🏷️ Still On the Label
Same barcode, switch the contents, nobody checks the date.
Also available:🇫🇷 Édition française
Good morning!
The most consequential actor in a presidential race is now, more often than not, a criminal court. Donald Trump was convicted on 34 felony counts in May 2024 and took the White House six months later. Lula came out of 580 days in prison, had the conviction annulled and won Brazil back in 2022. Romania cancelled a presidential round outright in 2024, then barred the man who had won it. In each case the number worth watching is not the sentence, it is how little the electorate moved afterwards. France has just run the tidiest version of the experiment, and the arithmetic was read out in open court.
Marine Le Pen was convicted of diverting more than €4M of European Parliament money to party work. In July the appeal court cut her ineligibility to 45 months, 30 of them suspended. The 15 firm months had been running since the first conviction and expired in June, weeks before the judges finished reading their own arithmetic aloud. She declared her candidacy that evening on the main news bulletin, with a fine of €100K and a year of electronic tagging still attached to her name. Her party’s candidate polls between 32% and 36%, and has done through a conviction, an appeal and a change of candidate.
What holds steady is the party’s floor, not the person standing on it. Jordan Bardella, 30 years old and inside the machine since he was 16, spent 15 months as the frontrunner in every published poll. Then he went back to being the number two in a single afternoon, and reported feeling neither relieved nor disappointed. The scores barely moved. Any directly elected presidency invites this, and the French one was designed for it: an office built to be filled by a figure rather than a programme. Dominique de Villepin has never won an election in his life and left government in 2007. He polls in the high teens on the strength of having told the Security Council no on Iraq in 2003.
The novelty is the ticket: a candidate and her prime minister, announced nine months before the first round, campaigning as a pair on the American model, under a constitution that has no such thing. A French prime minister is appointed after the result and can be replaced before lunch. The promise is legally worth nothing, which is exactly why it costs nothing to make, and it buys back the popularity the ticket needed. Meanwhile the conviction is under appeal before France’s highest court, which has undertaken to rule before the campaign. So the name on the ballot on 18 April still depends on how one criminal chamber reads a suspended sentence. The score does not. It will be waiting for whoever turns up.
Publicité
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🗞️ Top Story
- 🇩🇪 Heat of State. SPD leaders push for constitutional climate adaptation, arguing that this summer’s record temperatures demand more than local improvisation. (Le Monde)
- 🌍 Gold Standard. 🇦🇹 least 100 people died after an artisanal gold mine collapsed in western Central African Republic, highlighting the deadly risks of informal mining with no state oversight. (France Info)
- 🇪🇺 Boiling Point. Scientists confirm climate change is responsible for most of the extreme warming in European seas, with Mediterranean waters up to 2°C hotter and marine life feeling the burn. (Le Figaro)
- 🇷🇺 Brit Hit. Russia threatens the UK with consequences after British-made drones are used by Ukraine for deep strikes inside Russian territory for the first time. (Le Temps)
- 🇺🇸 Global Gag Order. President Trump declares any country aiding Iran will be hit with sweeping penalties, escalating his pressure campaign as the ceasefire unravels. (Bbc)
- 🇺🇸 Fleet Flicker. A total blackout left the USS Benfold stranded for four days, exposing the Navy’s struggles to keep its warships running and its sailors fed. (Spiegel)
- 🇺🇸 Summit Impossible. Donald Trump says he will meet North Korea’s Kim Jong-un this year, just as US-South Korea military drills are cut short at his request. (Le Figaro)
- 🇦🇷 Eyes Wide Open. Amnesty International accuses Argentina’s Milei administration of expanding state surveillance, citing new laws and major tech purchases targeting dissent and protests. (Le Monde)
