☕ Budget day

Good morning. It's the hottest P&L to drop this year, with the Aussie Treasurer expected to show a $4bn surplus in tonight's budget. That compares to the $37bn deficit they guided to as recently as October. Shame the Government isn't an ASX-listed company because otherwise that +$40bn guidance uplift would have put a rocket under its share price.  

Good morning. It's the hottest P&L to drop this year, with the Aussie Treasurer expected to show a $4bn surplus in tonight's budget.

That compares to the $37bn deficit they guided to as recently as October. Shame the Government isn't an ASX-listed company because otherwise a +$40bn guidance uplift would have put a rocket under its share price.

—

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MARKET MOVERS

*Stock data as of the market close. Commodities and crypto data in USD.

Market news: Lynas caught a break yesterday after it was given an extra 6mths by the Malaysian government to continue processing rare earth at its Malaysian plant.

Lynas is moving the processing to a new facility in WA, but it wasn't likely to be ready before the Malaysia license ended. That's now changed.

The extension from July 2023 to January 2024 is expected to give them the time to avoid major interruption — meaning FY production and cashflow forecasts just got a nice bump higher.

THE QUICK SYNC

  • PwC Australia chief steps down as tax leak scandal shreds company’s reputation. (SMH)

  • Star Entertainment’s former top brass come out swinging at ASIC action. (SMH)

  • Westpac says it’s ready for a downturn as profit jumps 22pc. (AFR)

  • Chemist Warehouse facing $10m bill claim in underpayment case. (AFR)

  • How a Murdoch-backed media start-up built on drugs, sex and war reporting crumbled. (SMH)

  • Weight-loss firm Jenny Craig shuts down, files for US bankruptcy. (AFR)

TRADING FLOOR

M&A:

  • Bright Labs acquires Redline Digital Media for an undisclosed sum. (BNA)

  • Go1 buys popular German book and podcast summary subscription service Blinkist for around $100m. (AFR)

  • FleetPartners Group announces a share buyback and is believed to be in the crosshairs of a potential strategic buyer. (The Australian)

  • Wesfarmers is understood to be among the suitors looking to acquire Alinta Energy’s Western Australia assets. (The Australian)

Capital Markets:

  • ANZ and Bendigo and Adelaide Bank were fronting debt investors with new deals. (AFR)

  • TPG has kicked off its mooted $2bn refinancing. (AFR)

  • Credit Clear ($8.5m) and Entyr ($10m) announced equity raisings. (AFR)

  • UBS is kicking off IPO efforts this week for Redox. (The Australian)

  • JPGA Partners is speculated as the likely seller of 52m Genex Power shares.(AFR)

  • Mondiale VGL is set to hire more banks to advise on its IPO. (The Australian)

VC:

  • Everledger, a blockchain technology company, has gone into voluntary administration after expected investor funding failed to materialise. (SmartCompany)

Others:

  • A handful of CCZ’s 10-strong team has signed up with Blue Ocean after CCZ Equities announced it was shutting up shop. (AFR)

  • Jefferies recruits Gresham Partners’ banker, Julian Babich, and Credit Suisse’s investment banking chief operating officer, Kevin Martin. (AFR)

  • There Questions raised over the timing of Steven Marks' departure from Guzman y Gomez which remains a bit unclear. (AFR)

  • Michael Harris is leaving Affinity Equity to pursue interests outside the industry. (AFR)

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THE WATERCOOLER

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