Economic and market news
In a quiet week for economic and market news, its was reported on Tuesday that two separate surveys of consumer confidence show it has fallen to new lows in January, as interest rate increases force households to make cutbacks.
In contrast, a monthly business survey reportedly showed a five-point increase in business conditions in January, driven by strong trading conditions and higher profitability.
In overseas news, there was speculation about the likely impact of the next set of inflation numbers in the US when they come out.
Looking at the prospects for the Chinese economy, The Australian Financial Review discussed policy changes, and headwinds. It forecast that, despite structural challenges it may experience, there will be 5.7 per cent growth this year.
The government in Japan has surprised the market and appointed an academic, rather than an insider, to be the next Governor of the Bank of Japan.
Australian indices
ASX 200: Fell 0.98 per cent, in the week, to 7430.9 at the close on Tuesday.
All Ordinaries: Fell 1.10 per cent in the week, closing at 7628.6 points on Tuesday.
Government Bonds
Government Bond Yields (Source: Bloomberg)
|
NAME |
COUPON |
PRICE |
YIELD |
1 DAY |
1 MONTH |
1 YEAR |
|
GTAUD2Y:GOV Australia Bond 2 Year Yield |
3.25
|
99.60 |
3.43% |
-1 |
+28 |
+231 |
|
GTAUD5Y:GOV Australia Bond 5 Year Yield |
2.25 |
93.86 |
3.53% |
-1 |
+20 |
+168 |
|
GTAUD10Y:GOV Australia Bond 10 Year Yield |
4.50 |
106.39 |
3.73% |
-2 |
+15 |
+160 |
|
GTAUD15Y:GOV Australia Bond 15 Year Yield |
3.25 |
90.64 |
4.02% |
-3 |
+12 |
+165 |
Reserve Bank of Australia (Source:RBA)
|
RBA CASH RATE TARGET (RBATCTR:IND) CURRENT (per cent) |
MOST RECENT DECISION (percentage points) |
MOST RECENT CHANGE (percentage points) |
1 YEAR PRIOR (per cent) |
|
3.35 |
+0.25 (7 February 2023) |
+0.25 (7 February 2023) |
0.10 |
Currencies (source:RBA)
As at the close on 14 February, the AUD/USD had risen slightly, 0.63 per cent in the week to 0.6975. The AUD/RMB had risen 1.06 per cent in the same period, to 4.7534.
Venture Capital
Lenexa Medical
Stoic Venture Capital has become an investor in Lenexa Medical, leading its Series A funding round. Lenexa’s unique patient monitoring technology, LenexaCARE™, aims to combat the problem and prevalence of pressure injuries occurring in hospitals and healthcare facilities world-wide. Pressure injuries are mostly preventable yet there are more than 300,000 cases in Australia every year. They can be life threatening, painful and have adverse effects on patients as well as their families, ultimately costing the healthcare system billions of dollars. Welcome to the family Lenexa Medical!
BioScout
Stoic investee BioScout announced its first partnership in New Zealand, with Delegat Wines and Cloudy Bay Vineyards, two of NZ’s flagship wine businesses, now having four disease detection units across their vineyards in the Hawkes Bay and Marlborough regions.
ENA Respiratory
Stoic investee ENA Respiratory has announced that in a Phase 2a clinical study its INNA-051 nasal spray has been shown to significantly accelerate respiratory virus clearance.
Post hoc analyses found a statistically significant reduction in the duration of flu infection and a dose-related trend toward a reduction in symptom duration. ENA Respiratory said on Tuesday that these results support the further clinical development of INNA-051 to mitigate the impact of natural infection by respiratory viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 and its variants: influenza, RSV, and the common cold, in individuals at risk of more severe illness.
Property
It was reported that the Reserve Bank’s February interest rate decision, and an indication that there will be a further 0.25 per cent increase in March, sparked a significant reduction in vendor confidence in Australia’s property market - this led to an uptick in withdrawals of properties from auction. This was said to be alongside a fall in the auction clearance rate, 65.2 per cent, down 2.2 percentage points on a week before.