- 🇯🇵 Court Martialed. Washington slapped sanctions on ICC president Tomoko Akane, drawing an unusually sharp rebuke from Tokyo, which called the move “very regrettable.” (Boursier)
- 🇰🇵 Atomic Guesswork. Trump and Seoul cannot agree on how many nuclear weapons Kim Jong-un actually has, with estimates ranging from 57 to 120 and credibility not included. (Le Monde)
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- 🇬🇧 Royal Return. Prince Harry and Meghan are moving back to the UK after six years in California, enrolling their children in British schools and settling outside London. The monarchy welcomes the proximity, but their status as private citizens remains unchanged. (Ouest-France)
- 🇬🇧 Rain Supreme. The UK faces more heavy downpours and thunderstorms, with flash flooding and travel chaos likely as the Met Office issues fresh warnings. (Bbc)
- 🇬🇧 Fire Drill. Labour presses Reform’s Richard Tice for an apology to crews risking their lives in wildfires, following his “enjoy” the heatwave comment. (The Guardian)
- 🇬🇧 Drill or No Deal. Green Party analysis claims Labour could lose up to 50 seats if the government approves new North Sea oil and gas drilling, making climate politics a direct electoral threat. (The Guardian)
🏛️ Economy
- 🇬🇧 AI, Captain. Economists spot a 1.8% rise in UK private sector productivity, fueling hopes that artificial intelligence is steering the economy toward better days. (Financial Times)
- 🇪🇺 Second Chance. ECB chief Christine Lagarde urges Europe to seize the AI revolution, insisting the continent cannot repeat its digital-era absence. (France Info)
- 🇪🇺 Dividend Street. European banks and financial firms will pay a record €228B to shareholders this year, with HSBC 🇬🇧, BBVA 🇪🇸, Santander 🇪🇸, Allianz 🇩🇪, and Intesa Sanpaolo 🇮🇹 leading the payout parade. (Boursier)
- 🇷🇺 Fuel’s Gold. Two-thirds of Russian gas stations are dry as Ukrainian strikes and import woes deepen the country’s fuel crisis, leaving the Kremlin scrambling for answers and cash. (El Pais)
- 🇺🇸 Fortune Teller. America’s debt has crossed the $40T mark, with politicians predicting prosperity while the interest bill keeps climbing. (New York Times)
- 🇺🇸 Twist Again. Former Fed official Dale Bessent is reviving « Operation Twist » style bond moves, echoing the central bank’s crisis playbook for market intervention. (Bloomberg)
- 🇰🇷 Curve Your Enthusiasm. South Korea’s yield curve is now the steepest since 2021 as long-term bonds keep sinking and investors brace for more pain. (Bloomberg)
- 🇭🇰 Peg and Play. Investors are piling into carry trades, pushing the Hong Kong dollar toward its 7.85 ceiling and keeping the currency board on high alert. (Bloomberg)
- 🇸🇦 Ship Happens. As strikes on Gulf shipping intensify, oil giants like Adnoc and Aramco pay up for tankers, sending vessel prices past $130M and turning the Strait of Hormuz into a floating game of high-stakes logistics. (Financial Times)
- 🇦🇪 Trading Places. The UAE has suspended all trade with Iran after reporting two ballistic missiles launched toward its waters, reigniting Gulf tensions and freezing economic ties overnight. (Cnbc)
- 🇮🇷 Strait Down. The number of ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz dropped to 6 on Tuesday, far below the prewar daily average of 130 to 140, as owners steer clear of the world’s most volatile chokepoint. (Boursier)
- 🌍 Yield Sign. Global government bond yields paused their climb on Wednesday, catching their breath before the release of the latest Fed meeting minutes. (Wall Street Journal)
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- 🇬🇧 Help Wanted. Andy Burnham makes fixing youth unemployment his top priority after entry-level jobs for young people in Britain vanish at record speed. (Wall Street Journal)
- 🇬🇧 Bill Shock. UK households face a 4% hike in the energy price cap this winter, wiping out the promised VAT cut and pushing annual bills to £1,729. (The Guardian)
- 🇬🇧 Burnham Notice. UK inflation jumps to 2.9% as rising energy bills threaten to swamp Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s cost-of-living relief efforts before autumn even arrives. (The Guardian)
🇺🇸 United States
- 🇺🇸 Barrel Roll. crude oil inventories climbed by 4.4M barrels last week, defying analyst forecasts of a decline and keeping traders guessing. (Wall Street Journal)
