Crypto News: Weaponry for Ukraine

Good morning, it's Ainsley here, coming to you from across the Tasman in a waterlogged New Zealand. But first...

Today's must-reads:
• Australia to supply Ukraine with ammunition
• Sign-on bonuses highlight RBNZ's dilemma
• NZ's Hipkins gets a bounce in the polls

Ukraine aid: Australia and France announced they will supply Ukraine with 155 mm ammunition shells after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged partners to supply new weaponry.

More to come: Auckland is bracing for another rain deluge later today that threatens more surface flooding and land slips on ground already sodden after a record downpour. New Zealand's MetService is forecasting that a new weather system will strike the nation's largest city from late afternoon and persist into tomorrow morning.

Hipkins bounce: New Zealand's new Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has boosted his party's chances at this year's election, with a poll showing him neck-and-neck with his opponents less than eight months out from the ballot. Support for Hipkins' Labour Party rose 5 percentage points to 38% in a 1News/Kantar poll published last night in Wellington, while the main opposition National Party fell 1 point to 37%.

Situations vacant: Employers across New Zealand are competing for workers amid a labor shortage that's driving up wages, fueling inflation and forcing the central bank to raise interest rates at a record pace. Labor market data Wednesday may show that unemployment held near a record-low 3.3% in the final three months of 2022.

Learning halted: Children's learning progress slowed during the pandemic even after strict curbs were lifted, with deficits persisting into the middle of last year, according to a study that raises questions about Covid's lasting impact on an entire generation.

Lifeline: Indian billionaire Gautam Adani found backing in the Middle East. A holding company controlled by a member of Abu Dhabi's royal family will invest $400 million in a share offering by Adani Enterprises, saying it sees strong long-term growth potential. Earlier, Asia's richest man's asset plunge deepened after his rebuttal to fraud allegations fell flat. Shares slumped, extending the market cap rout to $68 billion. Who is Adani? Read our QuickTake.

Tech drag: Technology stock pulled down US shares as traders braced for more rate hikes this week. The S&P 500's losses exceeded 1%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 dropped nearly 2% before trimming declines. Both indexes were weighed by declines in Microsoft, Apple, Nvidia and Tesla.

Huawei scrutiny: The Biden administration is considering cutting off Huawei from all of its American suppliers, including Intel and Qualcomm, as the US government intensifies a crackdown on the Chinese technology sector.

EV Price Cuts: Ford will slash the price of its electric Mustang Mach-E by an average of $4,500 in response to Tesla's own recent cuts, stepping up the price wars in a slowing EV market. The discount comes on a model that Ford describes as unprofitable, but the automaker said it hopes to offset further margin deterioration by boosting production 67% this year.

• Australia December retail sales and private sector credit data due

Biting: A food blogger in China was fined $18,500 after posting a video showing her illegally buying and eating a great white shark. The clip went viral as many users complained. China officially clamped down on shark fin soup a decade ago, but consumption of some exotic animals remains popular.