🏗️ The Big Hole

Fifty billion and not a spade in sight.

A Free Lunch newsletter archive of August 11, 2026

🌍 All editions
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
🇺🇸 United States

Good morning!

At the Three Seas Initiative forum in Dubrovnik, an American vehicle called Pantheon Atlas announced the largest investment in Croatian history: €50B for a 1 GW AI data centre at Topusko, a spa village of about a thousand people 90km south of Zagreb. The figure is more than half of Croatian GDP. Thirteen presidents and prime ministers were in the room, along with Chris Wright, the US energy secretary. Nobody on the platform asked where the €50B was.

It is not a budget. The campus costs €12B, and that sum belongs to a vehicle described only as a group of US institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals, none of whom has been named. The other €38B is equipment that hyperscale tenants are meant to install once they sign, and Eastdil Secured has been retained to go and find some. The Croatian half of the partnership is Jako Andabak, an Adriatic hotelier whose contribution is the land and the drawings. A landowner has since told the Croatian press that 21,000 m² was registered in the project’s name without her consent, a claim he has promised to answer in writing after his holiday.

Then the arithmetic, which can be checked. A campus with 800 MW of usable IT load would draw close to 40% of everything Croatia consumes today. The 500 MW solar plant covers around 10% of a 24/7 baseload, the sun having the inconsiderate habit of setting, and the 8 GWh battery moves that 10% around without creating any more of it. The 400kV lines meant to supply the remaining 90% are due to start construction at the end of 2027, 14 months before the campus is supposed to be running. Anyone who has watched a substation get permitted in the EU will read that schedule as artistic licence. On the day of the announcement the chief engineer said the environmental assessment was nearly finished and showed minimal impact. The ministry that would have received it said nobody had applied, or asked whether one was needed.

By now this is a genre. A number with three commas, a stage with heads of state, a press release nobody can disprove before 2029. The demand behind it is real: Europe’s established hubs are full, the region has no gigawatt-scale facility at all, and the grid operator has since cleared the connection design, which is a serious step and not a wire. It is the arithmetic on top that nobody is being asked to defend. The Three Seas Initiative needs a flagship to show that central Europe is choosing Washington over Beijing. Croatia, with spare land, NATO cover and an unemployment problem in Sisak-Moslavina, gets a memorandum and a photograph. The county has been promised 1,500 permanent jobs and €500M of roads, fibre and substations to be handed over to the state once built. Topusko will go on waiting for the road, the second doctor and the school.

🏗️ The Big Hole

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🗞️ Top Story

🇬🇧 C-Free Zone. England is on track to eliminate hepatitis C, having treated 80% of known cases and slashed deaths by 36% in a decade. (Bbc)
🇩🇪 Current Affairs. The Rhine is nearing record low water levels in Germany, threatening to split the river in two and halt navigation entirely, warns the inland shipping federation. (Le Parisien)
🇬🇷 Wind and Fire. A new wildfire broke out southeast of Athens, fueled by winds over 70 km/h, forcing evacuations and a massive emergency response. (Le Figaro)
🇸🇪 Spy Another Day. Sweden says it foiled a Russian intelligence operation aiming to discredit Sweden, NATO, and the EU by infiltrating its decision-making process with a diplomatic agent. (France Info)
🇪🇺 Return to Sender. Italy and Denmark’s leaders publish a joint letter pushing for stricter migration controls, including offshore deportation centers, blaming irregular migrants for rising crime without offering supporting data. (El Pais)
🇪🇺 Space Jammed. Europe risks a bottleneck in satellite launches by 2030, with ESA sounding the alarm over too few rockets for its ambitious orbital plans. (Le Figaro)
🇺🇸 Shot Caller. President Trump signs an order to cut childhood vaccines from 18 to 11 and recommends splitting the MMR shot, despite overwhelming scientific consensus against the move. (Bbc)
🇺🇸 Strait Shooter. Trump declares the Navy has secured the Strait of Hormuz for global shipping, boasting 100% control and tossing in a call for Iranian compensation. (Die Zeit)
🇨🇴 Fault Lines. A 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck western Colombia, killing over 100 people and causing widespread damage in cities like Pereira and Cali as rescue efforts intensify. (El Pais)
🇮🇳 Neutral Ground. The Cockroach Janta Party insists it will champion youth issues for India, claiming political neutrality no matter which party holds power. (Bloomberg)
🇦🇫 Starvation Nation. Afghanistan faces a deepening hunger crisis as Western donors cut aid, leaving millions struggling under Taliban rule and little hope for relief. (Spiegel)
🇹🇷 Flight Risk. Trump ditched his new luxury plane for an old military model in Ankara, sneaking through a catering container while most thought he was still on Air Force One. (Die Zeit)
🇮🇷 No Deal Zone. Tehran promotes a hawkish security chief and insists it is nearing a shipping agreement with Oman, but keeps the door firmly closed to Trump-era US talks. (Bloomberg)

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

🇬🇧 Current Affairs. Millions in Great Britain face the threat of sudden rolling blackouts as Neso gains new powers to cut electricity without government approval. (The Guardian)
🇬🇧 Background Check. UK police are probing whether Joshua Kerry, accused of Ann Widdecombe’s murder, was also involved in an attempted burglary at Nigel Farage’s former home. (The Guardian)
🇬🇧 Robo-Cop Out. The IOPC is probing a Derbyshire detective chief inspector over claims AI was used to document investigation decisions, with misconduct charges now on the table. (Bbc)
🇬🇧 Airwave Alarm. Ofcom investigates News after guest Caroline Farrow’s pride parade comments trigger more than 12,000 complaints from viewers. (The Guardian)
🇮🇪 Jet Set. Daniel Kinahan, alleged boss of the Kinahan cartel, was flown from Dubai to Dublin on a government jet and charged with directing a criminal organization. (Bbc)

🇺🇸 United States

🇺🇸 Running Mate. Jennifer Balkcom will replace Chuck Edwards on the November ballot after Edwards exited under pressure from a House ethics report detailing his inappropriate behavior. (New York Times)
🇺🇸 Inbox Anxiety. With 34,000 texts from Anthony Fauci’s phone now public, GOP Senators spotlight his Covid vaccine risk discussions for pregnant women, searching for a smoking gun. (Wall Street Journal)

🏛️ Economy

🇬🇧 Trust Issues. A TSB survey reveals most Brits who act on social media financial advice lose money, yet many still trust what they see online. (FinExtra)
🇬🇧 Pound for Pound. LSE’s Charlie Walker warns that without fresh investment, London’s public markets risk losing their heavyweight status on the world stage. (Wall Street Journal)
🇩🇪 Growth Spurt. After six years of near-stagnation, Germany posts its third straight month of industrial growth and a record €140B in exports for June. (Les Echos)
🇪🇺 Europhoria. The euro zone’s economic outlook brightens, giving policymakers rare reasons to smile as growth prospects finally show some life. (Bloomberg)
🇺🇸 Paper Trail. While thousands of newspapers fold, small independents like The Chronicle survive on personal delivery and neighborly devotion, one Subaru at a time. (New York Times)
🇺🇸 Gilt Trip. Gold prices surge past $4,400 as traders brace for fresh inflation data, proving anxiety is still the market’s favorite commodity. (Bloomberg)
🇺🇸 Ahead of the Curveball. Legend Venture Partners 🇺🇸 faces SEC charges for allegedly selling investors on pre-IPO deals that were more fiction than future fortune. (Bloomberg)
🇺🇸 Prop Star. Sergey Brin has donated another $20M, bringing his total to over $100M, to block California’s billionaire tax ahead of November’s vote. (TechCrunch)
🇺🇸 Crude Awakening. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve has dropped below 300M barrels for the first time since 1983 after Trump’s emergency release, raising fresh questions about America’s energy safety net. (Cnbc)
🇺🇸 Brand Aid. Trump Organization raked in $59.5M from foreign licensing deals in 2025, mostly from Gulf states, as the president’s name proves more lucrative than ever. And ethics watchdogs notice. (Cnbc)
🇭🇰 Fee Pass. Hong Kong is considering expanding tax exemptions on performance fees to include trading giants like Jane Street and Citadel Securities, making the city even more attractive to global finance. (Bloomberg)
🌍 Buy and Dose. Big Pharma is on an acquisition spree, snapping up biotech firms like Myricx Bio and Crinetics to refill their drug pipelines before blockbusters expire. (Le Monde)

