🔥 Sneakers and Statements
Limoges survived world wars, but not Saturday night.
Good morning!
A war in the Gulf, a strait closed to tankers, and diesel pumps across Europe now carry a geopolitical surcharge. Every oil-importing democracy got the same invoice. France is simply paying it with a card the bank has started to eye suspiciously. Paris now pays more than Rome to borrow for ten years, at rates unseen in two decades. Not long ago, that sentence would have read as a typo. Each euro of fuel relief is priced by traders before it reaches a single tank, and Britain learned in 2022 that a prime minister who borrows for tax cuts and energy relief without asking the gilt market first is outlived by a lettuce. The street wants the state to spend. The market wants it to stop. Both are camped outside the same ministry, one in balaclavas, the other in pinstripes.
Last weekend, some 550K people marched peacefully against prices and crumbling schools. A fringe looted luxury boutiques and supermarkets with touching impartiality, then torched the 19th-century town hall of Limoges, in central France, a listed monument that had seen off two world wars. Police made nearly 2,400 arrests and counted close to 1,000 injured in their own ranks. In Marseille, the authorities tallied 30K looters, a figure the mayor called fanciful, so the city is now haggling over the headcount of its own burglars. Across the Atlantic, the president whose war sent pump prices into orbit posted that France was burning, with the glee of an arsonist reviewing the fire brigade. Belgians, Italians and Portuguese took to the streets against living costs the same day.
The French state deserves much of what is thrown at it, paving stones excepted. It spends 57% of GDP, one of the highest ratios in the rich world, and still lets classes swell to 35 teenagers, a load factor worthy of a budget airline. For the privilege, households and firms pay one of the heaviest tax bills in the OECD. Decades of deficits bought neither decent schools nor a cushion for the next shock. That anger is earned. The fire is not. A looted sneaker shop is not a fiscal position, and blurring the two suits everyone in charge: the government gets to discuss public order instead of its budget, and its loudest opponents get to discuss legitimate rage instead of their own spending plans.
Before the weekend, more than 8,000 secondary-school pupils had already been arrested, most of them minors. In one city, a 17-year-old lost his right hand to a crowd-control grenade. In another, a girl of the same age lost an eye. The bond market will price the damage in basis points. Nobody has a model for what a country owes a teenager who marched for a teacher and came home without a hand.
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🗞️ Top Story
- 🇫🇷 State of Disarray. France reels after nationwide protests spiral into riots, with 1,200 arrests and city halls from Limoges to Marseille set ablaze overnight. (New York Times)
- 🇮🇹 Rage Against the Machine. Violent youth protests inspired by France erupted across Milan and other Italian cities, leaving 200 detained and shops looted while police scrambled to restore order. (El Pais)
- 🇵🇱 Airspace Oddity. Poland's military is investigating after an unidentified object may have violated its airspace and possibly crashed near Lublin overnight, raising security concerns. (Bloomberg)
- 🇷🇺 Command and Deceit. Researchers uncovered a list of explicit AI prompts used by Russian operatives to generate fake news, revealing step-by-step instructions for manipulating coverage of France and Ukraine. (Ouest-France)
- 🇺🇸 Déjà Vote. Trump’s old claims about rigged nursing homes and fraudulent mail ballots are back in the spotlight, now with federal resources chasing ghosts just in time for the midterms. (New York Times)
- 🇨🇦 Fire Drill. A live-fire training exercise at Alberta’s Wainwright military base triggered a deadly blaze, with authorities confirming several casualties and a hospital disaster protocol. (BBC)
- 🇧🇷 Trading Blows. Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro spent their first televised debate hurling insults and corruption accusations at each other, one week before Brazil's runoff election. (Die Zeit)
