☕️Two Cents

Good morning.

President Donald Trump ordered the US Treasury to stop minting pennies, calling the activity a waste of money.

“For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents. Let’s rip the waste out of our great nations budget, even if it’s a penny at a time,” Trump posted on Truth Social.

Trump’s administration has been aggressively slashing government spending as its Elon Musk-helmed efficiency department scrutinises a slate of federal programs. In January, DOGE said minting pennies cost US taxpayers over US$179 million ($285 million) in 2023.

While the final penny may have dropped, the President’s launch of $TRUMP crypto shows that not all coins are created equal.

🏆 LOI Subscriber #TBD

Market movers

Star Entertainment's stock jumped (from tiny levels, but still) as it confirmed Hong Kong-based conglomerates Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and Far East Consortium International have circled its Brisbane casino stake. The company says the offers don’t cut it—yet.

The quick sync

• Dovetail’s two-man board faces scrutiny as CEO Benjamin Humphrey is accused of harassment in a lawsuit. (Capital Brief | AFR)

• Can a DoorDash veteran help Victoria build 30 unicorns? LaunchVic’s new COO, Puji Fernando, is betting his startup scaling playbook can do just that. (Capital Brief)

• CBA cracks down on “coffee-badging” by mandating staff spend at least 4 hours in the office to be counted as an in-office day in the latest attendance mandate. (AFR)

• New Zealand’s upzoning-driven building boom has cut rents and boosted housing supply—a new report argues Australia should follow suit. (Capital Brief)

• New allegations against WiseTech Global founder Richard White emerge amid uncertainty from Trump's trade war, with analysts divided on whether tariffs will hurt or help the logistics software giant. (Capital Brief)

Trading floor

M&A

• Roc Partners battles rivals for Aware Super’s $1b+ poultry business. (AFR)

• GDG is acquiring Evidentia for $320m and plans to merge it with Lonsec unit. (Capital Brief)

• Oxford Properties joins Charter Hall and Scape in bidding for $3b Aveo, with major investors likely to partner for funding. (The Australian)

• DMA acquires Saxo Australia stake, plans rebrand and service expansion. (Capital Brief)

• Mizuho is nearing a deal to acquire KKR’s majority stake in Indian investment bank Avendus Capital. (Capital Brief)

• Insignia shareholder Preston Hamersle says bids under $5 are opportunistic amid takeover battle. (AFR)

• Incitec Pivot is prioritizing buyers for its fertilisers unit who are unlikely to face ACCC competition concerns, disadvantaging rivals like Nutrien and Elders. (The Australian)

• OpenAI is finalising its first custom AI chip design, set for TSMC fabrication, to reduce reliance on Nvidia. (Capital Brief)

• Snap issues US$700M junk bonds to repurchase convertible debt, addressing looming maturities. (Bloomberg)

• Qube’s strong performance fuels M&A potential, but a Patrick Terminals buyout isn’t planned. (The Australian)

• TD Bank is selling its entire 10.1% stake in Charles Schwab for $22b. (Capital Brief)

• Ingenia and Lifestyle deny merger talks, but market speculation persists over their synchronized reporting dates. (The Australian)

• Merck KGaA is closing in on a takeover of US drugmaker Springworks, with sources saying a deal worth billions could be sealed soon. (Reuters)

• Fox acquires Red Seat Ventures, expanding into conservative podcasting with Tucker Carlson and Bill O’Reilly. (Capital Brief)

Capital Markets

• Trump’s 25% steel and aluminium tariffs boost BlueScope, hit South32; Albanese seeks exemption. (Capital Brief | Capital Brief)

• Gold hits record US$2,911 as Trump’s tariff threats boost haven demand. (Bloomberg)

• West African Resources leads a gold rally as investors turn to gold amid Trump’s tariffs. (Capital Brief)

• Nicholas Bolton’s Keybridge Capital is set to enter voluntary administration, with Lowe Lippmann likely to be appointed. (AFR)

