ACT and NZ First shock parliament

Good Morning,

Samoa citizenship bill passes first Parliament hurdle, helped by Act and NZ First, Newshub staff have been left ‘gutted’ and close to tears after confirmation today that the news service will close after 35 years, the government is reviewing the roll out of fresh water farm plans and says work already underway in some regions could be halted & Big four consulting firm EY is planning to cut more than 100 roles next week.

Let's jump in.

Before The Bell

Markets

• The Reserve Bank has left its official cash rate unchanged at 5.5 percent for a sixth consecutive meeting, saying it has more to do to get inflation totally under control. (Stuff)

• Australian shares are poised to rise as US shares steadied and US Treasury yields dropped from a more than 4-month high in the last trading day before key US inflation data. (AFR)

• Gold’s rally to successive record highs isn’t over, according to macro fund managers, and the factors that have powered a near-20 per cent surge since mid-February are expected to fuel more gains in the precious metal. (AFR)

• China needs to convince people that home prices are on their way up in order for economic activity to pick up, Richard Koo, chief economist at Nomura Research Institute, told CNBC’s Steve Sedgwick last week. (CNBC)

Earnings and Data

• Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TMSC), posted a surge in monthly revenue in March, as it cashed in on a continuing artificial intelligence boom powered by high-end chips. (CNBC)

• ByteDance Ltd.’s profit surged roughly 60% in 2023, outpacing the growth of online peers Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. in a sign of the TikTok owner’s resilience in the face of an economic downturn. (BBG)

News Summary

• Act and New Zealand First have shocked Parliament tonight by supporting a bill to select committee that would provide entitlement to New Zealand citizenship for a group of people born in the then Western Samoa whose citizenship was removed by law in 1982. (Herald)

• Newshub staff have been left ‘gutted’ and close to tears after confirmation today that the news service will close after 35 years. (Herald)

• The government is reviewing the roll out of fresh water farm plans and says work already underway in some regions could be halted. (RNZ)

• There has been a rise in activity from racist and nationalist extremists who want to spark a race war in Australia over the last year-and-a-half, the nation's top security agency has warned. (9 News)

• ‘Children are being used as a football’: Hilary Cass on her review of gender identity services. (9 News)

• Big four consulting firm EY is planning to cut more than 100 roles next week, or more than 1 per cent of its 10,000-strong workforce, due to the persistent downturn in the advisory market. (AFR)

• US President Joe Biden has said he believes that Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is making a "mistake" in his handling of Gaza. (BBC)

• Chinese leader Xi Jinping will meet former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou in Beijing for a landmark sitdown spotlighting the Communist Party’s willingness to talk to the island’s opposition. (BBG)

Deal Flow

Investments / M&A

• FIRB questions linger in Azure Minerals takeover. (AFR)

• Wall Street bankers and lawyers were relieved to see the headline numbers for M&A in the first quarter, which showed encouraging signs of a global dealmaking recovery. (BBG)

• Rates and credit trading platform Tradeweb Markets (TW.O), opens new tab will buy investment technology firm Institutional Cash Distributors (ICD) for $785 million, it said on Monday, as it seeks to boost its appeal to corporate treasury professionals. (RT)

Equity Raises

• Investment platform Linqto has agreed to go public through a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Blockchain Coinvestors Acquisition (BCSA.O), opens new tab in a deal valued at $700 million, the companies said on Tuesday. (RT)

Debt

• Macy’s Inc. has “weaponized” its debt agreements as part of a proxy fight with a pair of investment firms, putting its financial future at risk, a pension fund claimed in suing the retailer. (BBG)

• Diamondback Energy Inc. borrowed $5.5 billion in the US investment-grade market to partly help fund its $26 billion takeover of Endeavor Energy Resources LP, joining other blue-chip companies capitalizing on robust investor demand to bring acquisition-related debt deals. (BBG)

Daily Picks

• Australian DJ Fisher announces much-anticipated New Zealand tour in 2025. (Herald)

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