- 🇻🇪 Remote Control. Maria Corina Machado, operating from exile in Panama, is confirmed as the opposition’s leader as her party pushes for new elections. (Le Temps)
- 🌍 Wild Guess. Nearly 200 countries gather in Armenia for the 17th COP on biodiversity, hoping to revive stalled efforts to protect nature as the 2030 targets drift further out of reach. (France Info)
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- 🇬🇧 Motion in Motion. Zack Polanski confirms the Green Party’s controversial “Zionism is racism” policy will remain in place for at least two years, citing party rules over leadership intervention. (BBC)
- 🇬🇧 Back in the Loop. UK home secretary Shabana Mahmood heads to Brussels hoping to restore access to EU law enforcement databases after years of Brexit blackout. (The Guardian)
- 🇬🇧 Private Eyes. After NHS staff were caught snooping on victims’ medical records, Health Secretary Yvette Cooper says it is “disgraceful” and promises disciplinary action. (BBC)
- 🇬🇧 Star Power. Scotland's First Minister John Swinney claims "the stars are aligning" for independence, rallying the SNP conference with talk of momentum and unionist weakness. (BBC)
🇺🇸 United States
- 🇺🇸 Trail Mix. Donald Trump launches a coast-to-coast campaign blitz while his White House unravels in a fresh cascade of scandals and infighting, dragging down GOP midterm hopes. (New York Times)
🏛️ Economy
- 🇬🇧 Risky Business. The UK’s finance sector faces a major AI shakeup, with automation threatening jobs in one of the country’s largest industries and exports. (Bloomberg)
- 🇬🇧 Walkout Call. Andrew Bailey and several European finance chiefs left an IMF meeting when Russia’s finance minister began speaking, making their disapproval public. (The Guardian)
- 🇩🇪 Piggy Bankers. Germany will start private retirement accounts for children as young as 6, with the state contributing €10 per month until they turn 18. Apparently, it is never too early to bet on the markets for your golden years. (Boursier)
- 🇪🇺 Rate Race. Soaring interest rates across Europe and the US have upended the savings landscape, forcing investors to rethink every safe bet they thought they had. (Le Monde)
- 🇳🇴 Frozen Assets. Norway’s $2T sovereign wealth fund may soon be allowed to invest in defense giants like Lockheed Martin and Boeing, as the government reviews its ethics rules. (CNBC)
- 🇺🇸 Interest Rates. The White House delays fresh Russia sanctions and tariffs at the last minute, citing national interest over congressional intent. (CNBC)
- 🇺🇸 Debt and Circuses. Trump pledged fiscal discipline but delivered a $1.99T deficit for 2026, the largest since 2021, as spending outpaced revenue and the debt mountain grew ever higher. (Spiegel)
- 🇺🇸 Fuel's Errand. The Trump administration scraps incoming penalties on Russian diesel exports, letting nearly 2M tons flow to the and global markets. (Boursier)
- 🇻🇪 Crude Awakening. Venezuela claims it will attract $76B in oil and gas investment over five years, hoping private capital can revive its battered energy sector. (Bloomberg)
- 🇨🇳 AI of the Tiger. China’s third-quarter growth reached 4.5%, with artificial intelligence exports roaring ahead even as consumers and property developers hit the brakes. (Financial Times)
- 🇦🇺 Scroll Control. The Australian government proposes a legal "off switch" for social media algorithms, demanding platforms give users the power to escape their curated echo chambers. (BBC)
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- 🇬🇧 Switch Tax. Ofgem is considering forcing UK energy suppliers to pay a fee to rivals when poaching customers with cheaper deals, hoping to prevent more firms from collapsing this winter. (The Guardian)
🇺🇸 United States
- 🇺🇸 Pump and Circumstance. In Gorda, California, gas prices have hit $10 a gallon, turning a roadside pit stop into a luxury experience for lost travelers. (New York Times)
- 🇺🇸 Poll Position. With the economy’s trajectory under President Trump a matter of debate, voters will judge his second-term record at the midterms next month. (Wall Street Journal)
🏢 Real Estate