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

🇬🇧 Dark Power. Octopus Energy urges millions of UK households to cut electricity use during Wednesday’s solar eclipse, warning the grid will feel the shadow too. (The Guardian)
🇬🇧 Fee-Fi-Faux-Fum. Prime Minister Andy Burnham pledges to ban fake discounts and make cancelling subscriptions easier, targeting everyday rip-offs that quietly drain UK wallets. (The Guardian)
🇪🇺 Track to the Future. Finland and Sweden launch their first rail link in 30 years, letting travelers ride from the Arctic Circle to southern Europe without ever leaving the tracks. (Ouest-France)

🇺🇸 United States

🇺🇸 Digging In. With a $3B shot in the arm for mining, Trump tries to unearth independence from Chinese-controlled mineral supply chains. (Bloomberg)
🇺🇸 High and Dry. With the Fed likely to keep rates up, Americans face pricier mortgages, car loans, and credit card bills for the foreseeable future. (Cnbc)
🇺🇸 Secret Sauce. Companies must now tell the FDA about new food additives, but the real recipe for defining ultraprocessed food remains under wraps thanks to another delay. (Wall Street Journal)

🏢 Real Estate

🇩🇪 Flat Out Higher. Rents for new leases in German apartment buildings jumped 3.2% over last year, with Düsseldorf topping the charts and Berlin barely moving. (Die Zeit)
🇺🇸 House of Cards. The Democrats are so strapped for cash after Kamala Harris’s campaign flop that they’re mortgaging their own headquarters to keep going. (Die Zeit)
🇺🇸 Eyes Wide Open. The 2,600-square-meter Manhattan mansion where Epstein operated was filled with surveillance cameras, ensuring no guest ever went unwatched. (Le Parisien)
🇺🇸 Power Play. Anthropic, Macquarie, and GIC form a joint venture to fund and develop data centers for Claude, with Anthropic promising to cover any electricity price spikes. The AI arms race now comes with a utility bill. (Boursier)

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

🇬🇧 Bit by Bit. Robinhood 🇺🇸 opens crypto trading to UK customers via Bitstamp, adding Bitcoin, Ethereum and dozens more to its app’s arsenal this week. (FinExtra)

🇺🇸 United States

🇺🇸 Tax and Friction. Mayor Mamdani’s attempt to tax wealthy homeowners is put on hold by a judge, with city hall now racing to overturn the ruling. (New York Times)

🔗 On-chain

🇺🇸 Truth & Consequences. Trump Media posted a $238M quarterly loss after its crypto bets fizzled, prompting a sudden pivot back to its social media roots. (Bbc)

💱 Listed Markets

🇺🇸 Data Vanish Act. Meta 🇺🇸 faces court sanctions after a judge ruled it let key evidence disappear in a case accusing it of enabling scam ads featuring billionaire Andrew Forrest. (Le Monde)
🇺🇸 Copycat Cart. TikTok is testing TikTok Shop Plus, a subscription service offering free delivery and deals, clearly modeled after Amazon 🇺🇸 Prime. (Les Echos)
🇺🇸 Rocket Pay. Elon Musk could merge Tesla and SpaceX to trigger a $1T payday, sidestepping performance hurdles and cementing his control in one launch. (Wall Street Journal)
🇺🇸 Blockade and Barrel. WTI surges 2.8% to $80 after Trump signals talks with Iran are stalled and the Strait of Hormuz stays closed for now. (Boursier)
🇹🇼 Chip Happens. TSMC’s July sales jumped 45% to $14.5B as AI demand keeps its factories humming and investors glued to every quarterly whisper. (Cnbc)
🇭🇰 Artificial Selection. The Hang Seng Tech Index in Hong Kong is expanding its roster to include more firms with an emphasis on AI, aiming for a smarter market mix. (Bloomberg)
🇦🇺 Rare Opportunity. Sunrise Energy Metals 🇦🇺 soared 29% after the US Department of Defense pledged $400M to fund a scandium mine and challenge China’s grip on rare earths. (Cnbc)
🇦🇪 Quota Unquote. Freed from OPEC quotas, Adnoc Gas 🇦🇪 announces a $8B expansion to ramp up natural gas output and chase global demand. (Wall Street Journal)

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

🇬🇧 Liquid Assets. Thames Water handed its new finance chief Steve Buck a £1M signing-on fee, funded by emergency cash, while drowning in £20B debt and facing nationalisation talk. (Bbc)

🇺🇸 United States

🇬🇧 Spirited Away. Diageo 🇬🇧 unveils a turnaround plan to rescue Crown Royal, Smirnoff, and Captain Morgan after years of sales decline and fading shelf appeal. (Wall Street Journal)
🇺🇸 Pay Dirt. Barrick Mining 🇨🇦 settles its Nevada dispute with Newmont 🇺🇸 for $1.95B in cash, unlocking its long-awaited North American gold IPO. (Wall Street Journal)

🛎️ Big Deals (M&A)

Goodwin 🇬🇧, a $2B-listed engineering firm, explores a stake sale of its mechanical engineering unit, including Goodwin Steel Castings 🇬🇧 and Goodwin International 🇬🇧.
Peel Holdings 🇬🇧’s $790M takeover bid for Harworth Group 🇬🇧, an infrastructure company and largest shareholder offering for a land and property regeneration company, is rejected.
Frasers Group 🇬🇧 is the frontrunner to buy Harvey Nichols 🇬🇧 for less than $55M.
Unipol 🇮🇹 aims to hold a >30% stake in a merged entity of BPER Banca 🇮🇹 and assets carved out of BMPS 🇮🇹 if Intesa Sanpaolo 🇮🇹 succeeds in its takeover bid for BMPS 🇮🇹.
UBS Investment Bank 🇨🇭 invests in Finster AI 🇺🇸 as part of the startup’s Series B, tied to AI-native workflows for investment banking.
DNO 🇳🇴 offers $272M to acquire Genel Energy 🇬🇧. Bid rejected.
Russia 🇷🇺 sells a 30% stake in Sheremetyevo Airport 🇷🇺.
Jeff Bezos investor group 🇺🇸 acquires Liverpool Football Club 🇬🇧 for about a third of the club at a >$6B valuation. Consortium includes Amit Bhatia and Eduardo Saverin.
Ashland 🇺🇸, $3.5B-listed chemical maker, explores a sale after receiving takeover interest.
Verisk 🇺🇸 completes a Delaware judge-ordered $2.35B acquisition of AccuLynx 🇺🇸 seven months after calling off the deal.
Dream Finders Homes 🇺🇸 will acquire Beazer Homes 🇺🇸 for $2.2B, including $1.2B in debt.
PrimeDelta 🇺🇸 acquires AI Financial Corp 🇺🇸’s payments unit for $12M in cash and stock.
Most Valuable Promotions 🇺🇸 merges with Professional Fighters League 🇺🇸 in a deal combining combat-sports promotions.
AMD 🇺🇸 to acquire Taalas 🇨🇦, AI chip startup.
Beyoncé 🇺🇸 acquires SirDavis 🇫🇷 after LVMH ceded its stake, taking full control of the whisky brand.
GameStop 🇺🇸 to acquire eBay 🇺🇸 for $56B (proposal at $125 per share, 50% cash / 50% stock), but may withdraw and instead seek a partnership or joint venture. GameStop holds a 9.75% stake in eBay, GameStop has $8.4B cash and a $8.6B market cap while eBay’s market cap is $49.8B (~$54B including debt). Since the offer GameStop shares are down 28% and eBay shares are up 7.6%.
Archer Aviation 🇺🇸 acquires Wisk Aero 🇺🇸, Insitu 🇺🇸 and SkyGrid 🇺🇸 from Boeing 🇺🇸. Includes a technology-sharing agreement with Boeing, subject to Hart-Scott-Rodino approval and expected to close by end-2026.
Teledyne Technologies 🇺🇸 acquires Varex Imaging 🇺🇸 for $1.1B. Varex designs and manufactures X‑ray imaging components for the healthcare market.
Boeing 🇺🇸 takes a minority stake in Archer Aviation 🇺🇸, while retaining access to Wisk’s autonomous-flight technology.
PSP 🇨🇦 explores a $1.5B sale of its roads in India 🇮🇳
ENEOS 🇯🇵 acquires TPC Group 🇺🇸 for $1.3B, including debt.
Sony 🇯🇵 and TSMC 🇹🇼 to invest ¥1T (~€5.45B/$6.3B) in a joint venture to develop next‑generation image sensors. JV ownership 60%/40%, mass production slated for 2029, production at Koshi for Apple and other uses.
SK Hynix 🇰🇷 considers stake sale of China-based plant 🇨🇳 that could fetch $3B valuation.
Danantara 🇮🇩 invests $2.5B to form a JV with JBS 🇧🇷
Ratio Petroleum 🇮🇱 acquires Pharos Energy 🇬🇧 for $197M at a 30% premium after a bidding war with Serica Energy.

