Bitcoin Hits Same Levels as Late 2021

Good Morning,

ANZ says Sir John Key will retire from all of its boards from March 14, a man has been taken into custody following an extended incident that saw three Lower Hutt schools earlier placed under lockdowns, and Parliament attempted to pass all three stages of the bill to disestablish the Māori Health Authority on Tuesday night, but adjourned at 10pm.

Let's jump in.

Before The Bell

Markets

• The new housing minister has set a target of having homes costing just three to five times household incomes - well below what they are now in most of New Zealand. (Stuff)

• The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index finished up 10.2 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 7663 in another busy day for company earnings after spending most of the session in the red. (AFR)

• Bitcoin retook the $US57,000 level for the first time since late 2021, supported by investor demand through exchange-traded funds as well as further purchases by MicroStrategy. (AFR)

• BlackRock, the world’s biggest asset manager, and Amundi Asset Management, Europe’s largest money manager, both expect Japan’s sharemarket to go from strength to strength. (AFR)

Earnings and Data

• 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

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

• Parliament attempted to pass all three stages of the bill to disestablish the Māori Health Authority on Tuesday night, but adjourned at 10pm. (Stuff)

• The state housing agency says tenants had been complaining for months about the behaviour of a person involved in a fatal attack at a Mt Albert unit in Auckland on Monday. (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)

Deal Flow

Investments / M&A

• 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)

Daily Picks

• Government innovation agency Callaghan Innovation has partnered with Te Ohu Kaimoana subsidiary Tapuwae Roa and agritech accelerator Sprout to launch Tupu, a 10-week Māori startup accelerator. Read more here.

The Daily Deck is sponsored by Industrial Equity, LLC