📡 Guessing from Afar
Why bother showing up if the machine already knows?
Also available:🇫🇷 Édition française
Good morning!
Fact-based reporting is finished, and the future belongs to a genre christened inferential journalism: a weak signal, a little context, 1,200 words, $5 a month. The doctrine comes off the Swiss conference circuit, where mathematicians and think-tank presidents are seated alphabetically. Evidence for the revolution: analytical newsletters are doing nicely, and think tanks now recruit journalists while newsrooms recruit think-tankers. A think-tank president concluding that value is migrating towards think tanks is a market study commissioned, conducted and peer-reviewed by the market, and the findings are encouraging.
The word already has an owner, and it is not a newsroom: Nvidia booked $89B of data-centre revenue in the three months to July, sold almost entirely on inference and priced by the token, because inference is the layer of the stack whose unit cost collapses with every generation of silicon. Substack, across all of 2025, paid its writers roughly $450M, or about 11 hours of Nvidia’s takings. Value is indeed shifting towards inference. It is shifting towards whoever owns the racks rather than whoever owns the byline, and a genre that defines itself by its capacity to spin plausible commentary out of thin evidence has picked an unfortunate moment to argue about margins with a machine built to do that for a fraction of a cent.
None of which makes the genre disreputable. Bagehot spent the 1870s explaining the City to itself without filing a single document request, and a press that merely relays what it is handed is a communications department with better typography. The diagnosis is also, irritatingly, correct. Newsrooms did cut the expensive part first, and the expensive part was always the reporter on a train. Dressing that amputation up as the market rewarding a superior epistemology is the sleight of hand. The market rewards inference roughly the way it rewards sports punditry: generously, continuously, and without ever checking afterwards.
The United States has shed close to 3,500 newspapers and more than 270,000 newspaper jobs since 2005, 136 of those titles in the past year alone. Some 213 counties now have no local news outlet at all, and another 1,524 are down to one. Those are the places where zoning votes, plea bargains and municipal bond issues happen unobserved, and where the raw material for all this elegant interpretation quietly stops being produced. No amount of inference brings a court docket into existence. Somebody has to drive there and read it, and that somebody is being made redundant by a theory that flatters everyone still holding a microphone. Whatever gets decided in those rooms will be inferred eventually, from a comfortable distance, accurately enough, and much too late for the people it was decided about.
A Free Lunch is looking for a business partner or advertising agency to monetize its ads. Contact us!
🗞️ Top Story
- 🇩🇪 Plot Twist. German authorities arrested a 24-year-old Iraqi suspected of planning an Islamic State-inspired attack on a church in Bremen, with charges including forming a terrorist group and weapons violations. (Die Zeit)
- 🇵🇱 Drone Alone. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warns that Russia plans drone and missile attacks on Ukraine’s allies, aiming to fracture NATO unity in Eastern Europe. (Spiegel)
- 🇸🇪 Left on Red. Sweden’s left bloc narrowly wins the parliamentary election, forcing Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson to resign as Magdalena Andersson eyes a fragile comeback. (Le Figaro)
- 🇪🇺 United Front. The publicly sides with Saudi Arabia, demanding the Houthis end their assaults after the latest round of deadly confrontations. (Le Monde)
- 🇷🇺 Party Line. Russia holds its first parliamentary elections since invading Ukraine, with United Russia and Vladimir Putin set to keep an unshakeable grip on the Duma. (Ouest-France)
- 🇻🇪 Meet the New Boss. Nine months after Maduro’s removal, the UN documents that Delcy Rodríguez’s government preserves the same apparatus of political persecution and human rights abuses, just with new faces at the top. (El Pais)