- 🇺🇸 Surge Pricing. The FTC issues a bulletin telling retailers they must disclose when personal data is used to tailor prices, signaling a crackdown on algorithmic price discrimination. (Wall Street Journal)
- 🇺🇸 Switch and Pay. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act will eliminate the PAYE plan, leaving thousands of student loan holders with pricier repayment terms and longer timelines. (New York Times)
- 🇨🇦 Borderline Progress. The US and Canada tout advances on a tariff agreement, but Friday’s deadline keeps both economies on edge and questions unresolved. (New York Times)
🏢 Real Estate
- 🇩🇪 Shell Out. The German government promises €50M for urgent repairs to Chernobyl’s containment shell, but wants the international community to split the €500M bill. (Spiegel)
- 🇺🇸 Bond Voyage. Goldman Sachs is testing investor appetite for a new data center bond linked to CoreWeave, hoping Wall Street is ready for another tech-backed bet. (Bloomberg)
- 🇨🇳 Great Wall(ed) In. Xu Jiayin, founder of Evergrande 🇨🇳, is sentenced to life in prison and loses his fortune after convictions for fraud and embezzlement. (Le Monde)
- 🇦🇺 Home Alone. Australia’s major banks, including CBA, Westpac, ANZ, and NAB, are feeling the chill as falling house prices and weak mortgage demand bite into profits. (Bloomberg)
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- 🇬🇧 Home Stretch. UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham pledges £102M in new funding and 15% of his salary to tackle homelessness before Christmas, promising no one should sleep on the streets. (Die Zeit)
- 🇬🇧 Risk Management. The coroner is told that more safeguards might have saved Aalim Ahmed, who died after falling from a high-rise window in Plaistow. (The Guardian)
🇺🇸 United States
- 🇺🇸 Room for Improvement. New York City officials say the city needs 290,000 new homes now and 700,000 over the next decade to address its historic housing shortage, but recent construction rates barely scratch the surface. (New York Times)
- 🇺🇸 Terminal Velocity. Washington Dulles airport gets the green light for a $19.9B overhaul, promising new tunnels and a main terminal rebuild by 2034. (Cnbc)
🔗 On-chain
- 🇺🇸 Wallet Approval. Trump assembled crypto moguls at the White House, calling for new industry-friendly laws while his own crypto ventures raked in $1.4B last year. (New York Times)
- 🇺🇸 Betting Big. Cantor Fitzgerald and Susquehanna International Group are set to bring hedge fund muscle to Kalshi’s prediction markets, opening the door for institutional block trades on events from weather to economics. (Cnbc)
🇺🇸 United States
- 🇺🇸 Swipe Right. Kraken 🇺🇸 unveils its multi-asset debit card for customers, promising real-time crypto-to-dollar conversion and rewards without the credit card hangover. (FinExtra)
💱 Listed Markets
- 🇺🇸 Beauty and the Boost. Thanks to surging demand in China and strong perfume sales, Estée Lauder 🇺🇸 surprises Wall Street with better-than-expected growth and a 17% stock jump. (Les Echos)
- 🇺🇸 Home Not Alone. Lowe’s 🇺🇸 now expects $92B in sales for the year, warning that home improvement budgets are under pressure and demand remains muted. (Cnbc)
- 🇺🇸 Shot in the Dark. Moderna 🇺🇸 and Merck 🇺🇸 report promising phase 3 results for their mRNA skin cancer vaccine, raising hopes for advanced melanoma patients. (Ouest-France)
- 🇵🇦 Terminal Velocity. CK Hutchison 🇭🇰 files for $1.5B in damages against Panama, claiming its port investments were sunk amid rising US-China friction. (Wall Street Journal)
- 🇨🇳 Star Power. China’s AI frenzy has turned the Star 50 index into the country’s new market bellwether, leaving old benchmarks in the digital dust. (Bloomberg)
- 🇨🇳 Rise of the Machines. Chinese robotics firm Unitree soared 460% on its Shanghai debut, as investors scramble for a piece of the humanoid robot boom. (Libé)
🇺🇸 United States
- 🇺🇸 Current Affairs. Hudson River Trading posted a record $11.4B in quarterly trading revenue, riding market volatility to outpace rivals and Wall Street banks. (Financial Times)
- 🇺🇸 Up in the Air. Amazon 🇺🇸 plans to launch drone deliveries in almost 500 new locations, bringing its airborne service to cities like Chicago and Atlanta by year-end. (Wall Street Journal)
🛎️ Big Deals (M&A)
- Ardian 🇫🇷 weighs a multi-$B sale of Swissbit 🇨🇭, an electronic industrial firm.