- 🇫🇷 Field of Screens. Google faces mounting protests over its plan to build a massive data center on 195 hectares of farmland in Berry, as locals decry the environmental cost of digital progress. (Le Monde)
- 🇩🇪 Public Domain. Berlin’s left parties move toward forming a government that could seize thousands of apartments from real estate firms, aiming to slash rents if the compensation bill remains under €16B. (El Pais)
- 🇺🇸 Suite Escape. New York City's Airbnb ban wiped out most listings, but some determined hosts have found creative ways to keep booking guests. (Wall Street Journal)
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- 🇬🇧 Price Choppers. More than 3,000 UK home sellers slashed asking prices each day in September, the highest rate in 15 years, as buyers hold out for bargains and sellers face a reality check. (BBC)
- 🇬🇧 Current Affairs. Microsoft has abandoned the planned Nscale AI datacentre in Essex, citing power supply worries and leaving the UK’s largest project without its main client. (The Guardian)
🇺🇸 United States
- 🇨🇦 Starter Pack. Canada’s housing starts rose 2.8% in September to 249K units, beating forecasts, but the long-term supply gap remains the real story. (Wall Street Journal)
🔗 On-chain
- 🇺🇸 Vault Face. Crypto lending vaults have attracted over $10B in deposits, drawing regulatory scrutiny as investors chase high yields in riskier corners of DeFi. (Financial Times)
💱 Listed Markets
- 🇬🇧 Ticket to Ride. Sony Pictures 🇯🇵 will release four Beatles biopics on the same day in 2028 and plans bundled tickets to ensure no Beatle is left behind at the box office. (Le Figaro)
- 🇬🇧 Risky Business. Barclays 🇬🇧 faces scrutiny from the Bank of England over allegations that traders disguised illiquid private credit exposure as easily traded assets, raising questions about regulatory compliance. (Financial Times)
- 🇬🇧 Gridlocked. Microsoft has abandoned plans to lease Nscale’s Essex data centre due to a years-long delay in connecting to the UK power grid, casting a shadow over Nscale’s AI supercomputer dreams. (Financial Times)
- 🇮🇹 App Lazarus. Bending Spoons gets a $300M boost from Berkshire Hathaway to snap up unloved software brands, betting there is life after digital death. (CNBC)
- 🇪🇺 Engine Room. Stellantis is recruiting hundreds of engineers in Europe and the US, betting that more brains will fuel its comeback. (Bloomberg)
- 🇺🇸 Fountain of Youth. After decades of Pepsi exclusivity, KFC is switching to Coca-Cola for its soda fountains in over 3,000 restaurants, ending a fizzy era. (Wall Street Journal)
- 🇺🇸 Vice City Limits. Rockstar Games 🇺🇸 nearly doubled its staff and reworked its entire production culture to deliver Grand Theft Auto VI with less crunch and even higher expectations. (Bloomberg)
- 🇯🇵 Board Games. An independent committee concluded Nidec 🇯🇵 founder Shigenobu Nagamori is on the hook for damages from improper accounting, sending shares into freefall and sparking talk of privatization. (Bloomberg)
- 🇵🇭 Bill Pay Day. The digital wallet GCash will go public in a $1B IPO, giving Southeast Asia its biggest tech listing of 2024 and a much-needed jolt of investor confidence. (Financial Times)
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- 🇬🇧 Glossy Finish. Condé Nast 🇬🇧 saw UK profits fall 36% to £18M as restructuring costs bit, but the owners insist a sale is off the table for now. (The Guardian)
- 🇬🇧 Tap Dance. Apple faces a showdown with the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority, which wants to force open iPhone’s tap-to-pay system to rival payment providers, threatening Apple Pay’s dominance. (Financial Times)
- 🇬🇧 Trust Issues. Dozens of NHS trusts across England are rejecting Palantir 🇺🇸's £330M patient data platform, calling it redundant or inferior to existing systems. (The Guardian)
- 🇬🇧 Yield of Dreams. UK dividend payments soared 14% to £28.4B in Q3, their highest since 2019, but yields now lag behind government bonds by a record margin. (Financial Times)
🛎️ Big Deals (M&A)
- Signal Ocean 🇬🇧 has acquired software developer Lgmar 🇬🇷, creator of maritime communications and email platform Telix.
- Mistral 🇫🇷 has announced the acquisition of British AI design and product studio New Material 🇬🇧.
