NZD: "top performing major currency"

Good Morning,

The New Zealand has been described as the "top performing major currency", Beijing drops COVID testing burden as wider easing beckons, Indonesia passes law banning intercourse outside of marriage, U.S. stocks slide as investors weigh economic data, continued inflation fight.

Let's jump in.

Before The Bell

Markets

• The New Zealand market started the week on a strong footing, with the local stock market higher and the kiwi dollar hitting a 10-month high against its Australian counterpart. (GR)

• In the US, the Dow sheds nearly 500 points, stocks finish lower on worries of further Fed rate hikes. (CNBC)

• Australia’s sharemarket fell 0.5 per cent in a late sell-off prompted by the Reserve Bank raising the cash rate a quarter percentage point to 3.1 per cent and indicating further tightening in 2023. (AFR)

• In line with New Zealand retail banks, Westpac and NAB in Australia lift rates ahead of Christmas as RBA lifts interest rates. (AFR)

Earnings and Data

• Gitlab reported third quarter EPS of $-0.10, $0.05 better than the analyst estimate of $-0.15. Revenue for the quarter came in at $113M versus the consensus estimate of $106.04M. (Invest)

• Science Applications International Coporation reported adjusted earnings of $1.90 per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.74. The bottom line increased 3% from the year-ago quarter’s earnings of $1.85 per share. (SWS)

News Summary

• People in China's capital Beijing were allowed to enter parks, supermarkets, offices and airports without showing proof of a negative COVID-19 test on Tuesday, the latest in a mix of easing steps nationwide after last month's historic protests. (RT)

• The NZD has been getting glowing reviews in the international press as the "top performing major currency" over the past few days. New Zealand's currency has gained ground recently, rising in value to 94 cents against the Australian dollar and was also up to 63 cents against the US dollar, after plummeting to 56 cents in October. (NH)

• Meta has threatened to remove news content from Facebook in the US. It objects to a new law that would give news organisations greater power to negotiate fees for content shared on Facebook. (BBC)

Deal Flow

Investments/ M&A

• Property developer funds appeal against salmon farm consent The McGuiness Institute, backed by Willis Bond, seeks review of NZ King Salmon project, which had $60 million NZ raised for. (NBR)

• Credit Suisse Rises as Saudi Crown Prince Weighs Investment Mohammed bin Salman is considering $500 million injection Crown Prince considers investment in investment bank spinoff.

• Mayor Brown raises the prospect of an Auckland Airport stake sale Divestment of Auckland Council’s 18% stake would save money on debt servicing, reduce rates bill. (NBR)

VC & Fundraising

• Creative NZ has awarded a $5.3 million NZD contract to develop a digital arts agency to We Are Indigo, a small business advisory group at the centre of a government funding row (NBR)

Equity Raises

• Onomotion raises €21 million to expand e-cargo bike urban logistics business. The Berlin-based Onomotion has come up with a scalable way to do micromobility-powered urban logistics — cargo e-bikes with built-in cover from the elements and attachable containers. (TC)

• Russia's Whoosh eyes $400 million USD valuation in upcoming IPO. (RT)

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