☕️ Wasted youth

China is ignoring an inconvenient truth.

Good morning.

With record employment in Australia, you could be forgiven for forgetting jobs don’t grow on trees. Yet in China the labour market looks very different with youth unemployment hitting a staggering 21.3% in June.

Reluctant to unleash major stimulus to kickstart a slowing economy, China has come up with a novel solution: stop reporting youth unemployment altogether.

The move will make it more difficult to ascertain what is going on inside the world’s second largest economy, right at a time when we’re all increasingly anxious to know.

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MARKET MOVERS

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

Market News: Investors passed on Seek yesterday after it warned Australia is going to face a much tougher labour market. After all, the jobs marketplace relies on ad volumes. Fewer jobs = fewer revenue opportunities.

It may already be biting into Seek’s bottom line, undershooting previous guidance. Amid a softer jobs market though, the business is investing heavily to unify its APAC marketplace into one uniform product. Hoping to complete the project by the end of next year, Seek says it will help unlock future growth as the the jobs market reaches a turning point.

THE QUICK SYNC

  • China has surprised the market with a rate cut, but economists are asking if it’s enough amid a pronounced slowdown. (CNBC)

  • Private equity giant TPG has approached EY to acquire a stake in its consultancy arm, marking its second shot at breaking up the big four firm. (Financial Times)

  • Donald Trump has been indicted in the state of Georgia for attempting to overturn the 2020 election result as he emerges as the frontrunner in the 2024 Republican race. (WSJ)

  • A Fitch analyst has warned the credit rating agency may be forced to downgrade a host of America’s banks, including JP Morgan Chase. (CNBC)

TRADING FLOOR

M&A:

  • Igneo Infrastructure Partners has inked a deal to acquire Victoria’s Karadoc Solar Farm from BayWa r.e. (AFR)

  • Macquarie and Melbourne’s Beck Corporation have agreed to sell Active Utilities to Patrizia. (AFR)

  • Azure Minerals confirmed a $901m buyout proposal recently landed from SQM. (The Australian)

  • Mineral Resources is thought to have amassed a stake of almost 12% in Delta Lithium. (The Australian)

  • Bellevue Gold has denied it could be about to tap the market again or is looking for acquisitions. (The Australian)

  • Liontown could be showing interest in BHP. (The Australian)

Capital Markets:

  • Lunnon Metals was drumming up interest in a $20.5m equity raising. (AFR)

  • Fineos has ruled out a $40m equity raising via Macquarie Capital and MA Moelis. (AFR)

  • Metro has successfully completed a $67m institutional equity placement. (BNA)

  • Temple & Webster posts a 30% drop in full-year net profit. (SMH)

VC:

Others:

  • Treasury Wines Estate is looking to potentially allocate more supply for China ahead of an expected easing of wine tariffs. (BNA)

  • Allegro Funds is set to appoint an adviser for Team Global Express. (AFR)

  • Quadrant’s managing partner, Jonathan Pearce, is said to be leaving the firm amidst the reshuffling of the company’s top brass. (AFR)

  • JPMorgan hires two bankers from Credit Suisse’s infra team. (AFR | The Australian)

  • Hayden Bairstow jumps from Macquarie to Argonaut. (AFR)

THE WATERCOOLER