- NEURA Robotics 🇩🇪 acquires Bosch Rexroth’s ACTIVE Shuttle 🇩🇪, effective Oct 1, 2026. Takes hardware & software and will provide service as it integrates the platform into its Physical AI ecosystem, after raising up to $1.4B in Series C.
- Freenet 🇩🇪 nears deal to buy out minority Waipu.TV 🇩🇪 investors.
- Monte dei Paschi 🇮🇹 could launch separate offers on Banco BPM 🇮🇹 and Banca Generali 🇮🇹.
- Pontegadea Inversiones 🇪🇸 acquires 219 Baker St., Marylebone (residential rental building) 🇬🇧 for $203M
- Optiver 🇳🇱 will buy Northpool 🇳🇱, an energy trader.
- EQT 🇸🇪 takes a majority stake in Melbourne Storm Rugby League Club 🇦🇺.
- Again 🇩🇰 acquires Genomatica 🇺🇸, bringing together AI and biomanufacturing.
- Leo Pharma 🇩🇰 agrees to buy rights to a rare genetic skin disease drug from Tanabe Pharma 🇯🇵 for $435M ahead of an IPO
- BlackRock 🇺🇸 and Oaktree 🇺🇸 seize MBS 🇺🇸, a debt-laden movie servicer.
- KKR 🇺🇸 offers to takeover UGI Corp 🇺🇸 for $9B at a 20% premium.
- TPG Global 🇺🇸 made an unsolicited $467M bid for EQT Holdings 🇦🇺, an investment manager.
- Goldman Sachs 🇺🇸 acquires LCN Capital Partners 🇺🇸 for $410M, a commercial real estate (CRE) investor.
- Copart 🇺🇸, GTCR 🇺🇸 and Veritas Capital 🇺🇸 compete to acquire CCC Intelligent Solutions 🇺🇸, a $4.2B-listed car insurance software provider.
- McEwen Copper 🇨🇦 in talks with Rio Tinto 🇬🇧 and other investors for $4B in funding, including $1.2B in equity, to build a mine in Argentina
- Saudi Aramco 🇸🇦 forms a mineral exploration JV with Maaden 🇸🇦.
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- Clearlake Capital 🇺🇸 explores acquiring a stake in Chelsea FC 🇬🇧 from Mark Walter.
🇺🇸 United States
- The O.H.I.O. Fund 🇺🇸 leads $15M seed in Sonic Fire Tech 🇺🇸, with Khosla Ventures reinvesting and continued participation from Third Sphere and AirAngels.
- Turnspire Capital Partners 🇺🇸 acquires Hulcher Services 🇺🇸, a North American mission-critical rail infrastructure, maintenance, and field services provider.
- PSG 🇺🇸 invests in XBE 🇺🇸 (growth investment. Accelerates product innovation and community growth in heavy materials, logistics and construction. Founder and CEO Sean Devine will continue to lead and Banneker Partners retains a significant ownership position).
- River Associates Investments, L.P. 🇺🇸 acquires Diamond Wipes, Inc. 🇺🇸 (closed Aug 7, 2026. River’s second platform acquisition of 2026. Contract manufacturer of disposable wet wipes and liquid-fill personal care products with sites in Chino, CA and Fredonia, WI).