🇺🇸 United States

Francisco Partners 🇺🇸 acquires Moneris 🇨🇦 for C$2.0B, a payments and commerce solutions provider.
VSS Capital Partners 🇺🇸 completes a growth investment in Cordoba, LLC. 🇺🇸, an engineering, construction and program management firm serving municipal and institutional clients across the Pacific Coast.
Eir Partners Capital 🇺🇸 invests in ClaimsBridge 🇺🇸, a strategic healthcare tech private equity investment.
NAVER D2SF 🇰🇷 makes a follow-on investment in NdotLight 🇰🇷 (KRW 15B), third investment. Physical AI data infrastructure maker behind TRINIX simulation-ready 3D data.
Lindian Resources Limited 🇦🇺 acquires SARECO 🇰🇿, buying the remaining 49% to reach 100% ownership of the Stepnogorsk MREC hydromet plant. Includes two warehouses (~15,500 m²). Follows an A$100M institutional capital raise. Processing targeted for Q4 2026.

🧳 Private Markets & VC

🇬🇧 Blair Force One. Nick Blair, son of Tony Blair, is seeking $200M to launch Pyra, a defence tech start-up aiming to unify military systems for the UK and its allies. (Financial Times)
🇫🇷 Carte Blanche. With its new French banking license, Revolut 🇬🇧 can now offer deposit protection and loans, pushing even further into the mainstream. (Le Figaro)
🇺🇸 Cash Out, Not Out. OpenAI let employees sell $7B in shares at a private $852B valuation, offering liquidity without opening the IPO floodgates just yet. (TechCrunch)
🇺🇸 Lion’s Share. Former MoneyLion executives unveil Astraeus, securing $10M to build a platform that gives AI the firm-specific context wealth managers crave. (FinExtra)
🇺🇸 Meta Morphosis. Meta launches a compact, open AI model and pledges $1B to local services, hoping transparency will outpace tech secrecy. (New York Times)
🇨🇳 Cheap Thrills Over. Shein’s signature low prices take a hit from fresh tariffs, causing sales to slump and investors to eye its services pivot warily. (Cnbc)

🇺🇸 United States

🇺🇸 Suit Yourself. HR giant Rippling 🇺🇸 fires back at tiny Runlayer 🇺🇸 with a patent infringement lawsuit after being accused of stealing product ideas, making the courtroom the new product launchpad. (TechCrunch)

Fundraising

Firmus Technologies 🇦🇺 (Data centers): $2B (Jane Street)
5C Group 🇨🇦 (AI infrastructure): $1.4B (Brookfield Asset Management)
WhatNot 🇺🇸 (Marketplace): $545M (ICONIQ, Lightspeed, Avra)
Harvey 🇺🇸 (Legal): $500M (Lightspeed)
inKind 🇺🇸 (Foodtech): $414M (Citi, Cross River, Sagard, Varadero Capital, Trinity Capital)
Source Foundry 🇺🇸 (Semiconductor): $400M (Situational Awareness, Sequoia)
Cambridge Aerospace 🇬🇧 (Air defence): $300M (DFJ Growth, Lux Capital, Axel, Lakestar, Elad Gil)
Point2 Technology 🇺🇸 (Semiconductor): $136M (LB Investment, Arm, Maverick Silicon, NVIDIA, UMC Capital, Molex, Bosch Ventures)
Expedition Therapeutics 🇺🇸 (Biotech): $115M (General Atlantic, RA Capital, Vivo Capital, Sofinnova Investments, Novo Holdings, Forbion, Dawn Biopharma, Adage Capital Management, Balyasny Asset Management, Logos Capital, Sanofi Ventures, BVF Partners, Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners)
Aureka Biotechnologies 🇺🇸 (Biotech): $100M (Granite Asia, HighLight Capital, MPCi, NRL Capital)
DecadeWealth 🇧🇷 (Wealthtech): $85M
Fluxco 🇺🇸 (Procurement): $26M (8VC, Congruent Ventures)
VibeIQ 🇺🇸 (AI): $22.5M (Volition Capital, Venture Guides)
AB Science 🇫🇷 (Biotech): €14.2M
Atlas Motion 🇺🇸 (Robotics): $11.5M (Greycroft, Also Capital)
Dow Protocol (Blockchain): $10.5M (MH Ventures, Mapleblock, Animoca Brands)
Astraeus 🇺🇸 (Wealth management): $10M+ (Fintech Collective, F-Prime, Plug and Play Ventures, others)
Discovered Materials 🇺🇸 (Materials): $9M (Lightspeed India Partners, Y Combinator, Peak XV Partners, Paul Graham, Gokul Rajaram, Thariq Shihipar)
ORCA AI Agent 🇺🇸 (AI): $7M (Alpha Capital, Genesis, and others)
Proxy Foods AI 🇺🇸 (Foodtech): $6M (Ted Leonsis, Robert G. Hisaoka, SWaN & Legend Venture Partners, Anthony Nader, Fredrick Schaufeld)
WashWise 🇺🇸 (Consumer): $1.2M (FJ Labs, Singh Capital, Alex Jekowsky, Jack Abraham, Brian Tate, Gigi Howard, Nina Farran, Mia Tonelli, Taylor James, Brown Girl Angels, executives and operators from Pickle, The Business of Fashion, Dior, SoulCycle, Soho House, Apple, J.P. Morgan)

Fund Watch

Energy Capital Partners 🇺🇸: $8B+ (6th flagship infrastructure fund)
South Park Commons 🇺🇸: $575M (4th fund, startup accelerator)
Pono Capital Four 🇺🇸: $380M (SPAC merger valuation for Blackstar Orbital, reusable spacecraft platform)
White Star Capital 🇨🇦: $250M (4th fund, Series A/B AI startups)

🔔IPO

Intel 🇺🇸 (Semiconductors): offering $15B of common stock to fund capex and working capital amid surging AI-compute demand.
Formlabs 🇺🇸 (3D printing): backed by SoftBank and in early talks for a $500M IPO.
Latigo Biotherapeutics 🇺🇸 (Biotech): raised $345M in an upsized IPO at a $1.2B market cap.
BlossomHill Therapeutics 🇺🇸 (Biotech): raised $150M in an upsized IPO at a $490M valuation.
Switch 🇺🇸 (Data centers): DigitalBridge-backed operator filed confidentially for a IPO.
Moore Threads Technology 🇨🇳 (Semiconductors): planning a Hong Kong listing after shares surged over 420% and the company is valued at $42B.
Shein 🇸🇬 (Fast fashion): advisers pitching an IPO at a valuation below $30B, down from over $100B at its 2022 peak.
Fossil Group 🇮🇳 (Accessories): invited banks to pitch for a $500M India IPO of its India business.

🇺🇸 United States

KLX Energy Services Holdings 🇺🇸 (Energy): announced a $125M rights offering at $1.49/share, backstopped up to $94M to reduce leverage.

