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It used to be called ‘decoupling’, but now businesses are reportedly looking to ‘derisk’ – that is, minimise the threat of geopolitical disruption from tensions between China and the West. But with decades of global growth built on cheap Chinese manufacturing and labour, just how practical is reshoring and just how committed are companies to it? The FT has a few answers.

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

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MARKET MOVERS

Market News: Bad news on costings has come all at once for Allkem.

The lithium producer announced it would be up for an extra $645 million as costs blew out at three of its projects amid higher inflation in Argentina.

The company didn’t miss a beat on Monday however as it talked up the economics of the projects. It’s currently trying to close out a merger with Livent to become the world’s third largest lithium producer and capture rising demand.

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THE QUICK SYNC

• Amazon has taken a US$4 billion stake in AI startup Anthropic. (New York Times)

• Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser has warned the bank’s 240,000 employees to get onboard with her restructure or leave. (Financial Times)

• Hollywood writers have reached an agreement with studios and streamers to end their strike. (WSJ)

• China has banned a Nomura banker from leaving the mainland. (CNBC)

• Selfwealth came within a whisker of defying ASIC to launch crypto trading alongside equities. But bad luck and bad timing brought the plan undone. (Capital Brief)

• Evergrande has hit a debt restructuring roadblock and it’s sinking property stocks in China. (CNBC)

TRADING FLOOR

M&A:

• Gina Rinehart has lifted her stake in Liontown Resources via a $132m share raid (AFR)

• The Whitehaven director behind BHP’s coal play was also behind the Grindr IPO and the Toshiba takeover (Capital Brief)

• Red 5 strengthens its defense measures after Silver Lake acquires an 11% stake in the company. (AFR)

• Newmont's Newcrest $29bn takeover is expected to trigger a significant liquidity event, despite attracting limited attention so far. (AFR)

• IFM Investors has agreed to sell its stake in My Plan Manager for several hundred million dollars. (AFR)

• Rival investors in Mr Yum and me&u engaged in prolonged negotiations over refunds in case the merged companies encounter financial difficulties. (AFR)

Capital Markets:

• Fintech MitchCap has suspended IPO plans after raising $15m (AFR)

• HMC Capital has obtained $650m in commitments from investors for its $1.3bn Healthcare and Life Sciences Unlisted (UHF) real estate fund. (BNA)

• MadeComfy is seeking additional funding, returning to fundraising less than a year after its previous round. (AFR)

• Santos is not likely to sell its Pikka asset stake in Alaska before 2025 as it needs to demonstrate the project's viability first. (The Australian)

• Global Data Centre is preparing for an IPO, following a request for proposal sent to seven investment banks by its shareholders, Macquarie Asset Management and PSP. (AFR)

• The Star Entertainment Group took a gamble on a $750m equity raise at a price of 60 cents per share. (AFR)

VC:

• The federal government's new Employment White Paper has one major blindspot: startups. (Capital Brief)

• The University of Queensland has revealed the initial group in its accelerator program designed for early-stage startups predominantly owned by women. (BNA)

Others:

• The Australian Fashion Council (AFC) and eBay Australia have recently unveiled a Circular Fashion Fund worth $200,000. (Smart Company)

• GPT Group has revealed that Russell Proutt, currently the CFO of Charter Hall, will become their next CEO. (Capital Brief)

• E&P Capital says travel-related stocks are expected to rebound and potentially experience another phase of growth. (The Australian)

• Kevin Gallagher will reduce his workload at Santos approved by the board due to family commitments. (The Australian)

THE WATERCOOLER