackdown by China on commodity price strength (AFR)

  • Canadian Inflation Slows to 6.3%, Opening Door to Rate Pause (BBG)

  • The U.S. Federal Reserve will end its tightening cycle after a 25-basis-point hike at each of its next two policy meetings and then likely hold interest rates steady for at least the rest of the year, according to most economists in a Reuters poll (RT)

  • Longer-term U.S. Treasury yields have fallen dramatically to four-month lows

  • European shares have weakened following the ECB policymakers signalling potential aggressive interest rate hikes (TRP)

Earnings and Data

Earnings coming up:

  • Monday: AMCI Ltd, Australian Foundation Investment Company Ltd, Cooper Energy Ltd, Chrysos Corporation Ltd, EU consumer confidence

  • Tuesday: Zip Co Ltd, Chrysos Corporation Ltd, 1911 Gold Corp, Azure Power Global Ltd, Body and Mind Inc, Avaya Holdings Corp, Jan S&P Global PMIs (US & EU)

  • Wednesday: Black Rock Mining Ltd, Urbanise com Ltd, Visioneering Technologies Inc, 3M Co, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp, Q4 CPI (AU & NZ), Bank of Canada policy decision

  • Thursday: Champion Iron Ltd, Roolife Group Ltd, Poseidon Nickel Ltd, Group 1 Automotive Inc, Amphenol Corp, Alerus Financial Corp, US Q4 GDP

  • Friday: Alaska Air Group Inc, American Airlines Group Inc, AXIS Capital Holdings Ltd, Volvo AB, AU Q4 PPI, US Dec PCE

Earnings and data from last week:

  • The Commonwealth Bank’s January consumer sentiment survey published yesterday found that although consumer sentiment increased by 5 per cent this month, the index level of 84.3 is “indicating that Australian consumers are very pessimistic” (AFR)

  • UK CPI drops to 10.5% in Dec from 10.7% in Nov (RT)

  • Morgan Stanley posted fourth-quarter net earnings of $2.2bn, beating analysts’ estimates (FT)

  • Goldman Sachs said quarterly profit plunged 66% from a year earlier to $1.33 billion, or $3.32 per share, about 39% below the consensus estimate. That made for the largest EPS miss since October 2011 (CNBC)

  • UnitedAirlines reported an $843 million profit for the last three months of 2022, a 31% increase compared with three years earlier, on revenue of $12.4 billion (CNBC)

  • Netflix added millions more subscribers in the fourth quarter than Wall Street expected, helping to send shares of the streamer up after the bell despite a big earnings miss (CNBC)

  • Procter & Gamble Co. sold fewer household staples than expected last quarter as consumers grew more cautious about higher prices. The total volume of goods sold fell 6% in the three months ended in December, worse than the 2.6% decline that analysts had estimated (BBG)

News Summary

Monday

  • Kiwibank chief economist Jarrod Kerr states that the latest inflation figures from the United States were "playing out just as hoped", boosting hopes that price rises may also be near a peak in New Zealand (Stuff)

  • Russia and Belarus began joint military exercises on Monday, which have triggered fears in Kyiv and the West that Moscow could use its ally to launch a new ground offensive in Ukraine (RT)

  • Nick Kyrgios is "devastated" after being forced to withdraw from the Australian Open on the eve of his first match (9News)

  • India bought a record amount of Russian oil last month, with the country importing a whopping 33 times more than a year earlier (BBG)

Tuesday

  • TVNZ has joined New Zealand Herald publisher NZME, RNZ and several smaller publishers in reaching a deal to supply curated news content to Google for use in its Google News app (Stuff)

  • Insurer Cigna has been fined $3.575 million​ at the High Court in Wellington​ for misleading, and overcharging, more than 52,000​ of its life insurance policyholders (Stuff)

  • Consumer NZ says HelloFresh customers continue to be charged for meal kits they have cancelled (Stuff)

  • Business confidence is at its weakest level in more than 60 years, according to the latest NZ Institute of Economic Research mood-gauge of businesses (NBR)

  • Pfizer Inc. expanded its program to offer its products at not-for-profit prices in poor countries to include 500 drugs and vaccines (BBG)

Wednesday

  • The Financial Markets Authority has appointed Stuart Johnson to the newly created role (NBR)

  • High-end property market strong in uncertain times, agents say (NBR)