🧳 Debt

Cloudflare 🇺🇸: announced a $2.175B private placement of convertible senior notes due 2031.
San Juan 🇵🇷: saw $2.2B in demand for a $120M muni sale.
The Executive Centre 🇭🇰: seeking a $500M loan.

🇺🇸 United States

Sila 🇺🇸: landed a $1.4B Pentagon loan to expand silicon‑carbon anode production.
Radiant Logistics 🇺🇸: completed an amended and restated $200M secured revolving credit facility (five-year term to 2031).
Avere Therapeutics 🇺🇸: raised $500M in a private placement to fund development of once-weekly oral IL-23 therapy AVR-001.

❌ Failures

PGA Tour 🇺🇸: ended merger talks with Saudi sovereign fund PIF after negotiations collapsed.
First Brands 🇺🇸: collapsed auto-parts supplier urged a bankruptcy judge to approve a restructuring to fund civil lawsuits over the fraud and collapse.

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

777 Partners 🇺🇸: filed for bankruptcy after creditors pushed for liquidation.
Sherritt International 🇨🇦: battling rival bids to recapitalise and restart its Fort Saskatchewan refinery while at risk of defaulting on a $57M loan.

🇺🇸 United States

777 Partners 🇺🇸: filed for bankruptcy after creditors pushed for liquidation.
Tractor Supply 🇺🇸: after concluding customer pressures will persist, the retailer cut expansion, lowered financial targets and reduced prices to boost sales.
Sherritt International 🇨🇦: battling rival bids to recapitalise and restart its Fort Saskatchewan refinery while at risk of defaulting on a $57M loan.

🎯 For a Few More Minutes…

🇬🇧 Licence to Thrill. After catching a Dubai-registered Ferrari Monza SP2 driven illegally, a Met officer enjoyed the £3.7M ride straight to the police pound. (The Guardian)
🇬🇧 Fun Size. A 35-year-old, 62.5g Mars Bar found in a Scunthorpe house is 20g heavier than today’s version, fueling viral outrage over shrinkflation. (Bbc)
🇸🇪 Rock of Ages. Researchers found a Stone Age woman and her unborn child buried together on a Swedish island, providing rare evidence of early settlement and maternal life. (Le Parisien)

Good morning!

🏗️ The Big Hole

A Free Lunch is looking for a business partner or advertising agency to monetize its ads. Contact us!

🗞️ Top Story

🇬🇧 C-Free Zone. England is on track to eliminate hepatitis C, having treated 80% of known cases and slashed deaths by 36% in a decade. (Bbc)
🇬🇧 Current Affairs. Millions in Great Britain face the threat of sudden rolling blackouts as Neso gains new powers to cut electricity without government approval. (The Guardian)
🇬🇧 Background Check. UK police are probing whether Joshua Kerry, accused of Ann Widdecombe’s murder, was also involved in an attempted burglary at Nigel Farage’s former home. (The Guardian)
🇬🇧 Robo-Cop Out. The IOPC is probing a Derbyshire detective chief inspector over claims AI was used to document investigation decisions, with misconduct charges now on the table. (Bbc)
🇬🇧 Airwave Alarm. Ofcom investigates News after guest Caroline Farrow’s pride parade comments trigger more than 12,000 complaints from viewers. (The Guardian)
🇩🇪 Current Affairs. The Rhine is nearing record low water levels in Germany, threatening to split the river in two and halt navigation entirely, warns the inland shipping federation. (Le Parisien)
🇬🇷 Wind and Fire. A new wildfire broke out southeast of Athens, fueled by winds over 70 km/h, forcing evacuations and a massive emergency response. (Le Figaro)
🇸🇪 Spy Another Day. Sweden says it foiled a Russian intelligence operation aiming to discredit Sweden, NATO, and the EU by infiltrating its decision-making process with a diplomatic agent. (France Info)
🇮🇪 Jet Set. Daniel Kinahan, alleged boss of the Kinahan cartel, was flown from Dubai to Dublin on a government jet and charged with directing a criminal organization. (Bbc)
🇪🇺 Return to Sender. Italy and Denmark’s leaders publish a joint letter pushing for stricter migration controls, including offshore deportation centers, blaming irregular migrants for rising crime without offering supporting data. (El Pais)
🇪🇺 Space Jammed. Europe risks a bottleneck in satellite launches by 2030, with ESA sounding the alarm over too few rockets for its ambitious orbital plans. (Le Figaro)
🇺🇸 Shot Caller. President Trump signs an order to cut childhood vaccines from 18 to 11 and recommends splitting the MMR shot, despite overwhelming scientific consensus against the move. (Bbc)
🇺🇸 Strait Shooter. Trump declares the Navy has secured the Strait of Hormuz for global shipping, boasting 100% control and tossing in a call for Iranian compensation. (Die Zeit)
🇨🇴 Fault Lines. A 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck western Colombia, killing over 100 people and causing widespread damage in cities like Pereira and Cali as rescue efforts intensify. (El Pais)
🇮🇳 Neutral Ground. The Cockroach Janta Party insists it will champion youth issues for India, claiming political neutrality no matter which party holds power. (Bloomberg)
🇦🇫 Starvation Nation. Afghanistan faces a deepening hunger crisis as Western donors cut aid, leaving millions struggling under Taliban rule and little hope for relief. (Spiegel)
🇹🇷 Flight Risk. Trump ditched his new luxury plane for an old military model in Ankara, sneaking through a catering container while most thought he was still on Air Force One. (Die Zeit)
🇮🇷 No Deal Zone. Tehran promotes a hawkish security chief and insists it is nearing a shipping agreement with Oman, but keeps the door firmly closed to Trump-era US talks. (Bloomberg)

🏛️ Economy

🇬🇧 Trust Issues. A TSB survey reveals most Brits who act on social media financial advice lose money, yet many still trust what they see online. (FinExtra)
🇬🇧 Dark Power. Octopus Energy urges millions of UK households to cut electricity use during Wednesday’s solar eclipse, warning the grid will feel the shadow too. (The Guardian)
🇬🇧 Fee-Fi-Faux-Fum. Prime Minister Andy Burnham pledges to ban fake discounts and make cancelling subscriptions easier, targeting everyday rip-offs that quietly drain UK wallets. (The Guardian)
🇬🇧 Pound for Pound. LSE’s Charlie Walker warns that without fresh investment, London’s public markets risk losing their heavyweight status on the world stage. (Wall Street Journal)
🇩🇪 Growth Spurt. After six years of near-stagnation, Germany posts its third straight month of industrial growth and a record €140B in exports for June. (Les Echos)
🇪🇺 Track to the Future. Finland and Sweden launch their first rail link in 30 years, letting travelers ride from the Arctic Circle to southern Europe without ever leaving the tracks. (Ouest-France)
🇪🇺 Europhoria. The euro zone’s economic outlook brightens, giving policymakers rare reasons to smile as growth prospects finally show some life. (Bloomberg)
🇺🇸 Paper Trail. While thousands of newspapers fold, small independents like The Chronicle survive on personal delivery and neighborly devotion, one Subaru at a time. (New York Times)
🇺🇸 Gilt Trip. Gold prices surge past $4,400 as traders brace for fresh inflation data, proving anxiety is still the market’s favorite commodity. (Bloomberg)
🇺🇸 Ahead of the Curveball. Legend Venture Partners 🇺🇸 faces SEC charges for allegedly selling investors on pre-IPO deals that were more fiction than future fortune. (Bloomberg)
🇺🇸 Prop Star. Sergey Brin has donated another $20M, bringing his total to over $100M, to block California’s billionaire tax ahead of November’s vote. (TechCrunch)
🇺🇸 Crude Awakening. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve has dropped below 300M barrels for the first time since 1983 after Trump’s emergency release, raising fresh questions about America’s energy safety net. (Cnbc)
🇺🇸 Brand Aid. Trump Organization raked in $59.5M from foreign licensing deals in 2025, mostly from Gulf states, as the president’s name proves more lucrative than ever. And ethics watchdogs notice. (Cnbc)
🇭🇰 Fee Pass. Hong Kong is considering expanding tax exemptions on performance fees to include trading giants like Jane Street and Citadel Securities, making the city even more attractive to global finance. (Bloomberg)
🌍 Buy and Dose. Big Pharma is on an acquisition spree, snapping up biotech firms like Myricx Bio and Crinetics to refill their drug pipelines before blockbusters expire. (Le Monde)