- Genstar Capital 🇺🇸 acquires Oncourse Home Solutions 🇺🇸 from funds advised by Apax Partners 🇬🇧. Transaction to close Q4 2026, terms not disclosed. Oncourse serves 2M+ customers across 48 states.
🧳 Private Markets & VC
- 🇩🇪 Pressing Matters. Heidelberger Druck, known for printing presses, expands further into defense tech with new drone and battery ventures, chasing stable military revenues. (Die Zeit)
- 🇵🇱 Voice Over. Mati Staniszewski, the Polish-born cofounder of ElevenLabs 🇬🇧, has turned his AI startup into an $11B sensation, giving Europe a new tech accent. (Les Echos)
- 🇪🇺 Mission Incomputable. European ambitions to deploy data centers in orbit face delays and doubts, proving that not every cloud has a silver lining. (Bloomberg)
- 🇺🇸 Star Wars. American fusion startups battle each other for dominance as they chase the promise of sun-level energy and billion-dollar valuations. (Les Echos)
- 🇺🇸 Launch Capital. Castelion secures $1B in fresh funding led by Carlyle and top investors, aiming to accelerate its hypersonic missile ambitions. (Wall Street Journal)
- 🇺🇸 Horn of Plenty. Sequoia Capital, Khosla Ventures, and Y Combinator lead the pack as 2026’s unicorn surge sees 250 new billion-dollar startups join the board. (Crunchbase)
- 🇺🇸 Patient Zeroes. Hackers hit CareCloud 🇺🇸 and walked away with the medical records and personal details of 3.7M people, while the company stays silent on accountability. (TechCrunch)
- 🇨🇳 The Reuse Crew. LandSpace lands a reusable rocket stage, making China’s private sector a real contender in the space economy, even if SpaceX still sets the pace. (New York Times)
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- 🇬🇧 Plan B-ank. Monzo 🇬🇧 rolled out its backup bank after a major outage locked out thousands of users, proving redundancy is now a core feature. (FinExtra)
- 🇬🇧 Fee for All. The UK competition regulator is investigating Virgin Atlantic 🇬🇧 and Trainline 🇬🇧 for hiding extra charges until late in the booking process, accusing them of misleading customers with so-called drip pricing. (Financial Times)
Fundraising
- Castelion 🇺🇸 (Defense): $1B (JPMorgan Chase Strategic Investment Group, Andreessen Horowitz, Carlyle, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Lavrock Ventures, Altimeter, General Catalyst, Interlagos, T. Rowe Price Associates)
- Etched 🇺🇸 (AI): $700M (Jane Street)
- EliseAI (Proptech): $300M (a16z, Bessemer)
- LifeMine Therapeutics 🇺🇸 (Biotech): $263M (Milky Way Investments, Bezos Expeditions, Gates Frontier, RA Capital Management, GV, LoLa Capital Partners, GlaxoSmithKline, Invus, ARCH Venture Partners)
- Also 🇺🇸 (Mobility): $150M (Prysm Capital, Eclipse, Greenoaks, MVP Ventures)
- Velaura AI 🇺🇸 (Semiconductor): $110M (Seligman Ventures)
- Rillet 🇺🇸 (Accounting): $100M (Iconiq, Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia)
- Navi Limited 🇮🇳 (Fintech): $100M (Prosus)
- Smack Technologies 🇺🇸 (Defense): $61M (Costanoa Ventures, First In, Point72 Ventures, Geodesic Capital, Nomi Capital, Felicis, Scribble Ventures, Fortitude Ventures, Bloomberg Beta, Palumni VC)