  • NZ knocks on recession’s door after ‘shattered’ business survey. NZIER QSBO reveals record net 73% of businesses expect economy to get worse in months ahead (NBR)

  • Australian Agriculture Minister Murray Watt has jetted to London as part of a government push to inject a sense of urgency into Britain’s ponderous passage of the Australia-UK free trade agreement (AFR)

  • The Bank of Japan held its ground in the face of mounting market pressure trying to force the central bank to dump its commitment to keeping the Japanese 10-year bond rate no higher than 0.5 per cent (AFR)

  • Russia posts record current account surplus of $227 bln in 2022 (RT)

Thursday

  • "This has been the most fulfilling five and a half years of my life,” utters the outgoing 40th Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern just after she had dropped her 'bombshell' announcement to media at her caucus retreat in Hawkes Bay (Herald)

  • The cockpit voice recording from flight QF144 has been secured as part of the investigation into the mid-flight engine failure (9 News)

  • Biitzlato crypto founder, Anatoly Legkodymov, was charged with $700m in financial crimes (BBC)

Friday

  • The Russian Federation has just banned the outgoing NZ PM's fiance Clarke Gayford from entering Russia in response to New Zealand sanctions against the Russian Federation (Stuff)

  • The founder of streaming service Sports Flick has been arrested by NSW Police after he allegedly defrauded investors of $2.1 million in a failed bid for the Rugby League World Cup rights (9 News)

  • Jamaican Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt was shocked to discover $12 million missing from an account he had with Kingston-based investment firm Stocks and Securities Ltd., according to his lawyer (BBG)

  • A federal judge on Thursday imposed nearly $1 million in sanctions on former President Donald Trump and his lawyer for filing a since-dismissed “frivolous” lawsuit against Hillary Clinton and many others, which had claimed they tried to rig the 2016 presidential election in her favour by smearing Trump (CNBC)

Weekend

  • Chris Hipkins has been appointed as the new leader of the Labour Party and consequently the new prime minister of NZ (RNZ)

  • ASX is within touching distance of record high ahead of the release of mid-week local inflation data (AFR)

  • Construction group Clough owes $248 million to hundreds of creditors (AFR)

  • Iranian currency falls to record low against the U.S dollar following the countries increasing isolation and sanctions (RT)

  • Over 1.1 billion people in China contracted COVID-19 in the most recent wave (BBG)

Deal Flow

Investments / M&A

  • British chemical firm Ineos is nearing a deal to buy Swiss chemical firm Sika's assets that are being sold to appease antitrust regulators. The deal is thought to value the assets at $750m (USD) (RT)

  • Public relations firm Sefiani has been acquired by global communications agency Clarity in the latter's first move into the Asia Pacific region (AFR)

  • The Takeover panel for the Nitro Software case has been formed, and submissions are expected from all three parties this week (AFR)

  • Self-proclaimed Australian “Mining-Tech” business Imdex is on the acquisition trail, keen to pick up a chunky offshore target (Devico) to shore up its position in global markets (AFR)

  • Private equity group Pemba Capital is trying to bring its $119 million bid for SaaS business MSL Solutions to a head, with an unusual “best and final” statement two weeks out from a scheme meeting (AFR)

  • Nissan Motor Co.’s independent directors endorsed proposals from Renault SA to rebalance a 23-year-old alliance and pave the way for the French carmaker’s own revamp, two people familiar with the situation said (BBG)

  • Invesco Ltd. and Man GLG Plc will take over British discount retailer MatalanLtd. in a deal that will reduce the debt burden of the struggling UK retailer (BBG)

  • Todd Corp sells remnants of big Aussie dream. Assets associated with Western Australia rail and port project will go to ASX-listed Flinders Mines (NBR)

  • U.S. engineering and industrial software company Emerson Electric Co on Tuesday disclosed a nearly $7 billion offer for National Instruments Corp (RT)

  • Private equity giant KKR & Co (KKR.N) will buy S&P Global's (SPGI.N) engineering solutions business for $975 million (RT)

  • Shell USA is acquiring EV charging firm Volta for about $169m (USD) (RT)

  • Mad Paws has hired advisers to gauge M&A interest amid record sales (AFR)

  • Sun Life Financial Inc. is close to sealing an insurance partnership with Hong Kong banking group Dah Sing Financial Holdings Ltd., according to people familiar with the matter.