🏢 Real Estate

🇬🇧 Bit by Bit. Robinhood 🇺🇸 opens crypto trading to UK customers via Bitstamp, adding Bitcoin, Ethereum and dozens more to its app’s arsenal this week. (FinExtra)
🇩🇪 Flat Out Higher. Rents for new leases in German apartment buildings jumped 3.2% over last year, with Düsseldorf topping the charts and Berlin barely moving. (Die Zeit)
🇺🇸 House of Cards. The Democrats are so strapped for cash after Kamala Harris’s campaign flop that they’re mortgaging their own headquarters to keep going. (Die Zeit)
🇺🇸 Eyes Wide Open. The 2,600-square-meter Manhattan mansion where Epstein operated was filled with surveillance cameras, ensuring no guest ever went unwatched. (Le Parisien)
🇺🇸 Power Play. Anthropic, Macquarie, and GIC form a joint venture to fund and develop data centers for Claude, with Anthropic promising to cover any electricity price spikes. The AI arms race now comes with a utility bill. (Boursier)

🔗 On-chain

🇺🇸 Truth & Consequences. Trump Media posted a $238M quarterly loss after its crypto bets fizzled, prompting a sudden pivot back to its social media roots. (Bbc)

💱 Listed Markets

🇬🇧 Liquid Assets. Thames Water handed its new finance chief Steve Buck a £1M signing-on fee, funded by emergency cash, while drowning in £20B debt and facing nationalisation talk. (Bbc)
🇺🇸 Data Vanish Act. Meta 🇺🇸 faces court sanctions after a judge ruled it let key evidence disappear in a case accusing it of enabling scam ads featuring billionaire Andrew Forrest. (Le Monde)
🇺🇸 Copycat Cart. TikTok is testing TikTok Shop Plus, a subscription service offering free delivery and deals, clearly modeled after Amazon 🇺🇸 Prime. (Les Echos)
🇺🇸 Rocket Pay. Elon Musk could merge Tesla and SpaceX to trigger a $1T payday, sidestepping performance hurdles and cementing his control in one launch. (Wall Street Journal)
🇺🇸 Blockade and Barrel. WTI surges 2.8% to $80 after Trump signals talks with Iran are stalled and the Strait of Hormuz stays closed for now. (Boursier)
🇹🇼 Chip Happens. TSMC’s July sales jumped 45% to $14.5B as AI demand keeps its factories humming and investors glued to every quarterly whisper. (Cnbc)
🇭🇰 Artificial Selection. The Hang Seng Tech Index in Hong Kong is expanding its roster to include more firms with an emphasis on AI, aiming for a smarter market mix. (Bloomberg)
🇦🇺 Rare Opportunity. Sunrise Energy Metals 🇦🇺 soared 29% after the US Department of Defense pledged $400M to fund a scandium mine and challenge China’s grip on rare earths. (Cnbc)
🇦🇪 Quota Unquote. Freed from OPEC quotas, Adnoc Gas 🇦🇪 announces a $8B expansion to ramp up natural gas output and chase global demand. (Wall Street Journal)

🛎️ Big Deals (M&A)

Goodwin 🇬🇧, a $2B-listed engineering firm, explores a stake sale of its mechanical engineering unit, including Goodwin Steel Castings 🇬🇧 and Goodwin International 🇬🇧.
Peel Holdings 🇬🇧’s $790M takeover bid for Harworth Group 🇬🇧, an infrastructure company and largest shareholder offering for a land and property regeneration company, is rejected.
Frasers Group 🇬🇧 is the frontrunner to buy Harvey Nichols 🇬🇧 for less than $55M.
Unipol 🇮🇹 aims to hold a >30% stake in a merged entity of BPER Banca 🇮🇹 and assets carved out of BMPS 🇮🇹 if Intesa Sanpaolo 🇮🇹 succeeds in its takeover bid for BMPS 🇮🇹.
UBS Investment Bank 🇨🇭 invests in Finster AI 🇺🇸 as part of the startup’s Series B, tied to AI-native workflows for investment banking.
DNO 🇳🇴 offers $272M to acquire Genel Energy 🇬🇧. Bid rejected.
Russia 🇷🇺 sells a 30% stake in Sheremetyevo Airport 🇷🇺.
Jeff Bezos investor group 🇺🇸 acquires Liverpool Football Club 🇬🇧 for about a third of the club at a >$6B valuation. Consortium includes Amit Bhatia and Eduardo Saverin.
Ashland 🇺🇸, $3.5B-listed chemical maker, explores a sale after receiving takeover interest.
Verisk 🇺🇸 completes a Delaware judge-ordered $2.35B acquisition of AccuLynx 🇺🇸 seven months after calling off the deal.
Dream Finders Homes 🇺🇸 will acquire Beazer Homes 🇺🇸 for $2.2B, including $1.2B in debt.
PrimeDelta 🇺🇸 acquires AI Financial Corp 🇺🇸’s payments unit for $12M in cash and stock.
Most Valuable Promotions 🇺🇸 merges with Professional Fighters League 🇺🇸 in a deal combining combat-sports promotions.
AMD 🇺🇸 to acquire Taalas 🇨🇦, AI chip startup.
Beyoncé 🇺🇸 acquires SirDavis 🇫🇷 after LVMH ceded its stake, taking full control of the whisky brand.
GameStop 🇺🇸 to acquire eBay 🇺🇸 for $56B (proposal at $125 per share, 50% cash / 50% stock), but may withdraw and instead seek a partnership or joint venture. GameStop holds a 9.75% stake in eBay, GameStop has $8.4B cash and a $8.6B market cap while eBay’s market cap is $49.8B (~$54B including debt). Since the offer GameStop shares are down 28% and eBay shares are up 7.6%.
Archer Aviation 🇺🇸 acquires Wisk Aero 🇺🇸, Insitu 🇺🇸 and SkyGrid 🇺🇸 from Boeing 🇺🇸. Includes a technology-sharing agreement with Boeing, subject to Hart-Scott-Rodino approval and expected to close by end-2026.
Teledyne Technologies 🇺🇸 acquires Varex Imaging 🇺🇸 for $1.1B. Varex designs and manufactures X‑ray imaging components for the healthcare market.
Boeing 🇺🇸 takes a minority stake in Archer Aviation 🇺🇸, while retaining access to Wisk’s autonomous-flight technology.
PSP 🇨🇦 explores a $1.5B sale of its roads in India 🇮🇳
ENEOS 🇯🇵 acquires TPC Group 🇺🇸 for $1.3B, including debt.
Sony 🇯🇵 and TSMC 🇹🇼 to invest ¥1T (~€5.45B/$6.3B) in a joint venture to develop next‑generation image sensors. JV ownership 60%/40%, mass production slated for 2029, production at Koshi for Apple and other uses.
SK Hynix 🇰🇷 considers stake sale of China-based plant 🇨🇳 that could fetch $3B valuation.
Danantara 🇮🇩 invests $2.5B to form a JV with JBS 🇧🇷
Ratio Petroleum 🇮🇱 acquires Pharos Energy 🇬🇧 for $197M at a 30% premium after a bidding war with Serica Energy.

