Bernard Hickey

The NZ Super Fund is teaming up with Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan to bid for Vodafone's $1 billion tower network.

Investment bankers are getting busy with Suncorp said to be selling Asteron and Vector testing the waters for its smart meters business.

A Fed dove turned into a loud hawk overnight, warning of large and fast sales of the Fed's US$9t of bonds to tighten monetary policy.

Global stocks are up 1-2% after Elon Musk disclosed a 9% stake in Twitter, which boosted its stock 28% and bolstered other tech stocks.

Cabinet will decide this afternoon whether to move some or all of the country into ‘orange’ while a black market for Gib has sprung up on TradeMe.

Oil prices fell 5% overnight after US President Joe Biden announced a release of 1m barrels a day from US strategic oil reserve.

Air NZ is raising $1.2b in equity at a 60% discount. Overnight, Germany and Austria triggered gas rationing plans, Spain's inflation rate hit 9.8%.

Team NZ confirms what BusinessDesk readers already knew, while opinions are split on whether peace is on the way for Ukraine.

Covid lockdowns for Shanghai, which represents 5% of China's economy, hit oil prices overnight. The yen slumped and Roman Abramovich may have been poisoned.

Graeme Hart has hired brokers to pitch Carters building materials and distribution assets in New Zealand as a potential IPO, the AFR reported this morning.

US President Joe Biden is meeting European leaders in Brussels to consider ramping up support for Ukraine.

Oil surged back over US$120/barrel overnight on more bad news about Russian oil supplies and low US stocks. Russia moved to protect the rouble and British inflation was faster than expected.

PM Jacinda Ardern is expected to announce a relaxation of covid rules on mandates and vaccine passes at 11am, which could free up extra workers for employers. Europe appears divided over imposing a US-style embargo on Russian oil exports, which kept oil prices flat.

A hawkish speech from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell prompted a bond market selloff while oil prices jumped again on fears of even tougher European Union sanctions on Russian oil imports, along with fading hopes for a peace deal in Ukraine.

Cabinet will consider changing the omicron traffic lights system to wind back mandates and QR code usage. Meanwhile, fresh talk of a peace deal in Ukraine is boosting appetites for stocks and the NZ dollar.

Russia avoided a sovereign bond default overnight, successfully transferring US$117m in interest payments to the US bank that distributes the cash to bondholders.

The Fed hiked its official interest rate as expected, but its forecast for six more hikes was tougher than market expectations and triggered selling in stocks and bonds while earlier, China promised more economic stimulus to rescue its slumping stock market.

The government is set to announce an early opening to tourists from Australia and visa-waiver countries on April 12, rather than previous plans for a July opening.

Russia is expected to formally default on its sovereign debt as early as Wednesday after it pledged to pay interest and other repayments of its Eurobonds in roubles.

Fear about outright conflict between Nato and Russia escalated again overnight after Russian threats to target supplies of weapons coming from Nato countries turned into an airstrike near the Polish border on a facility used by Nato trainers.

The government is amending new lending rules to make it easier to grant mortgages, National has jumped ahead of Labour in TVNZ's ColmarBrunton poll and oil prices dipped again overnight.

Oil prices fell more than 10% this morning on hopes the US had convinced OPEC+ and Venezuela to increase oil supplies.

Oil prices rose again overnight as the US and UK announced embargoes on Russian oil imports.

Oil prices retreated this morning from their 14-year highs set yesterday as Germany downplayed US talk of an immediate and total embargo on Russian oil and gas exports.

Hopes an increase in Iranian oil production from a nuclear deal are fading after new demands from Russia and China while the US says it's considering banning Russia's remaining oil and gas exports.

Commodity prices from oil and gas to wheat, coal and aluminium surged again overnight while European stocks fell another 2% and US stocks fared better on hopes the shock of war in Europe might slow US interest rates.

Brent crude prices jumped over US$110/barrel to fresh seven-year highs overnight as traders, shippers and bankers bailed out of anything to do with Russian oil supplies and Opec + chose not to increase its output much. Elsewhere, Armstrong's is reported to be considering a stock market float.

Interest rates fell globally overnight as investors fearing wider fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine rushed into ‘safe haven’ government bonds. Dairy prices rose to new records at auction. Police are clearing the protest at Parliament.

Russian monetary authorities' efforts to stem the impact of investors fleeing the country's assets are failing so far.

President Vladimir Putin put Russia’s nuclear forces on high alert overnight.

Oil prices surged over US$105 per barrel and investors sold stocks and cryptocurrencies in a flight to safety unleashed by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The government is expected a move to phase 3 of its omicron response at midday, meaning only household contacts of positive cases will need to self-isolate.