Threads Unravels Twitter 🧶

Author

Jay Geris
July 08, 2023

Good Morning,

Meta's new Twitter rival app Threads gets 30 million sign-ups within hours of launch, already facing potential legal action from Twitter, Tino Rangatiratanga to fly at all 29 FIFA World Cup games in NZ, Prices set to rise as retailers battle high costs and fear of closure, OceanGate Suspends Operations After Loss of Titan Submersible, China's Alibaba unveils AI image generator to take on Midjourney, DALL-E.

Let's jump in.

Before The Bell

Markets

  • Markets were down over the past two days. The NZX 50 dropped -0.2%, to 11,980.12, the ASX 200 decreased -2.9% to 7,042.30, the S&P 500 shrunk -1.0% to 4,411.59 and the Nasdaq decreased -1.0%. All treasury bond yields increased

  • Stronger jobs data from the US raises prospects of higher interest rates (Stuff)

  • China added to its gold reserves for an eighth consecutive month, with economic and geopolitical risks as well as a desire to move away from the US dollar driving the purchases (BBG)

  • Singapore Stock Benchmark Heads for Lowest Close in Eight Months (BBG)

  • Sri Lanka’s central bank says more rate cuts are needed for economy to ‘bounce back’ (CNBC)

Earnings and Data

  • Samsung Electronics Co Ltd reported a likely 96% plunge in second-quarter operating profit on Friday, largely in line with forecasts, as an ongoing chip glut drives large losses in the tech giant's key business despite a supply cut (RT)

News Summary

  • Just a day after the launch of rival social media platform Threads, Twitter is already threatening legal action against Meta (1 News)

  • The Department of Conservation has apologised to local iwi after it admitted it made a mistake over a decision to leave a deceased dolphin to decompose at Eastern Beach in Auckland (1 News)

  • Indigenous flags of Australia and New Zealand will be flown at all Women's World Cup games (1 News)

  • Cadbury today announced it will bring back several classic Roses flavours as the company celebrates 75 years of the product (1 News)

  • Prices will continue to rise in the next three months as almost 60% of retailers fail to meet sales targets and others fear closure within the year (Stuff)

  • The Ministry for Primary Industries is taking New Zealand Sugar Co to court for selling sugar-containing lead (Stuff)

  • The company behind Karen’s Diner in New Zealand has gone into liquidation, a month after its Australian parent met the same fate (Stuff)

  • OceanGate said it has halted all exploration and business operations, just a few weeks after five people were killed in a company-owned submersible on an expedition to see the wreck of the Titanic (BBG)

  • Credit Suisse was sued in Japan over bonds linked to a fund that the bank ran with now-bankrupt Greensill Capital, underscoring the legal challenges that remain for the lender and its new owner UBS Group AG (BBG)

  • Tesla Inc. is laying off some electric-vehicle battery workers at its Shanghai plant, people familiar with the matter said, just as a bruising price war among manufacturers in China is showing signs of easing (BBG)

  • Chinese authorities are likely to announce a fine of at least 8 billion yuan ($1.1 billion USD) on Ant Group as soon as Friday, sources with direct knowledge of the matter said, bringing an end to the fintech company's years-long regulatory overhaul (RT)

  • Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd announced on Friday an artificial intelligence (AI) image generator, initially available to enterprise customers in beta form, as it ramps up its offerings in the fast-growing AI sector (RT)

  • Record demand from India sharply increased Airbus orders in June to leave the European planemaker with 1,044 net orders in the first half of the year, data showed on Friday (RT)

  • Restaurants of fast food chain McDonald's have dropped tomatoes from their burgers and wraps in many parts of India, hit by supply shortages and quality concerns after prices of the vegetable soared to records (RT)

  • Zoom is “doubling down” on its technical investments in the Asia-Pacific region as it seeks to strengthen growth, said the video communications company on Friday (CNBC)

  • Just sixteen hours after launch, Instagram’s text-based social network Threads has already surpassed 30 million signups, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said early Thursday. It was also the top free app in Apple’s App Store as of Thursday morning (CNBC)

Deal Flow

Investments / M&A

  • It looks like Cromwell Property and Australian Unity have hammered out an unlisted REIT merger. Street Talk can reveal Cromwell’s Direct Property Fund and Australian Unity’s Diversified Property Fund have signed an agreement to merge in a deal expected to be announced Friday morning (AFR)

  • Sydney-based Birch & Waite Foods, backed by Fortitude Investment Partners, has acquired Queensland’s Epicurean Foods which whips up dressings, sauces and desserts geared to higher-end customers (AFR)

  • Amazon.com Inc.’s $1.65 billion bid to buy vacuum cleaner maker iRobot Corp. faces an in-depth European Union investigation amid concerns the takeover could thwart competitors by giving the ecommerce giant access to a new stash of user data (BBG)

  • Emirates Telecommunications Group Co., known as e&, and France’s Orange SA are exploring bids for a 45% stake in Ethiopia’s state-controlled telecom operator (BBG)

  • Avenue Z, founded earlier this year by serial entrepreneur Jeffrey Herzog, has paid $75 million USD mostly in cash for Bevel (BBG)

  • Private equity firm GTCR LLC agreed to buy a majority stake in Worldpay, the Fidelity National Information Services Inc. unit that handles card payments for businesses all over the world, in a deal valuing the target at $18.5 billion USD (BBG)

  • Assicurazioni Generali SpA has agreed to buy Conning Holdings Ltd. as part of its plan to expand in asset management (BBG)

  • Concordia said on Thursday it had acquired all the shares it was permitted to acquire of Rothschild & Co, paving the way for the Rothschild family's holding company to open an offer to take the investment bank private (RT)

VC & Fundraising

  • Indian billionaire Gautam Adani’s renewable energy unit plans to raise 123 billion rupees ($1.5 billion USD) to fund his coal-dependent conglomerate’s green diversification following the fallout from a damaging short-seller broadside (BBG)

  • Global tech investor Insight Partners has raised $118 million USD in its second 20/20 Vision Capital fund that aims to invest in venture capital funds led by diverse managers (RT)

Equity Raises

  • Birkenstock Owner Considers IPO at $6 Billion-Plus USD Value (BBG)

Daily Picks

  • EFishery, co-founded by a former resident of a poor Jakarta neighbourhood, became a rare Indonesian unicorn after raising $200 million in fresh funding (BBG)

  • Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk’s promised cage match may never happen, but the battle between the social media companies they run is already heating up. This week, Meta Platforms Inc.’s Instagram officially introduced Threads, an app designed as a direct rival to Twitter (BBG)

  • A 445% Price Jump Makes Tomatoes More Pricey Than Gasoline in India (BBG)

Job Board

New Zealand

  • ASB rural banking graduate - Apply here

  • Waterman Capital investment analyst - Apply here

Australia

  • Citadel Securities graduate and intern roles - Apply here

  • Goldman Sachs Investment Banking Intern - Apply here

  • IMC graduate and intern roles - Apply here

  • Jarden

    • Graduate role - Apply here

    • Summer internships - Apply here

  • Macquarie graduate roles - Apply here

  • Optiver

    • Graduate role - Apply here

    • Internships - Apply here

The Daily Deck is sponsored by Industrial Equity, LLC

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