🧳 Private Markets & VC

🇬🇧 Blair Force One. Nick Blair, son of Tony Blair, is seeking $200M to launch Pyra, a defence tech start-up aiming to unify military systems for the UK and its allies. (Financial Times)
🇫🇷 Carte Blanche. With its new French banking license, Revolut 🇬🇧 can now offer deposit protection and loans, pushing even further into the mainstream. (Le Figaro)
🇺🇸 Cash Out, Not Out. OpenAI let employees sell $7B in shares at a private $852B valuation, offering liquidity without opening the IPO floodgates just yet. (TechCrunch)
🇺🇸 Lion’s Share. Former MoneyLion executives unveil Astraeus, securing $10M to build a platform that gives AI the firm-specific context wealth managers crave. (FinExtra)
🇺🇸 Meta Morphosis. Meta launches a compact, open AI model and pledges $1B to local services, hoping transparency will outpace tech secrecy. (New York Times)
🇨🇳 Cheap Thrills Over. Shein’s signature low prices take a hit from fresh tariffs, causing sales to slump and investors to eye its services pivot warily. (Cnbc)

Fundraising

Firmus Technologies 🇦🇺 (Data centers): $2B (Jane Street)
5C Group 🇨🇦 (AI infrastructure): $1.4B (Brookfield Asset Management)
WhatNot 🇺🇸 (Marketplace): $545M (ICONIQ, Lightspeed, Avra)
Harvey 🇺🇸 (Legal): $500M (Lightspeed)
inKind 🇺🇸 (Foodtech): $414M (Citi, Cross River, Sagard, Varadero Capital, Trinity Capital)
Source Foundry 🇺🇸 (Semiconductor): $400M (Situational Awareness, Sequoia)
Cambridge Aerospace 🇬🇧 (Air defence): $300M (DFJ Growth, Lux Capital, Axel, Lakestar, Elad Gil)
Point2 Technology 🇺🇸 (Semiconductor): $136M (LB Investment, Arm, Maverick Silicon, NVIDIA, UMC Capital, Molex, Bosch Ventures)
Expedition Therapeutics 🇺🇸 (Biotech): $115M (General Atlantic, RA Capital, Vivo Capital, Sofinnova Investments, Novo Holdings, Forbion, Dawn Biopharma, Adage Capital Management, Balyasny Asset Management, Logos Capital, Sanofi Ventures, BVF Partners, Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners)
Aureka Biotechnologies 🇺🇸 (Biotech): $100M (Granite Asia, HighLight Capital, MPCi, NRL Capital)
DecadeWealth 🇧🇷 (Wealthtech): $85M
Fluxco 🇺🇸 (Procurement): $26M (8VC, Congruent Ventures)
VibeIQ 🇺🇸 (AI): $22.5M (Volition Capital, Venture Guides)
AB Science 🇫🇷 (Biotech): €14.2M
Atlas Motion 🇺🇸 (Robotics): $11.5M (Greycroft, Also Capital)
Dow Protocol (Blockchain): $10.5M (MH Ventures, Mapleblock, Animoca Brands)
Astraeus 🇺🇸 (Wealth management): $10M+ (Fintech Collective, F-Prime, Plug and Play Ventures, others)
Discovered Materials 🇺🇸 (Materials): $9M (Lightspeed India Partners, Y Combinator, Peak XV Partners, Paul Graham, Gokul Rajaram, Thariq Shihipar)
ORCA AI Agent 🇺🇸 (AI): $7M (Alpha Capital, Genesis, and others)
Proxy Foods AI 🇺🇸 (Foodtech): $6M (Ted Leonsis, Robert G. Hisaoka, SWaN & Legend Venture Partners, Anthony Nader, Fredrick Schaufeld)
WashWise 🇺🇸 (Consumer): $1.2M (FJ Labs, Singh Capital, Alex Jekowsky, Jack Abraham, Brian Tate, Gigi Howard, Nina Farran, Mia Tonelli, Taylor James, Brown Girl Angels, executives and operators from Pickle, The Business of Fashion, Dior, SoulCycle, Soho House, Apple, J.P. Morgan)

Fund Watch

Energy Capital Partners 🇺🇸: $8B+ (6th flagship infrastructure fund)
South Park Commons 🇺🇸: $575M (4th fund, startup accelerator)
Pono Capital Four 🇺🇸: $380M (SPAC merger valuation for Blackstar Orbital, reusable spacecraft platform)
White Star Capital 🇨🇦: $250M (4th fund, Series A/B AI startups)

🔔IPO

Intel 🇺🇸 (Semiconductors): offering $15B of common stock to fund capex and working capital amid surging AI-compute demand.
Formlabs 🇺🇸 (3D printing): backed by SoftBank and in early talks for a $500M IPO.
Latigo Biotherapeutics 🇺🇸 (Biotech): raised $345M in an upsized IPO at a $1.2B market cap.
BlossomHill Therapeutics 🇺🇸 (Biotech): raised $150M in an upsized IPO at a $490M valuation.
Switch 🇺🇸 (Data centers): DigitalBridge-backed operator filed confidentially for a IPO.
Moore Threads Technology 🇨🇳 (Semiconductors): planning a Hong Kong listing after shares surged over 420% and the company is valued at $42B.
Shein 🇸🇬 (Fast fashion): advisers pitching an IPO at a valuation below $30B, down from over $100B at its 2022 peak.
Fossil Group 🇮🇳 (Accessories): invited banks to pitch for a $500M India IPO of its India business.

🧳 Debt

Cloudflare 🇺🇸: announced a $2.175B private placement of convertible senior notes due 2031.
San Juan 🇵🇷: saw $2.2B in demand for a $120M muni sale.
The Executive Centre 🇭🇰: seeking a $500M loan.

❌ Failures

PGA Tour 🇺🇸: ended merger talks with Saudi sovereign fund PIF after negotiations collapsed.
First Brands 🇺🇸: collapsed auto-parts supplier urged a bankruptcy judge to approve a restructuring to fund civil lawsuits over the fraud and collapse.
777 Partners 🇺🇸: filed for bankruptcy after creditors pushed for liquidation.
Sherritt International 🇨🇦: battling rival bids to recapitalise and restart its Fort Saskatchewan refinery while at risk of defaulting on a $57M loan.

🎯 For a Few More Minutes…

🇬🇧 Licence to Thrill. After catching a Dubai-registered Ferrari Monza SP2 driven illegally, a Met officer enjoyed the £3.7M ride straight to the police pound. (The Guardian)
🇬🇧 Fun Size. A 35-year-old, 62.5g Mars Bar found in a Scunthorpe house is 20g heavier than today’s version, fueling viral outrage over shrinkflation. (Bbc)
🇸🇪 Rock of Ages. Researchers found a Stone Age woman and her unborn child buried together on a Swedish island, providing rare evidence of early settlement and maternal life. (Le Parisien)

Good morning!

🏗️ The Big Hole

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🗞️ Top Story

🇺🇸 Shot Caller. President Trump signs an order to cut childhood vaccines from 18 to 11 and recommends splitting the MMR shot, despite overwhelming scientific consensus against the move. (Bbc)
🇺🇸 Strait Shooter. Trump declares the Navy has secured the Strait of Hormuz for global shipping, boasting 100% control and tossing in a call for Iranian compensation. (Die Zeit)
🇺🇸 Running Mate. Jennifer Balkcom will replace Chuck Edwards on the November ballot after Edwards exited under pressure from a House ethics report detailing his inappropriate behavior. (New York Times)
🇺🇸 Inbox Anxiety. With 34,000 texts from Anthony Fauci’s phone now public, GOP Senators spotlight his Covid vaccine risk discussions for pregnant women, searching for a smoking gun. (Wall Street Journal)
🇨🇴 Fault Lines. A 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck western Colombia, killing over 100 people and causing widespread damage in cities like Pereira and Cali as rescue efforts intensify. (El Pais)
🇩🇪 Current Affairs. The Rhine is nearing record low water levels in Germany, threatening to split the river in two and halt navigation entirely, warns the inland shipping federation. (Le Parisien)
🇬🇷 Wind and Fire. A new wildfire broke out southeast of Athens, fueled by winds over 70 km/h, forcing evacuations and a massive emergency response. (Le Figaro)
🇸🇪 Spy Another Day. Sweden says it foiled a Russian intelligence operation aiming to discredit Sweden, NATO, and the EU by infiltrating its decision-making process with a diplomatic agent. (France Info)
🇪🇺 Return to Sender. Italy and Denmark’s leaders publish a joint letter pushing for stricter migration controls, including offshore deportation centers, blaming irregular migrants for rising crime without offering supporting data. (El Pais)
🇪🇺 Space Jammed. Europe risks a bottleneck in satellite launches by 2030, with ESA sounding the alarm over too few rockets for its ambitious orbital plans. (Le Figaro)
🇬🇧 C-Free Zone. England is on track to eliminate hepatitis C, having treated 80% of known cases and slashed deaths by 36% in a decade. (Bbc)
🇮🇳 Neutral Ground. The Cockroach Janta Party insists it will champion youth issues for India, claiming political neutrality no matter which party holds power. (Bloomberg)
🇦🇫 Starvation Nation. Afghanistan faces a deepening hunger crisis as Western donors cut aid, leaving millions struggling under Taliban rule and little hope for relief. (Spiegel)
🇹🇷 Flight Risk. Trump ditched his new luxury plane for an old military model in Ankara, sneaking through a catering container while most thought he was still on Air Force One. (Die Zeit)
🇮🇷 No Deal Zone. Tehran promotes a hawkish security chief and insists it is nearing a shipping agreement with Oman, but keeps the door firmly closed to Trump-era US talks. (Bloomberg)

