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NVIDIA CEO: AI Could Pass Human Tests in Five Years, But True AGI May Be Further Out

Author

Maren Ishak
March 03, 2024

Good Morning,

This week's market wrap-up: European markets on edge, Japan's stocks hit record highs, and global news featuring war updates, a tech industry shakeup, and a shift in VC funding.

Let’s jump in!

Before The Bell

Markets

  • The release of the core PCE price index, rising 2.8% for the year ended in January, eased concerns about higher inflation compared to the consumer price index. (TRP)

  • European stock markets ended mixed with major indexes like Germany's DAX up and France's CAC 40 down, as investors reassessed the timing of interest rate cuts by the European Central Bank due to sticky inflation data. (TRP)

  • Japanese stocks continued their strong performance, with the Nikkei 225 reaching a new record high and the TOPIX rising nearly 2% for the week. (TRP)

Earnings & Data

  • TVNZ reports $16.7m loss in six months (Stuff)

  • Cannasouth needs more cash, reports $8.8m loss (NBR)

  • Harvey Norman shares jumped 4.4 per cent after founder Gerry Harvey told investors sales improved in January and he was confident of an extended rebound (AFR)

  • Annual losses more than halved in 2023, coming in smaller than market expectations, after selling prices reached record levels as the British luxury carmaker delivered its Valkyrie models and other special edition cars (RT)

  • Heartland Group is navigating “one-off bumps” this year after reporting a decline in profit and flat revenue. The listed company, which specialises in reverse mortgages, reported a 23% decline in net profit to $37.6 million in the six months ended December. (NBR)

  • Coles shares were up to A$16.94 ($17.98) by the late morning on the ASX, valuing the company at over A$21 billion ($22.26b) after reporting a 3% increase in revenue to A$22.3b for the six months to the end of December. (NBR)

News Summary

Monday

  • NZ politics live: PM Christopher Luxon says he won’t claim $52k accommodation allowance (Stuff)

  • ACC mulls job cuts after ‘very clear expectation’ to save 6.5% (Stuff)

  • Crypto Mania Drives Record $520 Million Into BlackRock Bitcoin ETF in a Single Day (BBG)

Tuesday

  • Trade Me estimates the average New Zealander has more than $1000 worth of unwanted possessions lying around their house. (RNZ)

  • Aussie finfluencer, the ‘ASX Wolf’ hit with bankruptcy order. (NBR)

  • US regulators investigate whether OpenAI investors were misled, say reports. (Guardian)

Wednesday

  • The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has held the official cash rate at 5.5%. (Stuff)

  • Under the hull of a vessel trying to remove two duffel bags containing 91kg of cocaine an Australian tradie questioned his life choices. (Stuff)

  • Scientists have looked back in time to reconstruct the past life of Antarctica's "Doomsday Glacier" — nicknamed because its collapse could cause catastrophic sea level rise. (9 News)

Thursday

  • A man has been taken into custody following an extended incident that saw three Lower Hutt schools earlier placed under lockdowns. (Stuff)

  • ANZ says Sir John Key will retire from all of its boards from March 14. (Stuff)

  • Crown research institute Scion has concluded trials and is finalising its findings on the effectiveness of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as a solution to biosecurity issues in New Zealand. (NBR)

Friday

  • ‘Under-rented’ Auckland offers growth (NBR)

  • Major online auction company sells 750 Aussies fake or faulty cars (9 News)

  • Zelenskiy says 31,000 soldiers killed, giving figure for first time (Guardian)

Weekend

  • Cannasouth needs more cash, reports $8.8m loss (NBR)

  • Macquarie ups the ante on big four with $5b deposit attack (AFR)

  • NVIDIA CEO says AI could pass human tests in five years (RT)

Deal Flow

Investments / M&A

Australia & New Zealand

  • French group Saint-Gobain wins over CSR board in $4.3b takeover (AFR)

  • Alcoa in $3.3b bid for Australian partner Alumina (AFR)

