The Point for Australia/NZ

Research evidence excerpt

The Point for Australia/NZ

Point |

Monday, 20 July 2026

Company | Industry | Global

Company

Coles Group Ltd (COL.AX) - Greencross not a purr-fect match for Coles

Coles announced that it has discontinued talks with TPG regarding the potential

acquisition of Greencross. We believe this is at least partly due to the negative

investor feedback surrounding the deal. We had several concerns with the

acquisition that were shared by investors from our extensive conversations in

recent days. As previously discussed, we’ve long argued in favour of capital

management to capitalise on balance sheet strength. Perhaps Coles will pursue

capital management in due course.

Adrian Lemme, CFA

Industry

Australia/NZ Economics - Key AU/NZ data forecasts for the week beginning July

We expect New Zealand's Q2 CPI to print the strongest quarterly result in almost

four years, driven almost entirely by a significant spike in fuel prices. This surge in

tradeables inflation was anticipated by the RBNZ and masks a much more

subdued 0.4% increase in non-tradeables. In Australia, we forecast a 20k

employment gain for June, reflecting seasonal moderation after a particularly

strong May. With the participation rate expected to hold steady, the

unemployment rate should tick down to 4.3%. Risks to our Australian employment

forecast, however, are skewed to the downside.

Josh Williamson | Faraz Syed

Global

Global Economics - Global Central Bank Monitor

Our global central bank monitor highlights that monetary policy is looking less

supportive this year than prior to the conflict in the Middle East, as the conflict has

kept inflation risks elevated and limited the scope for easing. Markets continue to

underscore these inflationary risks, with pricing for major DM central banks still