Leaked Documents Reveal Ministry of Education Job Cuts

Good Morning,

A leading GP who wrote thousands of prescriptions for ADHD medication without specialist approval has been suspended and ordered to more than $175,000 in costs and a fine, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced the surprise reshuffle this afternoon, confirming Lee would be stripped of the portfolio and demoted from Cabinet, Leaked documents show which divisions will bear the brunt of hundreds of proposed job cuts at the Ministry of Education and nearly four in 10 people in the US are exposed to unhealthy levels of air pollution, a new report has found.

Let's jump in.

Before The Bell

Markets

• Australian shares are poised to rise as Wall Street continues to rebound on the strength of the tech megacaps. (AFR)

• Indian shares edged up on Wednesday, helped by gains in heavyweight financials and metals stocks, with investors focusing on earnings from key Nifty 50 constituents due this week. (RT)

• Gold prices crept higher on Wednesday but were stuck in a narrow range as investors looked to U.S. economic data for further clarity on the Federal Reserve's interest rate path. (RT)

Earnings and Data

• Swedish automaker Volvo Cars on Wednesday reported an uptick in first-quarter core operating profits driven by strong retail sales. (CNBC)

News Summary

• A leading GP who wrote thousands of prescriptions for ADHD medication without specialist approval has been suspended and ordered to more than $175,000 in costs and a fine. (Herald)

• Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced the surprise reshuffle this afternoon, confirming Lee would be stripped of the portfolio and demoted from Cabinet. (Herald)

• Baker, a New Zealand Army veteran who served for 11 years, was in a Humvee which was attacked in Afghanistan in 2010. His colleague, Lieutenant Timothy O'Donnell was killed and Baker was seriously injured. (Stuff)

• Leaked documents show which divisions will bear the brunt of hundreds of proposed job cuts at the Ministry of Education. (RNZ)

• People are being warned not to collect or eat shellfish from Queen Charlotte Sound or part of Golden Bay after high levels of paralytic shellfish toxins were detected. (RNZ)

• Higher-than-expected inflation figures released today aren't just bad news for home- and business owners banking on an early interest rate cut; they're concerning for the more than 2.9 million Australians with student debt. (9 News)

• Former Star Entertainment chief executive Robbie Cooke has told an inquiry he felt the gaming group was “under assault” from the regulator, a view he formed after he was told the government-appointed manager was meeting with law firms this year. (AFR)

• Nearly four in 10 people in the US are exposed to unhealthy levels of air pollution, a new report has found. (Guardian)

Deal Flow

Investments / M&A

• ASX-listed Nick Scali Limited has agreed terms to acquire the United Kingdom’s Anglia Home Furnishings – which trades as Fabb Furniture – and will go cap in hands to investors on Wednesday to fund the deal. (AFR)

• Joint venture partners Island Green Power and Overland Sun Farming have tapped boutique Acton Advisory to sell 100 per cent of its Hay Sun Farm solar project, which aims to be up and running by 2025. (AFR)

• Romania’s largest bank said it’s likely to slow a buying spree in the Black Sea country after clinching a deal to acquire the local unit of Hungary’s OTP Bank Nyrt. (BBG)

VC & Fundraising

• A new fund that allows shareholders access to privately owned technology companies has sent investors on a wild ride in recent weeks while eliciting criticism from the likes of Morningstar and competitor ARK Investment Management. (RT)

Equity Raises

• Bubble Tea IPO Drains Dregs of Optimism From Hong Kong. (BBG)

• Rubrik Inc., a cloud and data security startup backed by Microsoft Corp., has drawn about 20 times as many orders for its planned initial public offering as there are available shares, people familiar with the situation said. (BBG)

Daily Picks

• Rising rugby league star Jett Cleary, the younger brother of Penrith Panthers, New South Wales and Kangaroos halfback Nathan, has inked a three-year deal with the Warriors from next season. (Herald)

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