PwC braces for a six-month ban in China

Good Morning,

Dive into today's top headlines:

Market Rally: Global stock indices surged on optimism about rate cuts and light trading.

Corporate News: A2 Milk shares took a hit, while Contact Energy and Suncorp reported strong earnings.

Economic Updates: China's Xiaomi posted robust revenue growth, and South Africa's Sibanye Stillwater secured a prepayment deal.

Local News: Pakuranga shooting, government plans for Kiwibank, and Apple's India-made iPhone Pro models.

Let’s jump in!

Before The Bell

Markets

• Stock market indices surged, driven by Powell's rate cut hint and light trading, with small-caps and equal-weighted S&P 500 outperforming (TRP)

• European stock indices rallied, led by Germany and France, amid expectations of rate cuts from the Fed and ECB (TRP)

• Japanese stock indices rose slightly, while BoJ Governor Ueda reaffirmed the commitment to monetary policy normalization amid rising inflation (TRP)

Earnings & Data

• The market reacted savagely to a perceived slowdown in infant formula marketer A2 Milk’s growth outlook, slashing its share price as much as 21% from the stocks August 16 closing price (NBR)

• Contact Energy announced a net profit for the year of NZ$235m, up 85% on a year earlier, and revenue up 35% to NZ$2.86bln (NBR)

• Westpac is the latest bank to reveal that profit margin pressures are fading as the ultra-competitive mortgage wars cool (AFR)

• Suncorp lifted net profit by 12% to A$1.2 billion for the 2023-24 financial year. It increased its full-year dividend to a fully franked 78¢ per share, up from 60¢ in 2023 (AFR)

• China's Xiaomi Corp on Wednesday reported higher-than-expected revenue for the second quarter, revealing for the first time its auto business unit's contribution of 6.2 billion yuan ($869.2 million). (RT)

  South Africa's Sibanye Stillwater has finalised a 1.8 billion rand ($101 million) gold prepayment deal to raise cash to help repay loans after a slump in platinum group metal (PGM) prices hurt its income, the diversified miner said on Wednesday. (RT)

News Summary

Monday

• Pakuranga shooting: Homicide investigation launched after Auckland grandad gunned down in van (Herald)

• Sydney man handed A$1.8m fine after illegally preparing thousands of tax returns (9 News)

• Britons and Americans among missing after yacht sinks off Sicily in storm (Guardian)

Tuesday

• ‘Sexual predator’ who targeted teens jailed for nine years. (Stuff)

• The Government is looking at options for raising new capital for Kiwibank to allow it to exert "real competitive pressure" on the four big Australian-owned banks operating in New Zealand. (1 News)

• Apple’s First India-Made iPhone Pro Models Coming This Year. (BBG).

Wednesday

• Wellington bars Rubix and SugarWoods in liquidation as local economy bites (Herald)

• There had been the removal of Treaty obligations from the Oranga Tamariki Act, plans to introduce the Treaty Principles Bill, a repeal of the smokefree generation plan, and calls for public servants to use less te

  reo Māori - among other things. (Stuff)

• The former US president delivered the closing speech on night two of the Democratic national convention in his home city of Chicago. Obama prompted raucous cheers as he delivered a withering critique of Trump, who succeeded him in the White House in 2017. (Guardian)

Thursday

• An ‘empty feeling’: What happened to NZ’s first pedestrianised mall? (Stuff)

• Fixed price operations could be coming to private hospitals (AFR)

• Google wants to slash what it pays news outlets as levy calls grow (AFR)

Friday

• The statutory manager of Du Val estimates creditor and investors are owed at least $250mil in the property group’s collapse (NBR)

• Class action against ASB, ANZ could have 100,000 customers (RNZ)

• Burberry Group Plc is on the verge of exiting the FTSE 100 Index (BBG)

Weekend

• ‘Just say you’re from Thailand’: AA apologises to Taiwanese woman over licence botch-up (Stuff)

• Developers turn to micro apartments to fix housing crisis (AFR)

• PwC braces for a six-month ban in China (AFR)

Deal Flow

Investments / M&A

Australia & New Zealand

• Standard Chartered in talks to run Anglo American’s nickel sale (AFR)

• Brookfield’s Aveo sells SA portfolio before A$3.5b-plus auction (AFR)

Key Global

• Couche-Tard Seeks to Buy US$31 Billion Owner of 7-Eleven Stores (BBG)

• US oil, gas M&A activity jumped 57% last year amid industry consolidation (RT)

Other Global

• Pakistan’s Bank Alfalah Chases More Deals With Samba Buyout Underway (BBG)

VC & Fundraising

• U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris' election effort has raised around $500 million since she became the Democratic presidential candidate, sources told Reuters, an unprecedented money haul that reflects donor enthusiasm going into the Nov. 5 election. (RT)

  India's Adani Energy Solutions raised $1 billion through a share sale, which got bids from U.S. investors and sovereign wealth funds, the power distribution company said on Monday. (RT)

Equity Raises

Australia & New Zealand

• The Government is looking at options for raising new capital for Kiwibank to allow it to exert "real competitive pressure" on the four big Australian-owned banks operating in New Zealand. (1 News)

Key Global

• It's Been 20 Years Since Google Went Public. (WSJ)

• The two governments, which own 100% of Tokyo Metro, plan to arrange a meeting of brokerages within a week for a briefing on the IPO and expect to receive approval for the listing from the Tokyo Stock Exchange as soon as mid-September, the sources said. (RT)

• Self-driving technology remains experimental with robotaxi companies facing technical and regulatory hurdles. China, however, has moved aggressively to green-light trials compared to the United States. (RT)

Other Global

• Tax Firm Carrying On Arthur Andersen Brand Explores IPO. (WSJ)

• Northvolt’s IPO has been pushed back to at least 2025. (BBG)

• The portion of the IPO allocated for institutional investors, including foreign investors, banks and mutual funds was oversubscribed 19.3 times, while retail investors bid for 2.3 times the shares on offer for them. (RT)

Debt, Restructuring & Bankruptcy

• Australia central bank sees near-term interest rate cut as unlikely. (Reuters).

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