TVNZ staff are on the chopping block

Good Morning,

Emergency services are responding to reports of a chemical leak in Central Wellington this evening, TVNZ is set to outline dozens of job cuts tomorrow and possible changes to some of its biggest news and current affairs programmes, including the 6pm news, a Wellington university is in discussions with a professor after she claimed that the Government ‘hates children’ and OpenAI on Tuesday publicly responded to a lawsuit brought by co-founder Elon Musk.

Summary of News

Let's jump in.

Before The Bell

Markets

• The Australian sharemarket finished higher on Wednesday when a late rally in financials stocks helped pare the trading session’s earlier losses. (AFR)

• China’s National People’s Congress has failed to impress investors, who had hoped the key Two Sessions meeting would mark a turning point for the country’s struggling sharemarket. (AFR)

• The European Central Bank will meet again this week amid falling inflation, a slight recovery in economic activity and the overall understanding that its next interest rate move will be downward. (CNBC)

News Summary

• Emergency services are responding to reports of a chemical leak in Central Wellington this evening, where residents have been evacuated. (Herald)

• TVNZ is set to outline dozens of job cuts tomorrow and possible changes to some of its biggest news and current affairs programmes, including the 6pm news. (Herald)

• A Wellington university is in discussions with a professor after she claimed that the Government ‘hates children’ and asked online whether or not they’re a ‘death-cult’, following the announcement of a ‘military-style’ youth academy trial. (Stuff)

• A petition calling on the government to keep the ban on sending livestock abroad by sea - despite promising to repeal it - is gaining support. (RNZ)

• Donald Trump met with billionaire Elon Musk in Florida over the weekend as the former Republican president seeks a major cash infusion for his re-election campaign, The New York Times reported. (Guardian)

• China's coast guard has fired water at a Philippine boat in the disputed territory of the South China Sea. (BBC)

• China has announced a 7.2 per cent increase in its defence budget and officially hardened its stance towards the self-governing island of Taiwan. (9 News)

• OpenAI on Tuesday publicly responded to a lawsuit brought by co-founder Elon Musk, highlighting apparent hypocrisy on the part of the now-billionaire and early backer of the company.(CNBC)

Deal Flow

Investments / M&A

• Tsihlis has been trying to raise funding for a new venture, which is aiming to produce low-carbon steel and cement. It follows Tsihlis’ EV bus outfit GoZero Group finalising an $80 million facility from the Commonwealth Bank, and another of his investments, Metsquare, facing scrutiny over its dealings with the tax office. (AFR)

• National Group founder and CEO Mark Ackroyd and major creditor OCP Asia are seeking to refinance the company’s syndicated asset-backed facility, and have started schmoozing credit funds in Australia and offshore for a $250 million deal. (AFR)

Equity Raises

• Skincare business Galderma Group AG is looking to raise about $2.3 billion in what’s expected to be one of the largest listings in Europe this year, serving as a key test for the region’s initial public offering market. (BBG)

• Indorama Ventures Pcl, Thailand’s second-largest chemical maker by market value, aims to raise about $700 million from the listing of its US unit next year after a record annual loss sparked a business overhaul. (BBG)

Debt

• Israel raised a record $8 billion in its first international bond sale since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, with very high demand even after Moody's gave Israel its first ever sovereign credit rating downgrade last month. (RT)

Daily Picks

• A mother disgruntled with Auckland Grammar School has begun protesting outside after it refused to enrol her son, despite him living in-zone. (Herald)

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