- 3Pay 🇫🇷 has acquired the assets and team of MoneyTrack 🇫🇷, a fintech specializing in payment control and security, alongside a €1.5M funding round.
- Shell France 🇫🇷 has selected DCC Energy 🇮🇪 as the acquirer of its French service-station network, comprising 70 stations, 8 LNG sites and 107 EV charging points.
- Lufthansa 🇩🇪 is in talks to take full control of TAP 🇵🇹 for $1.5B after winning a bid for a 49.9% stake for $1.3B.
- UniCredit 🇮🇹 has received ECB approval to take control of Commerzbank 🇩🇪 through its €45B hostile takeover bid, after raising its stake to 48%.
- Amancio Ortega 🇪🇸 acquires One North Wacker 🇺🇸, a Chicago office tower, for $550M.
- Cerealis 🇵🇹 is in exclusive talks to acquire French pasta and sauce maker Panzani 🇫🇷. The combined group would generate about €1B in revenue.
- EQT 🇸🇪 has agreed to acquire U.S. real estate investment manager Stockbridge 🇺🇸 for an initial consideration of $375M.
- Accenture 🇮🇪 is exploring the sale of its Greater China operations for up to $1.5B, with JPMorgan advising.
- CVC 🇱🇺 and Nippon Sangyo Suishin Kiko 🇯🇵 are weighing a joint $3.2B bid for health products maker Kobayashi Pharmaceutical 🇯🇵.
- Richemont 🇨🇭 and Signet Jewelers 🇺🇸 are in talks to join the Global Diamond Consortium in acquiring De Beers 🇿🇦 from Anglo American 🇬🇧 for potentially $1B.
- Proofpoint 🇺🇸 has agreed to acquire data-security company Varonis Systems 🇺🇸 for $6.3B, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval.
- Tesla 🇺🇸 and SpaceX 🇺🇸 may announce plans to merge before December.
- Motown Acquisition Corp. 🇺🇸 will take private Penske Automotive 🇺🇸 at a $16.3B valuation including debt, representing a 10% premium.
- Lone Star 🇺🇸 and Atlas Holdings 🇺🇸 are exploring bids for International Paper 🇺🇸’s EMEA packaging business, which could fetch $6B.
- GTCR 🇺🇸 and Elliott 🇺🇸 have agreed to acquire CCC Intelligent Solutions 🇺🇸 for $4.6B, a 45% premium.
- Custom Ink 🇺🇸, backed by Great Hill Partners 🇺🇸, is exploring a $1.5B sale.
- Labcorp 🇺🇸 to acquire BioReference Health 🇺🇸's laboratory testing operations from Opko Health 🇺🇸 for $722M in cash.
- The Knot Worldwide 🇺🇸 has agreed to acquire Zola 🇺🇸. The wedding-planning platform is owned by Permira 🇬🇧.
- Charlesbank 🇺🇸 has completed an investment in Wood Smith Henning & Berman 🇺🇸, valuing the insurance-defense law firm at about $700M through a management services organization.
- Fairfax Financial 🇨🇦 will acquire a 60% stake in IDBI Bank 🇮🇳 for $6B.
- Cohere 🇨🇦 has agreed to acquire AI cybersecurity software startup Aisle 🇨🇦.
- SoftBank 🇯🇵 is in early-stage talks to acquire U.S. security group Allied Universal 🇺🇸 for nearly $30B including debt.
- IOI Properties Group 🇲🇾 is in exclusive talks to acquire Chijmes 🇸🇬 and Capitol Kempinski 🇸🇬 in Singapore for $770M.
- Varroc Engineering 🇮🇳 has agreed to acquire a 45% stake in Forsee Power India 🇮🇳, forming a joint venture with Forsee Power 🇫🇷 for electric-vehicle battery packs in India.
- Dubai 🇦🇪 is developing the $1.4B Water Gardens financial district.
🇺🇸 United States
- Greybull Stewardship 🇺🇸 acquires Mid-West Textile 🇺🇸, a used textile collection and recycling company.
