Australia Briefing: Labor’s Campaign Blow

(Bloomberg) --

Good morning, Australia. It’s Ainslie here, coming to you from Sydney, and here’s what’s happening around our region this morning:

Campaign Chaos: Hope your Friday is starting better than Anthony Albanese’s. The opposition leader tested positive for Covid last night, with just a month left until election day. Better news for any of his close contacts in New South Wales and Victoria, with those states lifting isolation requirements starting today.

RBA in Focus: All eyes are on the Reserve Bank’s May meeting, with the sizzling Australian economy now a “textbook case” for a rate rise, writes Bloomberg Opinion’s Dan Moss. Will the election campaign mean central bankers sitting tight a bit longer and raise in June instead? Stay tuned.

Ramsay Bidders: Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is among the members of a consortium led by KKR that’s trying to snap up Australia’s Ramsay Health Care for A$20.1 billion, a person familiar told Bloomberg News. Australian health pension fund Health Employees Superannuation Trust Australia, or Hesta, has also said it’s in the group of bidders.

Barley Boost: The war in Ukraine is lifting demand for Australian grain. We’re now the exclusive barley supplier to Saudi Arabia, the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service said in a report, when Ukraine and Russia had been supplying 13% apiece. The war should make the world rethink its dependence on another grain — wheat, writes Jessica Fanzo for Bloomberg Opinion. Governments should “reconsider their efforts to influence the crops farmers grow and move toward encouraging a more diverse food supply.”

Pacific Concern: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her Japanese counterpart, Fumio Kishida, have raised concerns about China’s push into the Pacific. The leaders said they opposed “any unilateral actions that could escalate tensions and undermine regional stability and the international rules-based order,” according to a joint statement released by Japan's Foreign Ministry, the AP reported. The strengthening of their ties comes after the Solomon Islands signed a security pact with China this week, causing a mid-campaign headache for Scott Morrison.

What Happened Overnight

Stocks Slide: The S&P 500 fell 1.5% in a dramatic reversal from a rally early Thursday on the back of upbeat earnings while the Nasdaq 100 fell about 2%. Traders are bracing for the possibility of more aggressive policy tightening by the Federal Reserve.

Not Trolling: Elon Musk has lined up $46.5 billion for his Twitter bid — a show-me-the-money moment that signaled he isn’t just trolling Twitter with his takeover interest. In addition to $25.5 billion in debt financing from Morgan Stanley and other financial institutions, he will fund $21 billion himself.

Drone Delivery: The U.S. fast-tracked dozens of “ Phoenix Ghost” drones to Ukraine as part of Joe Biden's $800 million weapons package. Vladimir Putin declared that Russia had seized Ukraine’s Mariupol even as his defense minister said more than 2,000 opposing troops remain holed up in an industrial complex. Meanwhile, a new round of U.K. sanctions on Russia is targeting caviar, diamonds and other luxury goods.

Sheryl Scrutiny: Meta’s Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg is facing internal scrutiny at the social network for allegedly using her influence to quash two stories about her former boyfriend, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick.

Partygate Continues: Boris Johnson will face a parliamentary ethics inquiry into his past comments about rule-breaking parties in Downing Street during the pandemic, as opposition lawmakers accused him of lying over “partygate.”

What to Watch

• OZ Minerals and Mineral Resources releases production reports

One More Thing…

Jersey’s Abuzz: Marijuana users in New Jersey are rejoicing, with weed legal to buy and sell in the state as of Thursday. “I’ve been waiting since 1969 to buy legal weed in Jersey — I’ve been catching a buzz every day for 52 years,” said Larry Feinberg, who drove about an hour from his home in Ocean Township to get to dispensary Zen Leaf.

And with that, I hope you have a zen weekend. We’ll be back on Tuesday after the public holiday.

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