  • Tasmania's ABEL Energy is seeking A$65 million in funding for its $1.7 billion Bell Bay Powerfuels project to produce green methanol for shipping. (AFR)

  • Fletcher Building has engaged Miles Advisory to manage the divestment process for its underperforming Tradelink plumbing supplies division in Australia, with the sale aimed to alleviate financial pressures and execute an executive shake-up. (AFR)

  • New Zealand tech company Rakon is weighing a $NZ1.70 per share offer from Skyworks Solutions, with investor scrutiny on board engagement. (AFR)

  • Record Point launches auction for Snap Fitness, attracting interest from Australian private equity, boasting 333 facilities in the Asia-Pacific, with $21 million EBITDA last year, aided by Stifel Financial Corp in the sale process. (AFR)

  • Global mid-market buyout firm The Riverside Company is sending its road rehabilitation business, Hiway Group, back into the arms of its old owner. (AFR)

  • Suitors for defunct coal miner New Wilkie Energy have been asked to prepare non-binding indicative bids by March 22, as Houlihan Lokey hunts for a party to resurrect the Surat Basin asset. (AFR)

  • The decision to suspend PGG Wrightson’s dividend payout, announced with the company’s half-year results today, was driven by the board’s independent directors, says new chair Garry Moore. (NBR)

  • Allianz calls time at Hunter Premium Funding; hires sell-side adviser (AFR)

  • PwC’s corporate finance team wants a buyer for the country’s biggest fencing hire-and-sale business, 1300TempFence, telling interested parties to think about a chunky 41 per cent earnings margin and strong tailwinds thanks to regulatory changes. (AFR)

  • Salter Brothers Tech Fund will acquire Prospa for about $74 million, a far cry from the $610 million the SME-focused fintech was valued at when it was listed by venture fund Entree Capital in 2019. (AFR)

  • QANTM Intellectual Property, an ASX-listed provider of specialist legal services in five countries, has found itself in the crosshairs of wily bidders amid an earnings turnaround. (AFR)

  • The planned sale of Jarden’s wealth advisory and asset management division has opened a window into the New Zealand-based investment bank’s finances, with accounts mailed out to shareholders ahead of a vote on the proposal. (AFR)

  • Superloop rejects Aussie Broadband’s AU$466m takeover bid (AFR)

  • Superloop rejects Aussie Broadband’s AU$466m takeover bid (AFR)

  • Goodman proposes NZ$290m internalisation deal (NBR)

  • Iress sells OneVue platform business; Flagstaff, MA Moelis on ticket (AFR)

  • McGuigan owner Australian Vintage considers merger with Accolade (AFR)

  • Westpac to sell RAMS Home Loans, 16 years after saving it from GFC (AFR)

Key Global

  • Billionaire Niel to Buy $1.3 billion Stake in Sweden’s Tele2 (BBG)

Other Global

  • UBS Agreed Up to €700 Million Loan for ION’s Equity in Prelios (BBG)

  • The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority has sold its entire $NZ262 million ($245.8 million) stake in Precinct Properties in a fully underwritten after-market block trade. (AFR)

VC & Fundraising

  • American venture capital firms that used to look down their noses at Australian investors are now seeking their cheques, showing how badly the industry needs cash after the start-up bubble burst, and why local VC firms are struggling to raise new funds. (AFR)

Equity Raises

Key Global

  • Investors put in about $40 billion of orders for Saudi Arabia’s Modern Mills for Food Products Co.’s initial public offering, as demand for share sales in the Middle East shows no signs of abating. (BBG)

Debt, Restructuring & Bankruptcy

  • NYSE-listed alternatives giant Ares Management Corporation has signed up to provide a $450 million senior funding facility to Pallas Capital, in a deal that will help the Sydney-based non-bank lender write bigger cheques. (AFR)

  • Commonwealth Bank lines up $650m debt for Costa Group take-private (AFR)

The Daily Deck is sponsored by Industrial Equity, LLC

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