Fill Up Fast - Fuel Prices Set To Rise Again

Good Morning,

The Government is under pressure to provide support for businesses badly hit by the Auckland floods, but first it needs more information about what is needed. Authorities say the death toll in China's Covid wave has peaked, and there has been no case spike during their Lunar New Year, billionaire Gautam Adani's 413-page attempt to restore confidence in his business empire is falling flat with investors, as stock-market losses deepen and key dollar bonds sink to fresh lows, and a survey of investors suggests US stocks are poised to hit new lows this year.

Let's jump in.

Before The Bell

Markets

• Economist John Carran has suggested that the upcoming release of the December quarter labour market data could change the Reserve Bank's mind about what it does when the Monetary Policy Committee meets on February 22 to consider whether to continue raising the official cash rate (NBR)

• Australian Prudential Regulation Authority chariman John Lonsdale says he is open to changing bank rules on home loans if the economy deteriorates, to ensure banks do not "choke off" credit and make the fall in Australian house prices worse (AFR)

• Fuel price at the pump in New Zealand has become cheaper over the past three months, but the tide is about to turn, and could be up to 40 cents a litre higher in the next few months, the AA warns (Stuff)

• Australian shares dipped 0.2 per cent, in a subdued session, but remained within a whisker of a nine-month high. Tech stocks jumped 2.5 per cent, while miners and financial stocks weighed on the index. Insurers IAG and Suncorp were among the biggest laggards after warning that the number of claims due to floods in Auckland would climb. IAG shed 3.7 per cent and Suncorp eased 2 per cent (AFR)

• Shares in Europe declined on Monday along with US equity futures as a note of caution crept in at the start of a week marked by interest-rate decisions and big-name company earnings on both sides of the Atlantic (BBG)

Earnings and Data

• New Zealand recorded a trade deficit of NZD 475 million in December 2022, the lowest in seven months, and below an NZD 990.3 million gap in December of 2021. Goods exports rose 11% to NZD 6.7 billion, led by milk powder, butter and cheese; casein and caseinates; and wine. Meanwhile goods imports increased at a slower 1.8% to NZD 7.2 billion, prompted by purchases of aircraft and parts (Trading Economics)

News Summary

• Finance Minister Grant Robertson and Small Business Minister Stuart Nash met Auckland business leaders and may Wayne Brown to discuss what support businesses need. Robertson confirmed he and Nash had met with business leaders to discuss what actions could be taken to help businesses affected by the recent flooding in Auckland (NBR)

• Chinese health officials say the country's current wave of Covid-19 infections is "coming to an end" (BBC)

• Shares of all Adani Group firms slumped on Monday despite the Indian conglomerate's lengthy weekend rebuttal to allegations of fraud by short seller Hindenburg Research. The three-day selloff has now erased nearly $72 billion of market value amid a share sale by Adani's flagship that was meant to underline the tycoon's ascension on the global stage (BBG)

• Roughly 70% of the 383 respondents involved in the latest MLIV Pulse survey have suggested the US stock market has yet to hit the bottom amid concern over corporate earnings (BBG)

• Toyota has defended their title as the world's top-selling automaker in 2022 (RT)

• Russian forces claimed incremental gains in eastern Ukraine on Monday adding up to their biggest advance in months, after relentless battles that Kyiv described as human wave attacks which showed Moscow had no regard for the lives of its own men (RT)

• Auckland's floods will lower economic growth and have an upward impact on inflation, BNZ research Stephen Toplis says. But Toplis said that while the natural disaster would undoubtedly have a macroeconomic impact, it wouldn't be comparable to the Christchurch earthquake (Stuff)

Deal Flow

Investments / M&A

• Investment bank Jefferies has started drumming up private equity interest in Silver Lake's Australian born-and-bred ticketing and live entertainment business TEG, preparing potential buyers for a process due to play out in coming months (AFR)

• M&A arbitrage fund Harvest Lane Asset Management has followed Regal Funds Management out the door at Warrego Energy, as smart money bets the situation has gone from the hottest deal in town to stalemate. Harvest Lane was selling down its 3 per cent-odd position in Warrego in the past week, at AUD 38 cents or higher. Broker sources said it wanted to cut most of its shareholding and rollover only a small slice into Strike (AFR)

Equity Raises

• NYSE-listed Metals Acquisition Corp has put a $US215 million-odd equity raising to fund managers to try to finally bed down its $US1.1 billion deal to buy Glencore's CSA copper mine in NSW (AFR)

Daily Picks

• As Auckland prepares for further downpours after the record-breaking rain on Friday, reporters at Stuff have produced an article highlighting the preparedness of the city for possible further flooding. Check it out here

• In a time of constant technological advancement, the $160 billion memory chip industry is suffering one of its worst routs ever. Learn why here

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