🏛️ Economy

🇺🇸 Paper Trail. While thousands of newspapers fold, small independents like The Chronicle survive on personal delivery and neighborly devotion, one Subaru at a time. (New York Times)
🇺🇸 Gilt Trip. Gold prices surge past $4,400 as traders brace for fresh inflation data, proving anxiety is still the market’s favorite commodity. (Bloomberg)
🇺🇸 Ahead of the Curveball. Legend Venture Partners 🇺🇸 faces SEC charges for allegedly selling investors on pre-IPO deals that were more fiction than future fortune. (Bloomberg)
🇺🇸 Prop Star. Sergey Brin has donated another $20M, bringing his total to over $100M, to block California’s billionaire tax ahead of November’s vote. (TechCrunch)
🇺🇸 Digging In. With a $3B shot in the arm for mining, Trump tries to unearth independence from Chinese-controlled mineral supply chains. (Bloomberg)
🇺🇸 Crude Awakening. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve has dropped below 300M barrels for the first time since 1983 after Trump’s emergency release, raising fresh questions about America’s energy safety net. (Cnbc)
🇺🇸 Brand Aid. Trump Organization raked in $59.5M from foreign licensing deals in 2025, mostly from Gulf states, as the president’s name proves more lucrative than ever. And ethics watchdogs notice. (Cnbc)
🇺🇸 High and Dry. With the Fed likely to keep rates up, Americans face pricier mortgages, car loans, and credit card bills for the foreseeable future. (Cnbc)
🇺🇸 Secret Sauce. Companies must now tell the FDA about new food additives, but the real recipe for defining ultraprocessed food remains under wraps thanks to another delay. (Wall Street Journal)
🇩🇪 Growth Spurt. After six years of near-stagnation, Germany posts its third straight month of industrial growth and a record €140B in exports for June. (Les Echos)
🇪🇺 Europhoria. The euro zone’s economic outlook brightens, giving policymakers rare reasons to smile as growth prospects finally show some life. (Bloomberg)
🇬🇧 Trust Issues. A TSB survey reveals most Brits who act on social media financial advice lose money, yet many still trust what they see online. (FinExtra)
🇬🇧 Pound for Pound. LSE’s Charlie Walker warns that without fresh investment, London’s public markets risk losing their heavyweight status on the world stage. (Wall Street Journal)
🇭🇰 Fee Pass. Hong Kong is considering expanding tax exemptions on performance fees to include trading giants like Jane Street and Citadel Securities, making the city even more attractive to global finance. (Bloomberg)
🌍 Buy and Dose. Big Pharma is on an acquisition spree, snapping up biotech firms like Myricx Bio and Crinetics to refill their drug pipelines before blockbusters expire. (Le Monde)

🏢 Real Estate

🇺🇸 Tax and Friction. Mayor Mamdani’s attempt to tax wealthy homeowners is put on hold by a judge, with city hall now racing to overturn the ruling. (New York Times)
🇺🇸 House of Cards. The Democrats are so strapped for cash after Kamala Harris’s campaign flop that they’re mortgaging their own headquarters to keep going. (Die Zeit)
🇺🇸 Eyes Wide Open. The 2,600-square-meter Manhattan mansion where Epstein operated was filled with surveillance cameras, ensuring no guest ever went unwatched. (Le Parisien)
🇺🇸 Power Play. Anthropic, Macquarie, and GIC form a joint venture to fund and develop data centers for Claude, with Anthropic promising to cover any electricity price spikes. The AI arms race now comes with a utility bill. (Boursier)
🇩🇪 Flat Out Higher. Rents for new leases in German apartment buildings jumped 3.2% over last year, with Düsseldorf topping the charts and Berlin barely moving. (Die Zeit)

🔗 On-chain

🇺🇸 Truth & Consequences. Trump Media posted a $238M quarterly loss after its crypto bets fizzled, prompting a sudden pivot back to its social media roots. (Bbc)

💱 Listed Markets

🇺🇸 Data Vanish Act. Meta 🇺🇸 faces court sanctions after a judge ruled it let key evidence disappear in a case accusing it of enabling scam ads featuring billionaire Andrew Forrest. (Le Monde)
🇺🇸 Copycat Cart. TikTok is testing TikTok Shop Plus, a subscription service offering free delivery and deals, clearly modeled after Amazon 🇺🇸 Prime. (Les Echos)
🇺🇸 Rocket Pay. Elon Musk could merge Tesla and SpaceX to trigger a $1T payday, sidestepping performance hurdles and cementing his control in one launch. (Wall Street Journal)
🇺🇸 Pay Dirt. Barrick Mining 🇨🇦 settles its Nevada dispute with Newmont 🇺🇸 for $1.95B in cash, unlocking its long-awaited North American gold IPO. (Wall Street Journal)
🇺🇸 Blockade and Barrel. WTI surges 2.8% to $80 after Trump signals talks with Iran are stalled and the Strait of Hormuz stays closed for now. (Boursier)
🇬🇧 Spirited Away. Diageo 🇬🇧 unveils a turnaround plan to rescue Crown Royal, Smirnoff, and Captain Morgan after years of sales decline and fading shelf appeal. (Wall Street Journal)
🇹🇼 Chip Happens. TSMC’s July sales jumped 45% to $14.5B as AI demand keeps its factories humming and investors glued to every quarterly whisper. (Cnbc)
🇭🇰 Artificial Selection. The Hang Seng Tech Index in Hong Kong is expanding its roster to include more firms with an emphasis on AI, aiming for a smarter market mix. (Bloomberg)
🇦🇺 Rare Opportunity. Sunrise Energy Metals 🇦🇺 soared 29% after the US Department of Defense pledged $400M to fund a scandium mine and challenge China’s grip on rare earths. (Cnbc)
🇦🇪 Quota Unquote. Freed from OPEC quotas, Adnoc Gas 🇦🇪 announces a $8B expansion to ramp up natural gas output and chase global demand. (Wall Street Journal)

🛎️ Big Deals (M&A)