- Hopscotch Primary Care 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $53M (8VC, Town Hall Ventures, aMoon Fund, Citi Impact Fund, Alumni Ventures, K2 HealthVentures, Autism Impact Fund (AIF), John Doerr, Richard Merkin, Leon Levine Foundation)
- Network Bio 🇺🇸 (Biotech): $50M (Section 32, Thiel Bio, Founders Fund, Breyer Capital, Blue Venture Fund, JSL Health Capital, other life science and AI funds)
- Rundoo 🇺🇸 (SaaS): $30M (Battery Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, CRV)
- Renata Medical 🇺🇸 (Medtech): $25M (ARCHIMED)
- Relativity Networks 🇺🇸 (AI infrastructure): $22M (Rhapsody Venture Partners, Bell Ventures Inc., Faster Than Glass LLC)
- NeoGeo 🇮🇳 (Geospatial): $20M (Neev II Fund, Aavishkaar Capital)
- Ours Privacy 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $15M (Lightbank, Health Velocity Capital, Rock Health, Lakehouse, TMV, Switch Ventures, Starfire Ventures, GreyMatter)
- Sonic Fire Tech 🇺🇸 (Firetech): $15M (The O.H.I.O. Fund, Khosla Ventures, Third Sphere, AirAngels)
- SweGaN 🇸🇪 (Semiconductors): $14M (Thisbe AB, North Ventures, existing shareholders)
- Ampaire 🇺🇸 (Aviation): £14M
- Self Inspection 🇺🇸 (Automotive): $10M (Sandberg Bernthal Venture Partners, U.S. AutoForce, Westlake Financial, BrightCap Ventures, DVx Ventures, Costanoa Ventures, Rebellion Ventures)
- Luca 🇵🇹 (Unknown): $8M (6 Degrees Capital)
- Medly AI 🇬🇧 (Edtech): $8M (Felix Capital, Eka Ventures, Ada Ventures, Andrey Dobrynin, Al Giles, Jean Hammond, Hector Mason)
- LITILIT 🇱🇹 (Photonics): €8M (ILTE)
- Synthefy (AI): $6.5M (Wing Venture Capital)
- Grounded 🇺🇸 (Automotive): $5M (Also Capital, The 81 Collection, Animal Capital, Michigan Outdoor Innovation Fund, various SpaceX alumni)
- Velatir 🇩🇰 (AI infrastructure): €5M (Spintop Ventures, Ugly Duckling Ventures, Norrsken Evolve, Jan Oberhauser, Thomas Visti, The Export and Investment Fund of Denmark)
- Capitan Orthopedics, Inc. 🇺🇸 (Medtech): $4.1M (Genesis Innovation Group, Inc.)
- Palette 🇩🇰 (AI): €3M (Ugly Duckling Ventures, Emblem, Acadian Ventures, angel investors)
- Noggin HQ 🇬🇧 (Fintech): £2.3M
- Singular Photonics 🇬🇧 (Semiconductor): $2.15M (ACF Investors, Wren Capital, Cambridge Angels, Scottish Enterprise, Quantum Exponential, Old College Capital)
- Millow 🇸🇪 (Foodtech): €2M
- Nomade Nation 🇪🇸 (Mobility): €1.8M (Prodinco, current investors)
- DiscreteStack 🇧🇬 (AI infrastructure): €800K (CleverPine Ventures, Milen Manev (Next Solutions), Stoil Vasilev (Paypercut), other investors)
Fund Watch
- Accel 🇺🇸: $3.5B (launching four new vehicles. VC. Early-stage regional funds: $800M Europe/Israel, $800M US, $550M India)
- Index Ventures 🇬🇧: $2B (raising $2B — $700M to expand $1.5B growth fund, $400M seed fund, $900M VC fund for AI-era founders)
- Balbec 🇺🇸: $1.5B (5th credit fund)
- HarbourVest Partners 🇺🇸: $1B (PE FoF, acquired PE LP stakes from University of California)
- Fort Robotics 🇺🇸: $557M (merging with Newbury Street II Acquisition Corp., SPAC deal. Physical AI firm)
- Broadwing Capital 🇺🇸: $440M (debut lower middle‑market private equity fund)
- Ninety One 🇿🇦: $404M (3rd Africa Credit Opportunities fund)
- CVC 🇬🇧: size undisclosed (private secondaries fund targeting mid–late-stage tech startups via primary and secondary investments)
🔔IPO
- Quantexa 🇬🇧 (AI data): considering a multibillion-dollar US or UK IPO.
