M&AS PICKING UP; US INVESTORS BETTING CORPORATE EARNINGS HAVE TURNED A CORNER

M&AS PICKING UP; US INVESTORS BETTING CORPORATE EARNINGS HAVE TURNED A CORNER

Welcome to this week’s business and media intelligence, with insights collected over the past seven days by the Cannings Team.

M&As PICKING UP, SAYS BANKER 

  • Goldman Sachs’ new Australian chairman, Christian Johnston, is predicting an upturn in new deals in Australia, as companies have strong balance sheets enhanced by equity raisings earlier in the year. Mr Johnston says Australian corporates are also starting to think about internal growth through capital expenditure. Read more in The Australian.

US INVESTORS BETTING CORPORATE EARNINGS HAVE TURNED A CORNER

  • Investors in the US are entering third-quarter earnings season with brighter expectations for corporate profits, a bet they hope will propel the next leg of the stock market’s rally, according to The Wall Street Journal. Despite this,  just 69 companies in the S&P 500 have issued earnings guidance for the quarter, compared with the five-year average of 104. Read here.

CITIES LOSE THEIR SHINE

  • Politicians and policy-makers are coming to terms with a major shift in demand away from cities to the regions in the aftermath of COVID-19. Urban Affairs Minister Alan Tudge revealed this week that the historic “insatiable demand” for big cities was over, forcing state and federal governments to rethink Australia’s infrastructure planning towards the regions. Read here.

BIG SUPER’S BIG WARNING TO MARKETS

  • In response to a recent spate of super funds seizing control of public companies to take them private, Chanticleer columnist James Thompson considers the implications for investors, deal-makers, and company boards going forward. Will big funds distort public markets in some way? And where is this all heading? Read here.

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