- 🇮🇷 Strike Two. A UN mission accuses the US of war crimes in Iran after deadly missile strikes, but Washington dismisses the findings as baseless. (CNBC)
- 🇾🇪 Advance Notice. Iranian-backed Houthi militants are ramping up their offensive on Marib, putting Yemen’s government and millions of civilians on high alert for fresh upheaval. (New York Times)
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- 🇬🇧 Pound of Flesh. Reform UK’s coffers swell with donations from Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne, but critics wonder what the crypto titans expect in return for their generosity. (Financial Times)
- 🇬🇧 Zero Hour. UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham calls for an unwavering national push to reach net zero emissions by 2050, dismissing climate denial as obsolete. (The Guardian)
🇺🇸 United States
- 🇺🇸 Blanche Check. Attorney General Todd Blanche has repeatedly stumped for GOP candidates and criticized Democrats, discarding the Justice Department’s tradition of staying out of electoral politics. (New York Times)
🏛️ Economy
- 🇬🇧 Hold Steady. The Bank of England keeps rates unchanged at 3.75% as inflation stays stubborn and the board remains split on next steps. (Boursier)
- 🇪🇸 Below Deck. For the first time since February 2020, Spain’s public debt has slipped under 100% of GDP, with the government quick to claim victory. (France Info)
- 🇪🇺 Trade and Prejudice. Trump brands the EU-Canada association plan « laughable » and vows tariffs or trade freezes if Brussels goes ahead, keeping the transatlantic drama alive. (Boursier)
- 🇺🇦 Deficit of Champions. Ukraine’s 2027 budget reveals a $52.6B funding gap driven by record military spending, with Kyiv banking on Western partners to keep the lights on and the frontlines supplied. (Le Figaro)
- 🇷🇺 Asset Matryoshka. Russia orders the assets of Nestlé 🇨🇭, Auchan 🇫🇷, and Lemana Pro (ex-Leroy Merlin 🇫🇷) transferred to a single local firm, L.E.V. Management, consolidating Western holdings under one Russian roof. (Le Figaro)
- 🇺🇸 Jet Set Go. The Trump administration pushes a $24.3B sale of 48 F-35 jets to Saudi Arabia, brushing aside intelligence fears about Chinese tech access. (New York Times)
- 🇺🇸 Content Cannibalism. Unsealed filings show OpenAI 🇺🇸 and Microsoft 🇺🇸 staff predicted their AI would undermine publishers’ survival, yet still scraped news sites for data. (Wall Street Journal)
- 🇺🇸 Public Option. Alex Karp of Palantir argues that the dangers posed by advanced AI could force the to nationalize leading AI labs to manage legal and safety risks. (CNBC)
- 🇺🇸 Tsar Quality. Kushner and Witkoff’s Moscow mission ended with Putin unmoved and Trump’s envoys praising the Kremlin, not securing a single concession. (Le Figaro)
- 🇻🇪 Gold Standard. Venezuela and its opposition are close to a deal to move $4B in central bank gold from the Bank of England to the Federal Reserve in New York, ending a seven-year tug-of-war over the bullion. (Financial Times)
- 🇯🇵 Rate Race. The Bank of Japan hikes its benchmark rate to 1.25%, marking its fastest tightening since 1995 as inflation and the weak yen bite. (Wall Street Journal)
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- 🇬🇧 Home Truths. A UK tribunal decided that John Griffin, founder of Addison Lee 🇬🇧, is firmly domiciled in England and owes £20.5M in tax. (The Guardian)
🇺🇸 United States
- 🇺🇸 Ban Aid. With fuel prices spiking before the midterms, Trump is considering a fuel export ban as his last move to calm the market. (Wall Street Journal)
- 🇺🇸 Crude Awakening. Three Democratic senators demand answers from the Trump administration about billions in Venezuelan oil revenue held in a US-controlled account, questioning where the money is actually going. (Washington Post)
- 🇺🇸 Slip Service. Fewer Americans filed for unemployment last week, with claims hitting 196,000 and putting more pressure on policymakers debating rate hikes. (Wall Street Journal)
🏢 Real Estate
- 🇨🇳 Bid and Seek. Private equity firms including PAG 🇭🇰, Warburg Pincus 🇺🇸, and Trustar Capital 🇨🇳 are preparing new offers for Evergrande Property Services after a previous deal collapsed. (Bloomberg)
🇺🇸 United States
