Kiwi Troops Get a Boost

Good Morning,

A mystery Chinese spacecraft has returned to Earth after 276 days in orbit, New Zealand Defence Force personnel are set to receive a pay rise from July, toy manufacturers Zuru and Lego began a 12-day trial in Auckland today and new housing approvals in Australia fell to the lowest level in two and a half years.

Let's jump in.

Before The Bell

Markets

• Tower was the biggest decliner on the NZX after the insurance company revealed mounting claims would result in a first-half loss and no divided (Stuff)

• Cryptocurrency exchange Binance halted Bitcoin withdrawals for several hours on Monday, citing heavy volumes and a surge in processing fees, before clearing them at a higher cost (RT)

• Australian economists have poured cold water on Anthony Albanese and Jim Chalmers’ claim that the government’s $14.6 AUD billion cost of living package will ease inflation pressures, warning the extra cash will drive up prices and interest rates by stimulating household spending (AFR)

• European stocks were little changed on Monday, with low trading volumes expected as the UK market remained closed for a public holiday, while traders turn their attention to US inflation data which should give insight on the outlook for interest rates (BBG)

• Chinese bank shares surged, with some posting their biggest one-day gains since the country’s 2015 equity bubble, after more lenders cut deposit rates (BBG)

• The selloff in US bank shares is threatening to push them below a technical threshold that could signal more pain ahead for the broader stock market (BBG)

Earnings and Data

• Westpac New Zealand has reported an after-tax profit of $426 million in the six months to the end of March. This represented a fall of 33% on the same period the previous year (NBR)

News Summary

• Those serving in the New Zealand military are in for a reasonable pay rise courtesy of this month’s Budget (NBR)

• Phalanxes of lawyers, mounds of paperwork, and a lengthy 12-day trial kicked off in the Auckland High Court this morning, as two of the world’s biggest toy manufacturers Lego and Zuru go head to head over children’s building blocks (NBR)

• Craigs Investment Partners has signed up to house its data inside Microsoft’s burgeoning bevy of New Zealand-based data centres, just as the firm undergoes a major digital transformation into the cloud (NBR)

• An experimental Chinese spacecraft returned to Earth on Monday after staying in orbit for 276 days (RT)
  

• At least 22 people have died after a packed tourist boat capsized in India’s souther Kerala state (BBC)

• India’s Go Airlines called on the country’s company law tribunal to urgently pass an order on its bankruptcy plea on Monday (RT)

• New housing approvals in Australia fell to the lowest level in almost two and a half years in March, triggered by a surge in borrowing and construction costs that depressed new sales and projects (AFR)

• Dozens of people have been killed in ethnic clashes in the north-eastern Indian state of Manipur with mobs attacking homes, vehicles, churches and temples (BBC)

• Morgan Stanley believes lithium markets have hit a turning point following a brutal sell-off in the battery metal, as sentiment improves due to falling inventories and softer-than-expected supply growth (AFR)

Deal Flow

VC & Fundraising

• Bain Capital is seeking to raise $4 billion USD for a new global “special situations fund” as the U.S. firm sees an opportunity to snap up distressed investments in a broad range of clash assets (RT)

Equity Raises

• Alibaba’s logistics arm aims to raise up to $2 billion via a listing in Hong Kong likely early next year (RT)

• ASX listed debt collection software business Credit Clear and waste tyre processing outfit Entyr had their brokers drumming up interest in equity raisings on Monday morning (AFR)

• Investment banks Jarden and UBS could be leading a float of freight forwarder Mondiale VGL, as the company gears up for an IPO later this year (NBR)

Debt

• ANZ and Bendigo and Adelaide Bank were fronting debt investors with new deals on Monday morning. ANZ was chasing a new 10-year Tier 2 wholesale subordinated deal, which would be denominated in Australian dollars (AFR)

Daily Picks

• Check out this article from Stuff explaining the reasons behind New Zealand’s dysfunctional public transport network

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

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