Hundreds Underground in Mine Over Union Debate

October 25, 2023

Good Morning,

540 workers underground near Johannesburg while the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union protest. Two New Zealand banks increases home loan rates, Wall Street’s top financiers attend the annual financial conference in Saudi Arabia despite concerns over travel to the Middle East. Several people hospitalized in Austria after taking suspected fake diabetes drug Ozempic.

Let's jump in.

Before The Bell

Markets

  • New Zealand’s biggest bank will increase its home loan rates again from tomorrow. (Stuff)

  • Australia’s annual migrant intake likely hit a record 500,000 people in September as international students and working holidaymakers returned en masse, challenging official forecasts that migration will fall sharply over the coming year. (AFR)

  • China is set to unleash fresh fiscal stimulus to shore up its economic recovery, drawing on a well-used playbook that relies heavily on debt and state spending but falls short on the deeper reforms called for by a growing number of analysts. (RT)

  • Euro zone business activity took a surprise turn for the worse this month as demand fell in a broad-based downturn across the region, a survey showed, entering the fourth quarter on the wrong foot and suggesting the bloc may slip into recession. (RT)

  • Global bond markets rebounded, with the US 10-year yield sliding to 4.8%, amid growing speculation that the recent selloff was excessive. Nasdaq 100 index futures rose ahead of earnings from Microsoft Corp. and Alphabet Inc. (BBG)

  • Bitcoin rose as much as 11.5% to top $35,000 before paring some of the gain to trade at $33,918 as of 7:25 a.m. in London on Tuesday, taking its year-to-date rebound from 2022’s digital-asset rout to 105%. (BBG)

Earnings and Data

  • Norway's $1.4 trillion sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, posted a 374 billion crown ($33.80 billion) loss in the third quarter, it said on Tuesday, as higher interest rates and economic weakness sparked declines in all asset classes. (RT)

  • The two tech giants report after the bell on Tuesday, with Meta (META.O) following on Wednesday and Amazon (AMZN.O) on Thursday. These four stocks combined account for a whopping 23.4% weighting in the S&P500 (.SPX) - just shy of their 24% pandemic peak and twice the share they held just six years ago. (RT)

News Summary

  • Law firm DLA Piper has been accused of defamation and breaches of the Fair Trading Act by Wilson Parking in a dispute between a Wellington building owner and the car park operator. (NBR)

  • The former PwC Australia partner at the centre of the confidentiality scandal which cost the firm its lucrative Government business has been banned by Australian regulator ASIC from providing financial services for eight years. (NBR)

  • Currently, Alt New Zealand, Vec Ltd and Myriad Pharmaceuticals, all entities connected to Benjamin Pryor and Jonathan Devery, co-owners of Vapo and Alt New Zealand, are awaiting the outcome of a judicial review taken against the Director-General of Health, challenging the body’s recently introduced regulations lowering the maximum nicotine strength for vaping products. (NBR)

  • Israel said on Tuesday it had killed dozens of Hamas fighters overnight in strikes on Gaza but that its war to destroy them, which involves bombarding and blockading the Palestinian enclave, would take time. (RT)

  • China's Great Wall Motor said it had formally submitted responses to the European Commission's anti-subsidy investigation of Chinese-made electric vehicles (EVs), while calling for a fair and open trade environment. (RT)

  • Several people were hospitalised in Austria after using suspected fake versions of the diabetes drug Ozempic, the country's health safety body said, the first report of harm to users in a widening European hunt for counterfeiters. (RT)

  • An off-duty pilot accused of trying to shut off the engines of an Alaska Airlines jet on a weekend flight over the Pacific Northwest was due to make his first court appearance on Tuesday in Portland, Oregon, where he faced 83 counts of attempted murder. (RT)

  • Argentina's Peronist economy chief Sergio Massa faces a fierce battle for middle-ground votes with far-right libertarian Javier Milei ahead of a run-off next month, though the center-left runner has his nose in front after a surprise first round win. (RT)

  • Closing arguments are set to begin on Tuesday in the first U.S. trial over allegations that Tesla's (TSLA.O) Autopilot driver assistant feature led to a death, and its results could help shape similar cases across the country. (RT)

  • Wall Street's top financiers showed up in force at an annual financial conference in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday despite broad concerns over travel in the Middle East in the wake of an escalating conflict between Israel and Hamas militants. (RT)

  • French President Emmanuel Macron will call for a revival of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians during a visit to Tel Aviv on Tuesday. (BBG)

  • Hundreds of workers are underground for a second day at Gold One International Ltd.’s Modder East mine near Johannesburg, with the company unable to reach them during a standoff between two rival labor unions. (BBG)

  • Chinese microblogging site Weibo Corp. is planning to ask its more influential users to display their real names to the public, a move that could encroach on online privacy in the world’s biggest internet arena. (BBG)

Deal Flow

Investments / M&A

  • Existing shareholders of the beleaguered Go To Collection hospitality group – which was co-founded by MasterChef New Zealand judge Josh Emett – acquired the company’s physical assets for $1.3 million, the latest deed administrators report shows. (NBR)

  • Paris-headquartered concessions player Vinci Group has begun meeting with investment banks for a potential buy-side mandate, as it weighs a tilt at Melbourne’s EastLink motorway. (AFR)

  • Frankfurt-listed healthcare giant Fresenius Medical Care and Citi are seeking to make first-round bidders stand behind their offers as the auction for the $500-million-plus Cura Day Hospitals enters round two. (AFR)

  • Midea Group Co., China’s largest home appliance maker, has filed for a Hong Kong listing that could be among the city’s biggest in recent years. (BBG)

VC & Fundraising

  • Health monitoring software startup Sahha has sealed a A$1.75 million ($1.9m) seed round led by venture capital fund Aura Ventures, with participation from Supermoon Capital, Antler, and Ignite Venture Partners. (NBR)

Daily Picks

  • One person has died, and five patients remain in Christchurch Hospital following a serious crash in Hurunui, police have confirmed. (Stuff)

  • A video of the events of March 15, 2019, including footage from the terrorist’s GoPro camera, has been played at the most significant coronial inquest of its kind in New Zealand. (Stuff)

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