- PACT Capital Partners 🇺🇸 makes a strategic, passive minority investment in Sterling Investment Partners 🇺🇸, with no change to Sterling’s management or investment process.
- Aldaron 🇺🇸 has completed a majority equity investment in Oak Point Partners 🇺🇸, a purchaser of remnant assets.
🧳 Private Markets & VC
- 🇬🇧 Ghost Notes. Unit1 Studio, a London-based start-up, wants to bring back dead stars as digital performers after raising £15M from investors including Balderton Capital and Paul McGuinness. (Le Monde)
- 🇫🇷 Minor Threat. Arcom launches an investigation into Mym for allegedly weak age controls and unclear terms, giving the French platform 15 days to respond or face sanctions. (France Info)
- 🇺🇸 Benefit of the Doubt. Anthropic commits 5% of its shares, worth $48B, to a new public benefit fund as it tries to preempt AI backlash before its IPO. (Financial Times)
- 🇺🇸 Trust Issues. Anthropic’s upcoming IPO features a mysterious trust that can control the board and veto big decisions, but its rules stay secret for now. (Wall Street Journal)
- 🇺🇸 Mic Drop. officials reveal a Saudi national allegedly bugged an OpenAI conference room, fueling fears that foreign spying could undermine leadership in artificial intelligence. (CNBC)
Fundraising
- OMass Therapeutics 🇬🇧 (Biotech): €275M (Bain Capital Life Sciences, Forbion, Novo Holdings, Janus Henderson Investors, SV Health Investors, Jefferson Life Sciences)
- Salmon Group 🇵🇭 (Fintech): $140M (Spice Expeditions, Washington University in St. Louis, Moore)
- Estuary Biotherapeutics 🇺🇸 (Biotech): $103M (RA Capital Management, Deep Track Capital, Biogen New Ventures, UPMC Enterprises, Pivotal bioVenture Partners, National Kidney Foundation Innovation Fund, 4BIO Capital, GV)
- Binance.US 🇺🇸 (Fintech): $100M
- Abby Care (Healthcare): $82M (Transformation Capital)
- Stand 🇺🇸 (Insurtech): $70M (Saga Ventures)
- Mueon 🌐 (Semiconductors): $65M (Maverick Silicon)
- North.cloud 🇺🇸 (Cloud infrastructure): $60M (PeakSpan Capital)
- Rabot Energy 🇩🇪 (Energy): $50M (Endeit, DeepTech & Climate Fonds)
- Microbiotica 🇬🇧 (Biotech): €42M (British Business Bank, Tencent, IP Group, Cambridge Innovation Capital, Flerie Invest, Seventure Partners)
- RapidCanvas 🇺🇸 (AI): $29M (Vertex Ventures SEA & India, Hitachi Ventures)
- Opsin 🇺🇸 (Cybersecurity): $21M (SYN Ventures, Race Capital)
- Origin 🇺🇸 (Robotics): $20M (Accel, Zacua Ventures)
- Sharp Performance 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $18M (Hidden Variable)
- Goodweek 🇫🇷 (AI): €10.69M (Adara Ventures)
- CarbonAI 🇺🇸 (Fintech): $12M (Cowboy Ventures)
- OQT 🇰🇷 (Quantum computing): $10.5M (DSC Investment)
- Fission (Fintech): $10M (Pantera Capital)
- Solvera (Construction): $6.3M (Seedcamp)
- Elevatry 🇩🇪 (AI): €3M (Bayern Kapital, H&Z, Jan Henner-Theißen, Martin Berr-Sorokin, Mike)
- Unravel Health 🇬🇧 (Healthcare): €2.96M (Conduit EIS Impact Fund, Wrightwood, Leo Capital, Embryo Ventures, Hermesa)
- SmallClaims 🇩🇰 (Legal tech): €2M (Vendep Capital)
- GasLab 🇳🇱 (AI): $1M (Eric Demuth, Bas Beerens)
Fund Watch
- Audax Private Equity 🇺🇸: $6.25B (8th flagship fund, seeking)
- Nordic Capital 🇸🇪: $2.2B (multi-asset continuation vehicle, raising from Ardian, HSBC, StepStone and CVC)
- Hg 🇬🇧: $1.1B (debut GP-led secondaries fund)
- Aldaron 🇺🇸: $885M (debut PE fund, transforming companies with AI)
- Catalio Capital 🇬🇧: $500M (AI healthcare venture fund, seeking to raise)
- Marathon Venture Capital 🇬🇷: €75M (Fund III, AI, robotics, deep tech and defense tech fund)
- Nauta 🇬🇧: €60M (6th venture capital fund, €150-200M target, first close)
🔔IPO
- Iambic Therapeutics 🇺🇸 (Biotech): raised $150M at a $900M valuation in its IPO.