• Antony Catalano and Geoff Wilson clashed with Nicholas Bolton at a tense Keybridge Capital meeting, with Wilson forcing a vote on resolutions despite Bolton’s objections. (AFR)

• French President Emmanuel Macron announces €109b AI investment to strengthen France’s position ahead of Paris AI summit. (FT)

• JB Hi-Fi warns of price hikes for fridges and dishwashers as the weak $A and trade tensions hit imports. (AFR)

• Macquarie pivots to private credit with a structured lending strategy. (Capital Brief)

• Dexus suspends infrastructure fund withdrawals after $1b redemption requests. (AFR)

• The Greens propose a 10% annual tax on billionaires to fund expanded Medicare and public transport. (Capital Brief)

• Senate passes Labor’s $13.7b hydrogen and minerals tax breaks. (Capital Brief)

• FIRB scrutiny on China slows Australia’s energy transition; $813m solar deal in jeopardy. (AFR)

• Canva targets Adobe’s enterprise market, boosting Affinity and undercutting costs as it eyes an IPO. (The Australian)

• Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) report urges Australia to adopt NZ’s housing reforms. (Capital Brief)

• China’s BYD brings its in-house ‘God’s Eye’ self-driving system to all its models, including the budget-friendly Seagull, shaking up the EV market. (FT)

• McDonald’s sales bounce back as Middle East boycotts wane, but US revenue slumps amid consumer cutbacks and an E. coli outbreak. (FT)

• Trump’s cost-cutters look to curb Deloitte FEMA contracts, Serco and Guidehouse also face reviews. (Bloomberg)

VC

• Telstra-backed ConnectID launches digital ID verification to cut data storage risks for businesses. (SmartCompany)

• Ex-Deloitte AI expert Keoki Alexander-Chang raises $2.5m for Minikai, a startup tackling issues in aged care. (The Australian)

• The Laundry Lady plans to add 100 contractors as it expands nationwide, targeting $10m in revenue. (SmartCompany)

People moves

• DeepSeek is aggressively hiring for AGI (artificial general intelligence) roles, signaling its ambition to compete with global AI leaders like OpenAI. (Bloomberg)

• Westpac has appointed Debra Hazelton and David Cohen as independent non-executive directors, starting in March and April, pending regulatory approval. (Capital Brief)

• Nokia has appointed Intel’s Justin Hotard as its new CEO to revitalize growth after years of stagnant revenue and share price performance. (FT)

• Incitec Pivot appoints Damian Buttler as interim CFO and lowers production guidance at Phosphate Hill. (Capital Brief)

• Citi’s Simon Marrison resigns to join Rothschild Australia. (AFR)

• WiseTech founder Richard White, his wife, and RealWise Management face Fair Work legal action, as new complaints emerge despite his prior board clearance. (Capital Brief | Capital Brief)

• Citrix CEO Tom Krause, linked to cybersecurity failures, now advises US Treasury under Musk’s cost-cutting initiative. (Bloomberg)

• Breakthrough Victoria appoints former Investible CEO Rod Bristow as its new chief executive. (Capital Brief)

• Virgin CEO Jayne Hrdlicka confirms she still plans to leave, even after Paul Jones exits the succession race. (AFR)

• Ex-Star CEO Bekier accused of breaching duties in $50m credit approvals. (Capital Brief)

• Wirecard insider James O’Sullivan lifts lid on ties to Jan Marsalek, exposing secretive meetings, spy-grade phones and evidence of hacked journalists in the fallout from Europe’s biggest accounting scandal. (FT)

• Steve Davis, Elon Musk’s enforcer at DOGE, bringing Twitter-style upheaval to the US federal government as he slashes spending with a “rules-don’t-apply” ethos. (WSJ)

• Once a relentless prosecutor, Emil Bove is now leading a radical purge as Trump’s point man at the DOJ. (WSJ)

The watercooler