- Frasers Group 🇬🇧 (Retail): raised its stake in $3B-listed Hugo Boss to 48%.
- Taimi 🇺🇦 (Dating): preparing for IPO readiness, profitable and growing with a target of 2M daily active users (now ~350K).
- OpenAI 🇺🇸 (AI): confidentially filed for a IPO targeting an $852B valuation and said it will be public in 2027 or sooner.
- Mavik 🇺🇸 (Investment): built a 5.4% stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust as it explores a sale.
- ShengShu Technology 🇨🇳 (AI Video): Alibaba-backed platform is considering a $500M Hong Kong IPO.
- LimX 🇨🇳 (Robotics): planning a $300M Hong Kong IPO.
- SK Hynix 🇰🇷 (Semiconductors): launching a €24.9B share buyback and cancellation, the largest program ever by a listed South Korean company.
- National Stock Exchange of India 🇮🇳 (Exchange): seeking a $55B valuation a record India IPO.
- Paytm 🇮🇳 (Fintech): Resilient Asset Management sold a 3% stake for $310M, with proceeds to flow to Ant Group.
- Dangote Petroleum 🇳🇬 (Refining): investors committed $400M to a planned $2B IPO.
- Zambia Stock Exchange 🇿🇲 (Exchange): expecting a record $1B of IPOs after this month’s election.
🧳 Debt
- TCI 🇬🇧: invested $636M in loans to ultra-luxury hotels in Italy.
- Dulles International Airport 🇺🇸: planning a $14B munis sale.
- Anthropic 🇺🇸: set to increase its revolving credit facility above $10B ahead of an IPO.
- Mark Walter 🇺🇸: sought a multibillion-dollar loan from Apollo against his now-sold Lakers stake.
- United Launch Alliance 🇺🇸: raised $1.5B in a private placement of bonds.
- Flexential 🇺🇸: secured an $800M credit facility from 11 banks, backed by sponsors GI Partners and MSIP.
- Starwood Property Trust 🇺🇸: with Realterm provided a $672M loan for a portfolio of Stonemont Financial- and Cerberus-backed industrial outdoor storage lots.
- Ripple 🇺🇸: raised $275M in a private placement of bonds.
- Alphabet 🇺🇸: plans up to A$5.5B (US$3.9B) bond issue, 20‑yr tranche ~6.95%.
- ICICI Bank 🇮🇳: accepted $750M bids for a new dollar bond, bringing this month’s dollar bond raise to $2.05B.
🇺🇸 United States
- Natural 🇺🇸: secured a $100M credit facility from Upper90 to scale payments and credit products for AI agents.
❌ Failures
- Spirit Airlines 🇺🇸: Google will acquire its business data for $10M.
- Avison Young (Canada) 🇨🇦: les créanciers ont converti la dette en actions de la société de conseil immobilier.
- Braskem Idesa 🇲🇽: filed for Chapter 11 in the US after reaching agreements to cut debt by ~$1B.
🇺🇸 United States
- Rebel Creamery 🇺🇸: filed for bankruptcy after losing a $24M trade-dress suit, reporting nearly $14M in assets.
🎯 For a Few More Minutes…
- 🇺🇸 Swift Exit. NASA abandons its rescue plan for the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory after a robotic malfunction, meaning the $250M telescope will soon burn up instead of getting a second chance. (Ouest-France)
- 🇺🇸 Pump and Circumstance. The Farmer’s Cellar transformed a gas station into Minnesota’s hottest cocktail bar, raking in $5M last year while patrons hunt for the secret door. (Cnbc)
- 🇺🇸 Vice City Limits. Supposed GTA VI images surface via « CyberLeek, » who threaten more leaks if Rockstar Games sticks to high prices and no physical copies. (Le Monde)
🇺🇸 United States
- 🇺🇸 Agency in the Wings. The DEA has joined the investigation into actress Hayden Panettiere’s death, after reports of an apparent drug overdose in South Carolina. (New York Times)
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