Extreme Weather Conditions Strike

December 13, 2023

Good Morning,

Storefronts, windows and roofs torn off by a tornado and extreme weather conditions during a storm on Tuesday afternoon in the Wellington and Hutt region. Extreme hail results in flooding in Timaru, impacting homes and businesses. Man in Whanganui shot after attacking the police.

Let's jump in.

Before The Bell

Markets

  • The Australia dollar is expected to remain at the mercy of the Federal Reserve until the middle of 2024, defying the usual strong influence of iron ore prices which typically support the currency. (AFR)

  • The fate of the US sharemarket is increasingly resting on whether a handful of the biggest technology companies can parlay artificial intelligence investments into even higher profits. (AFR)

  • Oil steadied after concerns that supplies were overtaking demand triggered the longest weekly losing streak in five years. (AFR)

  • The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index added 0.5 per cent, or 36.3 points to 7235.3 points at the closing bell, buoyed by the information technology and consumer staples sectors. The All Ordinaries rose 0.5 per cent. Ten out of the 11 sectors were in the green. (AFR)

Earnings and Data

  • Te Arikinui Pullman: Auckland's new $200m luxury hotel opens. The hotel, at Auckland Airport, is expecting an 80% occupancy rate at an average of $510 per room which would equate to about $46.2m in annual revenue from accommodation alone. (NBR)

  • The Warehouse may be taking on the duopoly in certain grocery categories, but it is having little to no effect on overall prices, exclusive data shows. (NBR)

  • Washington H Soul Pattinson has upped its stake in Perpetual to 14.99 per cent, less than a week after it revealed it had bid for its prized corporate trust and wealth assets. (AFR)

News Summary

  • The Hugh Green Foundation has committed a further $15 million over five years to boost capacity at the Malaghan Institute. (NBR)

  • In Milford and Pukekohe, and increasingly in its 20 stores around the country, expect your local Bakers Delight store to look a little different as the country heads into 2024. (NBR)

  • The new Government will need to do more than boost renewable electricity to meet its greenhouse goals, according to the Climate Change Commission. (Stuff)

  • Winston Peters – in the role of Acting Prime Minister – has responded with insults and accusations after opposition MPs attempted to use his previous statements against him. (Stuff)

  • Festivalgoers at the South Island’s largest new year’s party, Rhythm & Alps, may be forced to slash their alcohol consumption after objections by police and health authorities to liquor sales. (Stuff)

  • Heavy rain and strong winds hit Wellington and Lower Hutt as severe weather moved up the country. (Stuff)

  • A “concerning” email received by the Invercargill City Council has been reported to the police. (Stuff)

  • A man who allegedly attacked police in Whanganui has been shot. (Stuff)

  • It’s too early to count the cost of damage following a severe hailstorm that hit Timaru on Tuesday morning, with flooding leaving affected business and homeowners mopping up the mess. (Stuff)

  • The senior doctors’ union is calling for a health and safety review of Southland Hospital’s mental health unit after a psychiatrist was hospitalised with serious injuries. (Stuff)

  • Crown Resorts, the gaming giant owned by New York-headquartered private equity firm Blackstone, is investigating its chief executive, Ciaran Carruthers, over allegations he intervened to allow patrons back into its casinos even after security had removed them. (AFR)

  • West Australian Premier Roger Cook says well-funded environmental groups are working to divide Aboriginal communities and use them to oppose the development of major resources projects across the country. (AFR)

  • Gina Rinehart has seized on the rising cost of living for families at Christmas to urge all levels of government to act on tax reform, including a freeze on local council rates for at least six months. (AFR)

Deal Flow

Investments / M&A

  • Ikea’s parent group, Ingka Group, has been approved to purchase two new blocks of land in different parts of the country for about $27.9 million, bolstering its forestry portfolio. (NBR)

  • The sale of Yealands Wine Group by its owner Marlborough Lines is still not considered “highly probable”, 16 months after it was offered to the market. (NBR)

  • Hallenstein Glasson shareholders have rocked the board of directors' boat but avoided tipping it over, with a large number of votes cast against Hallenstein Glasson Holdings founder Tim Glasson. (NBR)

  • A $1.70 per share takeover offer for Rakon has been characterised as “opportunistic” by Forsyth Barr analysts James Lindsay and Will Twiss. (NBR)

  • Keppel Infrastructure Holdings, the Singapore-listed asset management giant, is poised to acquire family-owned bus operator Ventura Group. (AFR)

  • Outspoken stockbroker Angus Aitken has thrown his weight behind Washington H. Soul Pattinson’s $3 billion bid for Perpetual, and whacked its investment bankers in the process. (AFR)

  • The battle for embattled software stock Whispir is heating up. (AFR)

  • Quadrant Private Equity has ruled off a refinance for its outside school hours care provider Junior Adventure Group (JAG). (AFR)

  • The transition away from fossil fuels is only accelerating, and so too are the opportunities for the owners and operators of big clean energy portfolios. One of those, Global Power Generation Australia, is heading for the auction block next year, courtesy of its owners Naturgy and Wren House Infrastructure. (AFR)

VC & Fundraising

  • ASX-listed IT solutions business Atturra is seeking to raise $50 million and has hired Morgans and Unified Capital Partners to oversee the deal. (AFR)

Equity Raises

  • Street Talk understands Australia’s top bankers can’t stop talking about the former UBS banker and major Sigma shareholder’s apparent stroke of genius on Project Orbit. Naturally, these are the same people who have been chasing a Chemist Warehouse IPO for almost a decade and just lost out on a big pile of fees, so you can excuse them for being a bit salty. (AFR)

  • Atlas Iron founder David Flanagan is preparing to take the helm at Arrow Minerals. (AFR)

Daily Picks

  • David Thomson is stuck paying a home loan interest rate of 13.6% on a house that was meant to be his retirement plan, which he now cannot sell. Read more here.

  • Former All Black Dominic Bird has hung up his giant-sized rugby boots. See more in this article.

The Daily Deck is sponsored by Industrial Equity, LLC

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