- SmartNews 🇯🇵 (Technology): plans a Japanese IPO at a $320M valuation.
- Jio Platforms 🇮🇳 (Telecoms): targeting up to $3.2B India’s largest-ever IPO at a $108.3B valuation.
- Atomberg Technologies 🇮🇳 (Appliances): expected to IPO within the next year.
- Dangote Cement 🇳🇬 (Cement): seeking to raise $1B in a secondary share sale in London.
🧳 Debt
- UniCredit 🇮🇹: weighing an SRT tied to $1B of German mortgages.
- Telefónica 🇪🇸: considering a vendor loan to fund Oxio and Newfoundland Capital’s $450M acquisition of Telefónica Mexico.
- JPMorgan 🇺🇸: arranging $4.25B in debt financing for Curium’s acquisition of Lantheus.
- Qualtrics 🇺🇸: JPMorgan weighs a $4B debt sale to fund its acquisition of Press Ganey Forsta.
- Pizza Hut 🇺🇸: in early talks for an ABS sale to fund its $1.5B buyout by LongRange Capital.
- Beacon Pointe 🇺🇸: raised $1.2B in debt.
- Castlelake 🇺🇸: issuing a $1.1B CRE CLO backed by 26 properties.
- Argentina 🇦🇷: paused a $1B local-currency bond sale as yields surged.
- Lotte Rental 🇰🇷: delayed its debut dollar bond sale.
❌ Failures
- CityFibre Infrastructure 🇬🇧: the UK telecom operator asked banks to write down part of its $2.7B loan and provide new funding to stay afloat.
- Hain Celestial Group 🇺🇸: the wellness company is considering filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
- Character Technologies 🇺🇸: the chatbot maker filed for bankruptcy, while Disney offered its employees a soft landing.
🎯 For a Few More Minutes…
- 🇬🇧 Write of Way. Computerized textual analysis convinces experts that Shakespeare led the writing of Edward III, with Marlowe collaborating, rewriting the official Shakespeare canon. (The Guardian)
- 🇫🇷 Fruit of the Loot. The Grand Condé pink diamond, once smuggled out of a château in an apple and recovered by a hungry maid, is now showcased at the Condé Museum, daring history to repeat itself. (BBC)
- 🇧🇪 Frame Job. Nearly 500 years after Catharina van Hemessen signed her name, her paintings finally get a dedicated spotlight at the Snijders and Rockoxhuis museum. (New York Times)
- 🇪🇺 Heavy Metal. Danish artist Jens Galschiøt installs a gold-leafed, oversized nude Trump statue in the European Parliament, mocking US climate policy for all to see. (Le Monde)
- 🇺🇸 If I Did It. O.J. Simpson’s ghostwritten “hypothetical” confession claims he had help in the 1994 murders, reviving old mysteries and new speculation for profit. (New York Times)
- 🇺🇸 Foul Play Alert. With new AI surveillance and stricter betting restrictions, the NBA is betting on itself to outsmart would-be manipulators. (CNBC)
- 🇺🇸 Write-Off. Fourteen years after Ken Paxton pocketed a $1,000 pen, the incident returns to complicate his Senate bid, giving Democrat James Talarico an unexpected campaign gift. (France Info)
- 🇹🇹 Bird Song. Trinidad and Tobago bids farewell to Mighty Sparrow, the calypso legend whose music filled Port of Spain with celebration instead of silence. (France Info)
