☕ IMF cuts Aussie growth

Good morning. In case it's feeling a bit slow in the markets right now, well... the IMF agrees. The IMF updated their global growth forecasts overnight — cutting Australia from +1.9% to +1.6%. More in the Quick Sync.

Good morning. In case it's feeling a bit slow in the markets right now, well... the IMF agrees. The IMF updated their global growth forecasts overnight — cutting Australia from +1.9% to +1.6%. More in the Quick Sync.

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MARKET MOVERS

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

Market news: The largest-ever M&A deal in the gold mining space could be on here with Newmount increasing their bid for Newcrest to $29bn — or an implied $32.87 a share. 

Helped by the fact that the price of gold has itself added about +8% since initial approach in February, Newmount is now calling this their best and final offer.

THE QUICK SYNC

  • IMF cuts growth outlook as Chalmers warns of ‘deteriorating’ economy. (AFR)

  • Aussie banks brace for refinancing ‘avalanche’ as cheap fixed-rate loans expire. (SMH)

  • Latitude Financial refuses to pay hackers’ ransom demand. (SMH)

  • Adtech employee diverted $9M payment from Google to buy gold. (BI paywall)

  • How Drunk Elephant evolved from a side hustle to a mega beauty brand. (AFR)

  • Sam Bankman-Fried ‘joked’ about Alameda Research losing $50M (NYP)

  • Ex-Twitter CEO Agrawal, other execs sue firm over unpaid legal bills. (TC)

TRADING FLOOR

 M&A:

  • Newmont Mining is a step closer to a $29bn acquisition of Newcrest Mining after making an improved takeover bid. (AFR | BNA)

  • MilkRun shuts down with Our Cow looking to acquire its assets. (AFR)

  • PEP is back to take another look at Hoyts after selling it out eight years ago. (AFR)

  • Suncorp says a merger with BoQ or Bendigo is not ideal despite ACCC's interest. (AFR | AFR)

  • Private capital’s $36b worth of unused capital is looking for a target. (AFR)

  • Norges Bank support BHP’s $9.6bn OZ Minerals deal. (AFR)

  • UBS wary that competition risks await Viva Energy’s $1.15bn acquisition of the On The Run Group. (The Australian)

    • Viva Energy’s move to acquire On The Run could see Ampol follow suite in looking for M&A targets. (The Australian)

  • Japanese multinational Suntory is thought to be weighing up whether to make a bid for Blackmores. (The Australian)

  • Hiro Brands, whch tried to list last year, is now looking for a strategic minority investor. (AFR)

Capital Markets:

  • Morgan Stanley and Bank of America are canvassing large credit investors for a debt raise at Nickel Industries. (AFR)

  • Trilogy Metals, which is 11% owned by South32, is understood to be preparing for an equity raising. (AFR)

  • Bain Capital has started booking introductory meetings with Aussie investors for Virgin Australia's IPO. (The Australian)

VC:

  • Fivecast, an Open-source intelligence (OSINT) software startup, has raised US$20m (AU$30m) in a Series A led by Ten Eleven. (StartupDaily)

Others:

  • GenesisCare has appointed David Young as its chief executive. (The Australian)

  • Credit Suisse's Sam Speer has jumped ship to Jefferies. (AFR)

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THE WATERCOOLER

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