☕️ Order, Order!

Good morning.

The FTX court saga has finished just in time for Donald Trump to take the stand in his fraud lawsuit overnight. It didn’t take long for the mood in the New York courtroom to turn combative.

“I beseech you to control him, if you can. If you can’t, I will.”

That was the message from the Judge to the former President’s attorney during one particularly fiery exchange.

There’s much at stake. If Trump loses, he’ll face fines of US$250m or more and he and his sons could be stripped of their ability to operate a business in New York, threatening the Trump empire.

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

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MARKET MOVERS

Market News: Another day, another big bank result.

On Monday, Westpac unveiled a net profit of $7.2 billion, up 26%. But while the market liked the result and the announced buyback, the reality is a lot more complicated.

The second half was far weaker than the first, and, as CEO Peter King acknowledges, the heavy lifting is only just beginning.

Together with Stake | Invest on Wall St and the ASX

THE QUICK SYNC

• McKinsey and BCG have begun freezing starting salaries as consultancy profits come under pressure. (Financial Times)

• Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herde will step down to be replaced by Slack CEO Lidiane Jones. (WSJ)

• OpenAI is opening a store to turn ChatGPT into custom applications. (Financial Times)

• Having just bought Newcrest, the world’s largest gold miner Newmont is already considering which operations it will sell. (WSJ)

• BNPL player Klarna is moving towards an IPO. (CNBC)

• Jacinda Ardern has resurfaced in climate change investment circles. (Bloomberg)

TRADING FLOOR

M&A:

• London’s NatWest Group Pension Fund is kicking off the auction for its 20% stake in NSW Land Registry Services. (AFR)

• Strike Energy exits race for Woodside's $768m oil and gas projects. (The Australian)

• Cerberus Capital Management and JF Lehman & Company eye potential proposal for shipbuilder Austal. (AFR)

• SQM's $1.6bn buyout deal with Azure Minerals is likely to fail. (The Australian)

• Jarden acquires 15% pre-bid stake in Whispir with participation from Forager and Spheria. (AFR)

• Ventura Group's $1bn auction nears completion with Keppel Infrastructure and Mobility ADO as final bidders. (AFR)

•  Soprano Design aims to take ASX-listed Whispir private in a $62.9m deal. (BNA)

• EIG warns AustralianSuper of becoming a minority owner by rejecting Origin Energy bid. (AFR)

• Linfox and Coles strengthen their partnership with a new contract. (The Australian)

Capital Markets

• Anchorage closes its fourth institutional fund above the $500m target. (Capital Brief)

• Questions are being raised as to whether Lendlease and $1bn healthcare provider Healius will raise equity. (The Australian)

VC:

• Silicon Valley's oldest venture debt fund, Western Technology Investment, is eyeing Australia for opportunities. (Capital Brief)

• Earth AI discovers a new deposit and seeks $20m in Series A funding.(AFR)

Others:

• Sun Cable progresses $30 billion solar power project with the preferred site for cable manufacturing. (BNA)

• Athena's loan book shrinks 7%, but aims for profitability in two years.(AFR)

• Salter Brothers are accused of conspiring to avoid repaying a $882,000 loan. (AFR)

• Australia and the UK collaborate on quantum technologies with a joint statement. (Startup Daily)

• Two US investment giants clash over Sydney CBD property amidst signs of real estate concerns. (AFR)

• Macquarie Capital's quants blend traditional model and artificial intelligence to predict the Melbourne Cup winner. (AFR)

• Australian sharemarket will shrink due to private equity acquisitions and governance hurdles. (AFR)

THE WATERCOOLER