NZ First accepts the olive branch

Good Morning,

A South Island lodge owner is jointly charged with murder, an internal email from Labour volunteers has been leaked, Stuff understands that NZ first has finally accepted the olive branch extended to it by the ACT party, Millions of Australians were left without mobile and internet & Reserve bank member Warwrick McKibbin has warned the cash rate may need to go up to five per cent.

Let's jump in.

Before The Bell

Markets

  • Business leaders and forecasters see inflation abating slowly, without high interest rates crashing the economy in the process. (Herald)

  • After one of the strictest Covid zero policies in the world finally lifted in December, consumer behaviour in China will determine how much New Zealand milk and meat the country will need. (Stuff)

  • The nation’s once dominant consulting firm, PwC Australia, will cut 344 roles, or more than 4 per cent of its 8000-strong workforce, as fallout from its tax leaks scandal and the economic slowdown reduce demand for its services. (AFR)

  • Australian shares are poised to edge up, as futures reversed. Tech stocks lured investors in New York. Amazon paced the megatechs. US bond yields dropped. (AFR)



Earnings and Data

  • Publicly listed media company NZME has downgraded its earnings guidance on the back of weaker advertising revenue. (Herald)

  • Westpac New Zealand reported a net profit of $963 million for September year, and said it is well-positioned to support customers as the economy enters what it expects to be a “difficult” part of the cycle. (Herald)

  • Germany's Commerzbank said on Wednesday that net profit more than tripled in the third quarter, better than expected and helped by higher interest rates, as it presented a strategy update. (RT)

News Summary

  • A South Island lodge owner whose daughter is jointly charged with murdering an Auckland pensioner has argued naming the woman could torpedo the reputation of his business and cause his family to be shunned by their small town. (Herald)

  • A leaked internal email from Labour volunteers shows MP Helen White’s team cites party leader Chris Hipkins as one of the reasons they nearly lost the stronghold seat of Mount Albert, reports Newshub. (Herald)

  • Stuff understands that NZ First has finally accepted the olive branch extended to it by the ACT Party and the two parties have met today for the first time since the election three and a half weeks ago. (Stuff)

  • Millions of Australians were left without mobile and internet after a network failure at telecoms firm Optus. (BBC)

  • Former Reserve Bank board member Warwick McKibbin has warned the cash rate may need to go to 5 per cent as he urged treasurer Jim Chalmers to either slash spending or raise taxes to take pressure off Michele Bullock. (AFR)

  • The world is set to have been hotter in 2023 than in any other year on record, scientists have declared, before a landmark climate summit this month. (Guardian)

  • As one of 50,000 pregnant women in Gaza, Noor Hammad faces a traumatic birth and fraught start in life for her first baby. (Guardian)

  • China needs to offer more support in the short term to keep growth on track while better protecting the private sector over the long run to avoid plunging into a “lost decade” like Japan did in the 1990s. (BBG)

  • Sri Lanka and Argentina remain very vulnerable amid a worsening in global financial conditions while China has suffered a sharp deterioration in financial resilience since pre-COVID times, a think-tank study found on Wednesday. (RT)

Deal Flow

Investments / M&A

  • A Brookfield Asset Management Inc.-led consortium is seeking fresh talks with Origin Energy Ltd.’s top investor in a last ditch effort to rescue its A$19.4 billion ($12.6 billion) takeover plan for the Australian utility. (BBG)

  • GLP Pte was stripped of its last investment-grade rating by S&P Global Ratings due to deteriorating liquidity and asset-monetization delays at one of Asia’s biggest logistics firms. (BBG)

  • U.S. pipeline operator Kinder Morgan (KMI.N) said on Monday it would acquire NextEra Energy Partners' (NEP.N) gas pipelines in South Texas for $1.82 billion. (RT)

VC & Fundraising

  • WeWork’s bankruptcy filing caps a years-long saga that revealed breathtaking flaws in the investment style of Japanese billionaire Masayoshi Son, damaging his professional reputation far beyond the money he lost. (AFR)

Equity Raises

  • Brazilian Rare Earths will list on the ASX with a market capitalisation of some $315 million, with Canaccord Genuity and Petra Capital working to raise $50 million. (AFR)

  • Navigate Global Payments, the foreign exchange and payments fintech which fell into receivership five months ago, has found a saviour – the Tozer & Co family office, which has now completed a $30 million recapitalisation.

Debt

  • Angus Coote, co-founder of Jamieson Coote Bonds, backed the governor and the RBA’s decision to lift the cash rate to 4.35 per cent on Tuesday after four months on hold because inflation was not slowing fast enough. (AFR)

  • Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO) (015760.KS) said on Wednesday it plans to raise the industrial electricity price for larger companies and sell off more assets after its debt hit 201 trillion won ($154 billion) at the end of June. (RT)

Daily Picks

  • Tomorrow night New Zealand faces Sri Lanka at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, their final pool match of the tournament - but it could be rained off, with scattered thunderstorms forecast. (Herald)

  • NZ Geographic Board moots new spelling for Franz Josef Glacier and village. (Stuff)


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