- 🇺🇸 Gridlock Games. Senator Martin Heinrich blocks a bipartisan bill aimed at curbing electricity costs from data centers, insisting tougher rules are needed and derailing a Republican win before midterms. (Washington Post)
- 🇺🇸 Name Drop. President Trump threatens demolition of the Kennedy Center unless his name is added, prompting a judge to require 30 days’ notice before any such move. (CNBC)
- 🇺🇸 Brick and Stall. August saw home-building activity slow down, with fewer housing starts signaling a market taking a breather. (Wall Street Journal)
🔗 On-chain
- 🇺🇸 Ticker Shock. The SEC opens the door to tokenized stock trading, setting the stage for round-the-clock markets while Congress sits this one out. (CNBC)
💱 Listed Markets
- 🇫🇷 French Intelligence. Thales launches HexaForce, positioning itself as Europe’s answer to Palantir in the race for AI-driven military command systems. (Le Figaro)
- 🇸🇪 Model Behavior. Volvo Cars 🇸🇪 plans to launch 13 new models by 2030 and aims to more than double its profit margin to over 8 percent. (Boursier)
- 🇺🇸 Cloud Nine Figures. Salesforce 🇺🇸 sets its sights on $63B in annual revenue by 2030, aiming to outpace Wall Street’s more modest forecasts. (Wall Street Journal)
- 🇺🇸 Think Tanked. Google and DeepMind unveil a new institute to air out disagreements on AGI, with essays already pushing for more transparency and tougher standards. (TechCrunch)
- 🇮🇳 Status Update. Meta faces the loss of its intermediary status India as the government demands tougher action on child safety following a BBC exposé on Instagram ads. (Financial Times)
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- 🇬🇧 Irony Deficiency. British Steel remains in public hands with no viable future mapped out, while watchdogs call Labour’s approach expensive and unsustainable. (The Guardian)
- 🇬🇧 Heat Gains. Next 🇬🇧 raises its annual profit forecast for the fourth time this year, crediting a surprise sales boost from unseasonably warm weather. (The Guardian)
🇺🇸 United States
- 🇺🇸 Motor City Defense. General Motors 🇺🇸 will start producing parts for Lockheed Martin 🇺🇸 Patriot missiles as the scrambles to restock its depleted arsenal. (Wall Street Journal)
- 🇺🇸 Label Fable. The FTC is being pressed by senators to examine if Amazon 🇺🇸 and Walmart 🇺🇸 chatbots obscure the truth about American-made products. (Wall Street Journal)
🛎️ Big Deals (M&A)
- Vitruvian Partners 🇬🇧 acquires Fever 🇪🇸 from Atresmedia 🇪🇸 for €227M.
- Joe Lewis’ family 🇬🇧 injects an additional $160M into Tottenham Hotspur FC 🇬🇧.
- Air France-KLM 🇫🇷 is willing to offer Portugal a stake as part of its bid for a 50% stake in nationalized flag carrier TAP Air Portugal 🇵🇹.
- Hy24 🇫🇷 and COFIDES 🇪🇸 to acquire a combined 29% stake in Moeve‘s 🇪🇸 Onuba renewable hydrogen project.
- Playtomic 🇪🇸 acquires TIMP 🇪🇸, a SaaS platform for managing gyms, sports centers, and fitness and wellness businesses.
- Portuguese government 🇵🇹 short-lists six investors to submit non-binding offers for a 75% stake in Azores Airlines 🇵🇹.
- Wide Media Group 🇬🇷 acquires radio stations KISS FM 🇬🇷 and REBEL FM 🇬🇷, along with the frequency formerly hosting LYRA FM 🇬🇷.
- Glencore 🇨🇭 and InfraVia Capital Partners 🇫🇷 are among suitors for a stake in Eramet’s Argentine lithium operation 🇦🇷.
- Envestnet 🇺🇸 to acquire portfolio management technology firm Vestmark 🇺🇸.
- Clearlake Capital 🇺🇸 acquires Mark Walter and Todd Boehly’s combined 25% stake in Chelsea FC 🇬🇧 at a $6.7B valuation including debt.
- National Fuel Gas 🇺🇸 explores options for its integrated natural gas production business, valued at $5B.
- Starbucks 🇺🇸 considers selling a majority stake in its Japan business 🇯🇵 at a $3B valuation.
- KKR 🇺🇸 emerges as the preferred bidder for Logoplaste 🇵🇹, owned by Canada’s OTPP, at a potential $2B valuation.
- Advent 🇺🇸, Blackstone 🇺🇸, Cinven 🇬🇧, and KKR 🇺🇸 are weighing bids for German data center cooling systems maker Güntner 🇩🇪 in a potential $1.2B sale.
- Sword Health 🇺🇸 acquires meditation and mental health app Headspace 🇺🇸 for $300M in cash.
- Sazerac 🇺🇸 is in talks to acquire German schnapps maker Berentzen-Gruppe 🇩🇪, valued at $40M.
- GFL Environmental 🇨🇦 is open to a $18B take-private deal.
- Cohere 🇨🇦 and Aleph Alpha 🇩🇪 merge to form a $20B company.
