Albanese to ‘stand up’ to Trump over tariff threat

Good morning. Here's what happened overnight and what you need to know today.

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1.

Steely discussion: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has scheduled a discussion with US President Donald Trump following news that the US will impose 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports. Albanese told Parliament that his government plans to “stand up for Australia’s national interests” and have a “free and fair trade” by arranging a carve-out from the tariffs. “This government has a strong record, indeed, of working with other nations to protect and advance Australia's trade interests. We will navigate any differences which are there diplomatically, and we will continue to make the case to the United States for Australia to be given an exemption to any steel and aluminium tariffs.” (Capital Brief)

2.

Ceasefire cracks: Hamas said it would postpone the release of Israeli hostages until further notice, blaming Israel for violations of the ceasefire agreement. A spokesman for Hamas’s military wing accused Israel of delaying the return of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza, targeting them with shelling and gunfire and restricting humanitarian aid. The next three hostages were expected to be released on Saturday, but that is now on hold. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz called the move a “complete violation” of the agreement and instructed the military to prepare “at the highest level of alert for any possible scenario in Gaza.” So far, 16 of the planned 33 Israeli hostages, along with five Thai hostages, have been released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Meanwhile, Donald Trump said Palestinians would not have the right of return under his proposal to remove them from Gaza and redevelop the area. (NYT)(Reuters)

3.

Chip autonomy: OpenAI is moving forward with its plan to develop its first in-house AI chip and reduce its reliance on Nvidia, with the design set to be finalised in the coming months, Reuters reported, citing unnamed sources. The design will be sent for fabrication at TSMC using 3-nanometer technology, with mass production targeted for 2026. The process, known as “taping out,” costs tens of millions of dollars and typically takes about six months. The chip is being developed by OpenAI’s in-house team – recently doubled in size to 40 engineers – in collaboration with Broadcom. If the tape-out succeeds, OpenAI could begin testing an alternative to Nvidia’s chips later this year. OpenAI and TSMC declined to comment to Reuters. Meanwhile, a USD400 million ($627.21 million) global AI partnership was launched at the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in France, backed by tech giants like Google and Salesforce. (Capital Brief)(Reuters)

4.

Pacific currents: New Zealand said it was “blindsided” as Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown prepares to sign a “comprehensive strategic partnership” with China this week, covering trade, infrastructure and deep-sea mining. New Zealand, which provides budget support and defence commitments under its “free association” agreement with the Cook Islands, had sought consultation but says it received no proper response. Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters told local media the government was “blindsided” by the move and called on the Cook Islands to share the details of the agreement with New Zealand authorities. Brown responded saying “there is no need for New Zealand to be in the room” as the deal does not involve security or policing. The dispute follows tensions over a scrapped Cook Islands passport proposal. (Capital Brief)(Financial Times)(Reuters)

5.

Murdoch’s mic: Fox Corporation has moved deeper into the podcasting industry by acquiring Red Seat Ventures, a media company producing shows for conservative personalities, including Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Bill O’Reilly and Piers Morgan. The purchase price was not disclosed. Red Seat had 17 shows that attracted more than 200 million monthly views in November ranking it among the top 10 podcast networks in the US. The deal brings former Fox News hosts Carlson and O’Reilly back into the Murdoch media sphere. The New York Post, owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, recently retained Red Seat to develop a podcast and audio division. The deal comes after Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch last year said he was on the hunt for acquisitions. “We do have the best [or] one of the best balance sheets in the business,” he told a conference in September. “We’ll use our balance sheet increasingly, I think, for M&A as we go forward.” (Capital Brief)(Fox statement)(NYT)

6.

BP bump: Shares in BP jumped the most since 2020 following news that Elliott Investment Management has taken a large stake in the oil major. Shares surged 7.36% to 465.15p in the UK on Monday. Bloomberg first reported Elliott’s involvement on Saturday, stating that the activist investor sees BP as undervalued and is pushing for transformative changes to boost shareholder value. While the size of the activist investor’s stake is not known, Elliott’s involvement is likely to fuel speculation that a strategy overhaul (with a possible restructure or relisting in the US) and board shakeup could be on the cards for the beleaguered oil giant. (Bloomberg)(Capital Brief)

7.

Buy out: Japanese lender Mizuho Financial Group is close to inking a deal to acquire KKR’s stake in Indian investment bank Avendus Capital, according to anonymous sources cited by Bloomberg. Mizuho is seeking to buy private equity giant KKR’s 63% stake in Avendus, which would value the Indian firm at around USD800 million ($1.27 billion). KKR bought its majority stake of Avendus in 2015, agreeing to invest more funds in 2017. The move underscores Mizuho’s ambitions for overseas expansion, and follows the same model it took with its 2023 purchase of US investment bank Greenhill & Co, by acquiring a local partner to build out its dealmaking business. Mizuho also took a minority stake in green investment firm Pollination in November 2024 with a USD20m investment. (Bloomberg)

8.

Secondary sale: Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) is selling its entire 10.1% stake in Charles Schwab—184.7 million shares—to raise about USD14 billion ($22.3 billion). Schwab will repurchase USD1.5 billion of its shares from TD, subject to the offering’s completion. TD will use C$8 billion of the proceeds for a share buyback and invest the rest in its business. The sale, 2025’s largest secondary share offering so far, follows TD’s USD3.1 billion settlement over US money-laundering failures and is CEO Raymond Chun’s first major move since taking over on 1 February. TD had already sold 40.5 million Schwab shares in August, cutting its stake from 12.3% to 10.1%. Bloomberg analysts estimate the deal could reduce TD’s net income by 7%, but a planned buyback of 100 million shares should offset most of the loss. TD Securities and Goldman Sachs are managing the sale. (Capital Brief)(TD Bank announcement)(Bloomberg)