  • Zhejiang Sanhua Intelligent Controls Co., a Chinese manufacturer of components for appliances, has selected CLSA as lead bank to arrange its global depository receipt sale in Switzerland, according to people with knowledge of the matter (BBG)

  • Discussions about a potential sale of Global Switch Holdings Ltd. have nearly ground to a halt, people familiar with the matter said, amid tightening financing conditions and lower-than-expected bids for the London-based data center company (BBG)

  • Deutsche Lufthansa AG said it aims to buy a minority stake in ITA Airways, seeking to advance an industry consolidation that would give the German airline a stronger foothold in a major European aviation market (BBG)

VC & Fundraising

  • A pair of former fund managers from KKR and British International Investment aims to raise as much as $250m (USD) to invest in technology-focused startups in India for their new VC firm Fractal Growth Partners (BBG)

  • Spark Infrastructure’s new owners have begun shopping the group’s once controversial solar and wind projects investment platform, Spark Renewables, only one year after they took the parent company off the ASX boards (AFR)

  • Carvana Co (CVNA.N) has adopted a "poison pill" to limit shareholders from raising their stakes and has reached an agreement to sell up to $4 billion of auto loans, the struggling used car retailer said on Tuesday (RT)

  • WeMoney, a financial wellness app, has hit profitability two and half years after launching. It is looking to raise another $5m - $10m (AUD) this year (AFR)

  • Mike Cannon-Brookes loans Sun Cable $65m for administration. Tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes’ Grok Ventures has won the first mini-battle at Sun Cable, convincing the administrators to back its interim funding proposal over the one put forward by Andrew Forrest’s Squadron Energy (AFR)

Equity Raises

  • Bain Capital has fired the starter's pistol on its plan to return Virgin Australia to the ASX, riding a "revenge travel" pandemic rebound that has pushed the share price of market leader Qantas 45 per cent higher in the past six months. Bain said on Monday it would "shortly seek advice" on an initial public offering, less than three years after it bought Virgin from administrator Deloitte (AFR)

  • Argentinian lithium carbonate developer Argosy Minerals could be one of the first equity raisings out of the gates for 2023, with investors already booked in for a round of meetings (AFR)

  • Indonesian miner Nickel Industries was drumming up interest in sizeable equity raising after market on Tuesday, which investors reckon would help bankroll a planned acquisition of new assets (AFR)

  • Listed gold explorer Black Cat Syndicate was asking investors to tip in $15 million odd via a share placement, a day after it boosted the resource at its Coyote operations in Western Australia by 32 per cent (AFR)

  • Drilling services group Imdex has agreed to pay about $330 million for Norway-based Devico and plans to fund it with a $220 million equity raising (AFR)

  • Walmart-owned Indian digital payments app PhonePe has raised $350m (USD) at a valuation of $12B (USD) in a funding round led by private-equity firm General Atlantic (RT)

  • PT Bank DKI, one of Indonesia’s biggest regional development banks, is considering an initial public offering in Jakarta that could raise $150 million to $200 million (USD), according to people familiar with the matter (BBG)

Debt & Restructuring 

  • Oaktree Capital Management has set its sights on restructuring candidate GenesisCare, lobbing a funding proposal that would help the Australian born-and-bred cancer care provider pay down existing debt and re-set its capital structure (RT)

  • FTI Consulting, the administrators for Sun Cable,are currently trying to lock in near-term funding to keep the lights on whilst the auction plays out. They will meet creditors for the first time today (AFR)

  • The U.S. Government hit its $31.4 trillion borrowing limit amid a spat between the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and President Joe Biden's Democrats over raising the country’s debt ceiling - a standoff that could lead to a fiscal crisis, or at worst a default within months (RT)

  • Americanas SA, the Brazilian retailer backed by billionaire Jorge Paulo Lemann, filed for bankruptcy protection at a court in Rio de Janeiro citing liabilities of about 43 billion reais ($8.2 billion USD) (BBG)

Love our newsletter? Please share it with your friends, family, colleagues or anyone who needs to stay on top of the market via this link.

Also, if you have any feedback or questions, don't hesitate to hit us up via email or Instagram. 

The Daily Deck is sponsored by Industrial Equity, LLC

Reply

or to participate.