- Brookfield 🇨🇦 acquires Australian plumbing supplies company Reliance Worldwide 🇦🇺 for $2.9B in an all-cash deal, representing a 32% premium.
- MMG 🇦🇺 faces potential EU antitrust action over its planned acquisition of Anglo American 🇬🇧’s Brazilian nickel business.
- Qatar Sports Investments 🇶🇦 acquires Belgian second-division football club KAS Eupen 🇧🇪.
🇺🇸 United States
- Fertitta Entertainment 🇺🇸 to merge with Caesars Entertainment 🇺🇸 in a roughly $5.7B deal. The FTC has requested additional information.
- GeoNova Capital 🇦🇪 commits $10M as lead investor and corporate adviser to NovaGen Group 🇳🇱 following its proposed business combination with Veea 🇺🇸.
🧳 Private Markets & VC
- 🇫🇷 Green Light District. France’s AMF has approved the takeover of Clint Capital by Maresquier Partners, letting the deal proceed though the final price and closing date remain undisclosed. (Lebriefpatrimonial)
- 🇵🇹 Counsel Estate. Paul Weiss partner Neel Sachdev swaps legal briefs for blueprints as he develops an 11-villa project near Faro, turning his side hustle into a full-court press on the Algarve. (Financial Times)
- 🇪🇺 EuroVision. The Scaleup Europe Fund eyes a stake in ElevenLabs 🇬🇧 as the London voice AI firm chases a $500M raise and a louder European presence. (Sifted)
- 🇺🇸 Metric System. Anthropic unveils three new metrics to help AI companies track how fast their technology is advancing, just as CEO Dario Amodei urges a slowdown. (CNBC)
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- 🇨🇭 Licence to Bill. Revolut 🇬🇧 seeks a Swiss banking license and promises $182M in local investment, hoping to add a genuine Swiss stamp to its global ambitions. (Siliconrepublic)
Fundraising
- Crusoe 🇺🇸 (Data centers): $3.9B (Atreides Management, Mubadala Capital, Valor Equity Partners, Founders Fund, GIC, Nvidia, Qatar Investment Authority, Radical Ventures, TPG)
- Siguler Guff 🇺🇸 (Private equity): $3B
- Zipline 🇺🇸 (Mobility): $1B
- D-Robotics 🇭🇰 (Robotics): $400M
- barq 🇸🇦 (Fintech): $329.5M (Noon Investments, Sohar International Bank, M20 Fund)
- Impulse Space 🇺🇸 (Mobility): $308M (137 Ventures, BANNER VC, DFJ Growth, Linse Capital, Lux Capital, Valor Equity Partners)
- Anew Labs 🇨🇳 (Biotech): $290M (HSG, IDG Capital, GL Ventures, 5Y Capital)
- Fever 🇪🇸 (Entertainment): $250M (EQT)
- Ridgeline 🇺🇸 (Fintech): $250M (Dave Duffield)
- EnduroSat 🇧🇬 (Spacetech): $205M (€178M) (Riot Ventures, Atreides Management, European Innovation Council, Google Ventures, Founders Fund, House Capital, Lux Capital, Omnes Capital, Giant Ventures, Emphatic Capital, Endeavor Catalyst)
- Factory 🇺🇸 (AI): $200M (Blackstone, Khosla Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Insight Partners, Evantic Capital, Sound Ventures, NEA, Mantis VC, Clearlake, Nico Rosberg, Brad Gerstner, Marc Benioff)
- Fortell 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $163M (Founders Fund, Thrive Capital, Valor Equity Partners)
- Ayar Labs 🇺🇸 (Semiconductors): $150M
- Arcee AI 🇺🇸 (AI): At least $150M (Vista Equity Partners, Cambium Capital, Emergence Capital, AI10 Ventures, Hitachi, IAG, M12, P7, Wipro)
- Mazama Energy 🇺🇸 (Energy): $135M (Centaurus Capital, Doerr Capital, ConocoPhillips, Shell Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Gates Frontier, SiteGround Capital, H. Barton Asset Management, Jeffrey and Marieke Rothschild Foundation)
- CADDi 🇯🇵 (AI): $114M (Moore Strategic Ventures, Coreline Ventures)
