Crypto News: Inflation test for hot trade

Good morning, it's Jackie here in Sydney. Here's what we're watching this morning…

Today's must-reads:
• Aussie dollar-Kiwi trade in spotlight
• Silver Lake joins bid for AirTrunk
• RBA reform talks

Traders have been snapping up options betting Australia's dollar will outperform its New Zealand rival since late June, amid speculation the former will hike interest rates while the latter will cut them. The hot hedge fund trade faces a crucial test in Wednesday's domestic inflation data.

Silver Lake is joining a consortium backed by IFM and DigitalBridge in the bidding for Australian data center operator AirTrunk, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Australia's government and opposition are in talks to try to break a deadlock over legislation that would split the RBA's board into two new bodies, even as tensions persist over the composition of a monetary policy committee.

Mercer is sticking with its poor-performing overweight yen exposure in multi-asset funds in anticipation of multiple interest-rate increases by the Bank of Japan over the next couple of years.

Australian equity futures pointed to declines after US stocks edged up ahead of major central bank decisions and earnings from four megacaps worth nearly $10 trillion.

High-grade and junk borrowers are rushing the debt market ahead of the flurry of interest-rate decisions. Netflix, for one, is holding an investor call to sound out interest in what would be its first high-grade bond sale.

Venezuela named opposition leader María Corina Machado as a key suspect in alleged electoral sabotage, escalating tensions while the result of the presidential vote is under dispute from both the opposition and international community. Hundreds of Venezuelans have taken to the streets to protest what they say is a fraudulent win by Nicolás Maduro.

Demonstrators take to the street to protest the presidential election results in Caracas on July 29, 2024. Photographer: Raul Arboleda/AFP

Japan, South Korea and China were leading the race for gold as of early evening in Paris. Track the medals count here. Highlights included Novak Djokovic defeating Rafael Nadal in the second round of men's tennis, and Mollie O'Callaghan pipping fellow Australian Ariarne Titmus for a swimming title.

Beijing would prefer Donald Trump in the White House because he's less likely to aid Taiwan, Bloomberg Opinion's Karishma Vaswani writes. While China loathed the instability he brought to ties when president, he's a known quantity, unlike Kamala Harris.

All times Sydney
• 11:30 a.m.: Australia June Building Approvals

After decades of deflation, many smaller Japanese companies don't know how to ask for more money, preventing a healthy wage-price cycle from taking root. Read today's Big Take on the ongoing challenges in Japan.