- Model ML 🇺🇸 (AI): Over $100M
- Ayan Capital 🇬🇧 (Fintech): £75M (Triple Point)
- MIND 🇺🇸 (Cybersecurity): $72M (Crosspoint Capital Partners, YL Ventures, Paladin Capital Group)
- Raindrop 🇺🇸 (AI): $50M (CRV, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Y Combinator, OpenAI researchers, Anthropic researchers, Thinking Machines researchers)
- Luzern Risk 🇺🇸 (Insurtech): $45M (Insight Partners, Trust Ventures, Caffeinated Capital)
- BackOps 🇺🇸 (AI): $42M (Insight Partners, Theory Ventures, Construct Capital, Gradient Ventures, 10VC)
- Noetive 🇺🇸 (AI): $41M (Eclipse, Craft Ventures, The Westly Group, Swish Ventures, Factory, Incite Ventures, Gigascale Capital, Operator Partners, Liquid 2 Ventures, Zach Frenkel)
- TypeSafe AI 🇺🇸 (AI): $40M (DCVC)
- Rune 🇺🇸 (Computing): $40M (Spark Capital)
- Comp AI 🇺🇸 (Cybersecurity): $34M (Roo Capital, Grand Ventures)
- Adaptive 🇺🇸 (Proptech): $30M (Tidemark, Emergence Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Pathlight, Definition, 3KVC)
- Footprint 🇺🇸 (AI): $25M (QED Investors, MUFG, Commerce Ventures, LightBank, Alumni Ventures, Index Ventures, Lerer Hippeau, BoxGroup, Operator Partners, Animal Capital)
- Kastle 🇺🇸 (Fintech): $24M (Insight Partners, Y Combinator, Commerce Ventures, Fifth Wall)
- Viabot 🇺🇸 (Robotics): $24M (Walden International, CDIB Capital Group, Stalwart Ventures, Baseline Ventures, Era Ventures, Morado Ventures, SOSV)
- Buywander 🇺🇸 (Marketplace): $21M (Madrona Venture Group, Inspired Capital)
- FIZE Medical 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $20M (Asahi Kasei Medical, Rapha Capital Management)
- Ryft 🇬🇧 (Fintech): £20M (Gresham House Ventures, Pembroke VCT, Ingenii Capital)
- Polyphron 🇺🇸 (Biotech): $20M (Quiet Capital, Gradient, Haystack, Compound)
- Integral 🇩🇪 (Fintech): €18M (Mosaic Ventures, Reid Hoffman, Cherry Ventures, General Catalyst, Puzzle Ventures)
- Magentic 🇬🇧 (AI): $18M (Felicis, Sequoia Capital, TheWestlyGroup)
- Ayble Health 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $16M (Neon, Unum Ventures, Upfront Ventures, M13, Cleveland Clinic Ventures, DigiTx, Accomplice)
- Hello Haven 🇺🇸 (AI): $15M (Mayfield)
- Treble 🇮🇸 (AI): €15M (Paladin Capital Group, KOMPAS VC, Frumtak Ventures, European Innovation Council Fund)
- Tare (Fintech): $13.25M (Blockchain Capital)
- MicroLub 🇬🇧 (Foodtech): $10M (Northern Gritstone, NPIF II – PXN Equity Finance, PXN Ventures)
- syte 🇩🇪 (Proptech): €9M (amberra, NRW.BANK, Schwarz Group, High-Tech Gründerfonds, vent.io, Vantage Value)
- Ferry Health 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $9M (Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Index Ventures, Avid Ventures, Layout Ventures, SV Angel, Box Group, Asymmetric Capital, Jay Desai)
- Ravel 🇺🇸 (Recycling): $8.2M (One Small Planet, AP Ventures, Overlay Capital, Lichen Ventures, At One Ventures, Collateral Good, Betterway Ventures)
- Gaia Dynamics 🇺🇸 (Compliance): $7M (Corazon Capital, Lobby Capital, AI Fund, Zenda Capital)
- Creem 🇪🇪 (Fintech): €5M (Inovo VC, Practica Capital, Antler, Markus Villig, Timmu Tõke, Kaspar Tiri, Adam Jafer, Fryd Wiatrowski)
- Notes.fm 🇺🇸 (Music): $5M (Zach Bryan, Benny Blanco, Tainy, Ari Emanuel, Julie Greenwald, Sam Hendel, Foundations, Mick Management, Twenty Ten Management, Triple 8, KMGMT, Good Boy, Mexican Summer, Breakaway)
- Expanse 🇺🇸🇬🇧 (AI infrastructure): €4.5M (Crane Venture Partners, PXN Ventures, AIP Seed, angel investors)
- Health Force 🇪🇸 (HealthTech): €4.2M (LUMO Labs, Step Venture, Next Tier Ventures, Target Global, Calm/Storm)
- Eterna Regeneratives 🇬🇧 (Biotech): $4M (Hoxton Ventures, The Venture Collective)
- boxd 🇳🇱 (AI): €2M (BlueYard Capital, Antler, OVNI, s20, Script Capital, angel investors)
- Antfly 🇺🇸 (AI): $2M (Heavybit, 8-Bit Capital)
- Logibot 🇧🇪 (Robotics): €1.4M (BeamBerlin, RDY Ventures, PMV, BAN Business Angels)
- Nearby Computing 🇪🇸 (Cloud): €1.4M (Sociedad Española para la Transformación Tecnológica)
Fund Watch
- Blackstone 🇺🇸: $8B (renewables and digital infrastructure private credit fund, seeking to raise)
- Bain Capital Ventures 🇺🇸: $1.6B (11th venture fund, AI-focused)
- May Mobility 🇺🇸: $1.4B (merger with ACP Holdings Acquisition)
- Portage 🇨🇦: $600M (4th fintech fund)
- COFIDES 🇪🇸: €400M (Social Impact Fund, impact investment fund)
- Bpifrance 🇫🇷: €207M (InnoBio 3, 3rd biotech fund)
- Angelini Ventures 🇮🇹: €150M (co-investment facility with the European Investment Bank for European biotech, medtech and digital health startups)
- Brighteye Ventures 🇬🇧: $72M (1st close of 3rd fund, early-stage VC for education, work and human potential)
- Women TechEU 🇪🇺: €12M (3rd grant program for female-led deep tech startups)
- 2050 🇫🇷: management takeover of Galion.exe, seed tech and AI fund
🔔IPO
- Revolut 🇬🇧 (Fintech): targeting dual listings in London and on Nasdaq, with no timeline disclosed.
- KNDS 🇫🇷🇩🇪 (Defense): may delay its IPO until next year, targeting a $15B valuation.
- RWE 🇩🇪 (Energy): bought an additional 3% of M31, raising its Amprion stake to 58%.
- Plaud 🇺🇸 (Artificial Intelligence): plans to file for a U.S. IPO in 2028 after surpassing $1B in annual revenue.
- Holtec 🇺🇸 (Nuclear): suspended its $900M IPO amid concerns over the AI industry.
- Tata Sons 🇮🇳 (Conglomerate): plans to pursue a stock listing.
- National Stock Exchange of India 🇮🇳 (Exchanges): raised $2.4B an IPO priced at the top of the range.
🧳 Debt
- Romania 🇷🇴: will scale back its $11.5B eurobond issuance plan amid political uncertainty.
- Crux AI 🇺🇸: secured a $22B chip loan from a 10-bank group.
- Cedars-Sinai Health System 🇺🇸: considering a $2B municipal bond sale.
- SoftBank 🇯🇵: Apollo is considering increasing its NAV loan from $5.4B to $9B.
- The Executive Centre 🇭🇰: raised $585M in financing from Apollo.
🇺🇸 United States
- Leading U.S. car wash operator 🇺🇸: secured a $25M senior credit facility.
❌ Failures
- Ion Platform 🇮🇹: cut over 20% of its workforce amid pressure from $11B in debt and rising financing costs.
- Trustly 🇸🇪: the fintech is laying off 205 employees globally after reporting a SEK 534M loss in 2025.
- Pliva 🇭🇷: denied reports that 100 IT employees in Croatia were laid off.
🎯 For a Few More Minutes…
- 🇫🇷 Dream Control. A new podcast episode explores lucid dreaming, where 23% of French adults claim to steer their dreams at least twice a month, no sleep guru required. (Le Parisien)
- 🇮🇹 Glass Act. The Seguso family has kept Murano’s glassmaking tradition alive for 630 years, resisting rising costs and cheap imitations with every new generation. (Wall Street Journal)
- 🇺🇸 Grand Toe Auto. The ultra-detailed feet in the GTA VI trailer have become an unexpected fixation for fetishists, giving “attention to detail” a whole new meaning. (Libé)
THE NEWSLETTER
Your daily market recap (usually), minus the boring parts.
Free · zero spam · unsubscribe in one click