Jeff Bezos investor group 🇺🇸 acquires Liverpool Football Club 🇬🇧 for about a third of the club at a >$6B valuation. Consortium includes Amit Bhatia and Eduardo Saverin.
Ashland 🇺🇸, $3.5B-listed chemical maker, explores a sale after receiving takeover interest.
Verisk 🇺🇸 completes a Delaware judge-ordered $2.35B acquisition of AccuLynx 🇺🇸 seven months after calling off the deal.
Dream Finders Homes 🇺🇸 will acquire Beazer Homes 🇺🇸 for $2.2B, including $1.2B in debt.
PrimeDelta 🇺🇸 acquires AI Financial Corp 🇺🇸’s payments unit for $12M in cash and stock.
Most Valuable Promotions 🇺🇸 merges with Professional Fighters League 🇺🇸 in a deal combining combat-sports promotions.
AMD 🇺🇸 to acquire Taalas 🇨🇦, AI chip startup.
Beyoncé 🇺🇸 acquires SirDavis 🇫🇷 after LVMH ceded its stake, taking full control of the whisky brand.
GameStop 🇺🇸 to acquire eBay 🇺🇸 for $56B (proposal at $125 per share, 50% cash / 50% stock), but may withdraw and instead seek a partnership or joint venture. GameStop holds a 9.75% stake in eBay, GameStop has $8.4B cash and a $8.6B market cap while eBay’s market cap is $49.8B (~$54B including debt). Since the offer GameStop shares are down 28% and eBay shares are up 7.6%.
Archer Aviation 🇺🇸 acquires Wisk Aero 🇺🇸, Insitu 🇺🇸 and SkyGrid 🇺🇸 from Boeing 🇺🇸. Includes a technology-sharing agreement with Boeing, subject to Hart-Scott-Rodino approval and expected to close by end-2026.
Francisco Partners 🇺🇸 acquires Moneris 🇨🇦 for C$2.0B, a payments and commerce solutions provider.
VSS Capital Partners 🇺🇸 completes a growth investment in Cordoba, LLC. 🇺🇸, an engineering, construction and program management firm serving municipal and institutional clients across the Pacific Coast.
Teledyne Technologies 🇺🇸 acquires Varex Imaging 🇺🇸 for $1.1B. Varex designs and manufactures X‑ray imaging components for the healthcare market.
Eir Partners Capital 🇺🇸 invests in ClaimsBridge 🇺🇸, a strategic healthcare tech private equity investment.
Boeing 🇺🇸 takes a minority stake in Archer Aviation 🇺🇸, while retaining access to Wisk’s autonomous-flight technology.
PSP 🇨🇦 explores a $1.5B sale of its roads in India 🇮🇳
Unipol 🇮🇹 aims to hold a >30% stake in a merged entity of BPER Banca 🇮🇹 and assets carved out of BMPS 🇮🇹 if Intesa Sanpaolo 🇮🇹 succeeds in its takeover bid for BMPS 🇮🇹.
Goodwin 🇬🇧, a $2B-listed engineering firm, explores a stake sale of its mechanical engineering unit, including Goodwin Steel Castings 🇬🇧 and Goodwin International 🇬🇧.
Peel Holdings 🇬🇧’s $790M takeover bid for Harworth Group 🇬🇧, an infrastructure company and largest shareholder offering for a land and property regeneration company, is rejected.
Frasers Group 🇬🇧 is the frontrunner to buy Harvey Nichols 🇬🇧 for less than $55M.
UBS Investment Bank 🇨🇭 invests in Finster AI 🇺🇸 as part of the startup’s Series B, tied to AI-native workflows for investment banking.
DNO 🇳🇴 offers $272M to acquire Genel Energy 🇬🇧. Bid rejected.
Russia 🇷🇺 sells a 30% stake in Sheremetyevo Airport 🇷🇺.
ENEOS 🇯🇵 acquires TPC Group 🇺🇸 for $1.3B, including debt.
Sony 🇯🇵 and TSMC 🇹🇼 to invest ¥1T (~€5.45B/$6.3B) in a joint venture to develop next‑generation image sensors. JV ownership 60%/40%, mass production slated for 2029, production at Koshi for Apple and other uses.
SK Hynix 🇰🇷 considers stake sale of China-based plant 🇨🇳 that could fetch $3B valuation.
NAVER D2SF 🇰🇷 makes a follow-on investment in NdotLight 🇰🇷 (KRW 15B), third investment. Physical AI data infrastructure maker behind TRINIX simulation-ready 3D data.
Danantara 🇮🇩 invests $2.5B to form a JV with JBS 🇧🇷
Lindian Resources Limited 🇦🇺 acquires SARECO 🇰🇿, buying the remaining 49% to reach 100% ownership of the Stepnogorsk MREC hydromet plant. Includes two warehouses (~15,500 m²). Follows an A$100M institutional capital raise. Processing targeted for Q4 2026.
Ratio Petroleum 🇮🇱 acquires Pharos Energy 🇬🇧 for $197M at a 30% premium after a bidding war with Serica Energy.

🧳 Private Markets & VC

🇺🇸 Cash Out, Not Out. OpenAI let employees sell $7B in shares at a private $852B valuation, offering liquidity without opening the IPO floodgates just yet. (TechCrunch)
🇺🇸 Suit Yourself. HR giant Rippling 🇺🇸 fires back at tiny Runlayer 🇺🇸 with a patent infringement lawsuit after being accused of stealing product ideas, making the courtroom the new product launchpad. (TechCrunch)
🇺🇸 Lion’s Share. Former MoneyLion executives unveil Astraeus, securing $10M to build a platform that gives AI the firm-specific context wealth managers crave. (FinExtra)
🇺🇸 Meta Morphosis. Meta launches a compact, open AI model and pledges $1B to local services, hoping transparency will outpace tech secrecy. (New York Times)
🇫🇷 Carte Blanche. With its new French banking license, Revolut 🇬🇧 can now offer deposit protection and loans, pushing even further into the mainstream. (Le Figaro)
🇬🇧 Blair Force One. Nick Blair, son of Tony Blair, is seeking $200M to launch Pyra, a defence tech start-up aiming to unify military systems for the UK and its allies. (Financial Times)
🇨🇳 Cheap Thrills Over. Shein’s signature low prices take a hit from fresh tariffs, causing sales to slump and investors to eye its services pivot warily. (Cnbc)

Fundraising

Firmus Technologies 🇦🇺 (Data centers): $2B (Jane Street)
5C Group 🇨🇦 (AI infrastructure): $1.4B (Brookfield Asset Management)
WhatNot 🇺🇸 (Marketplace): $545M (ICONIQ, Lightspeed, Avra)
Harvey 🇺🇸 (Legal): $500M (Lightspeed)
inKind 🇺🇸 (Foodtech): $414M (Citi, Cross River, Sagard, Varadero Capital, Trinity Capital)
Source Foundry 🇺🇸 (Semiconductor): $400M (Situational Awareness, Sequoia)
Cambridge Aerospace 🇬🇧 (Air defence): $300M (DFJ Growth, Lux Capital, Axel, Lakestar, Elad Gil)
Point2 Technology 🇺🇸 (Semiconductor): $136M (LB Investment, Arm, Maverick Silicon, NVIDIA, UMC Capital, Molex, Bosch Ventures)
Expedition Therapeutics 🇺🇸 (Biotech): $115M (General Atlantic, RA Capital, Vivo Capital, Sofinnova Investments, Novo Holdings, Forbion, Dawn Biopharma, Adage Capital Management, Balyasny Asset Management, Logos Capital, Sanofi Ventures, BVF Partners, Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners)
Aureka Biotechnologies 🇺🇸 (Biotech): $100M (Granite Asia, HighLight Capital, MPCi, NRL Capital)
DecadeWealth 🇧🇷 (Wealthtech): $85M
Fluxco 🇺🇸 (Procurement): $26M (8VC, Congruent Ventures)
VibeIQ 🇺🇸 (AI): $22.5M (Volition Capital, Venture Guides)
AB Science 🇫🇷 (Biotech): €14.2M
Atlas Motion 🇺🇸 (Robotics): $11.5M (Greycroft, Also Capital)
Dow Protocol (Blockchain): $10.5M (MH Ventures, Mapleblock, Animoca Brands)
Astraeus 🇺🇸 (Wealth management): $10M+ (Fintech Collective, F-Prime, Plug and Play Ventures, others)
Discovered Materials 🇺🇸 (Materials): $9M (Lightspeed India Partners, Y Combinator, Peak XV Partners, Paul Graham, Gokul Rajaram, Thariq Shihipar)
ORCA AI Agent 🇺🇸 (AI): $7M (Alpha Capital, Genesis, and others)
Proxy Foods AI 🇺🇸 (Foodtech): $6M (Ted Leonsis, Robert G. Hisaoka, SWaN & Legend Venture Partners, Anthony Nader, Fredrick Schaufeld)
WashWise 🇺🇸 (Consumer): $1.2M (FJ Labs, Singh Capital, Alex Jekowsky, Jack Abraham, Brian Tate, Gigi Howard, Nina Farran, Mia Tonelli, Taylor James, Brown Girl Angels, executives and operators from Pickle, The Business of Fashion, Dior, SoulCycle, Soho House, Apple, J.P. Morgan)

Fund Watch

Energy Capital Partners 🇺🇸: $8B+ (6th flagship infrastructure fund)
South Park Commons 🇺🇸: $575M (4th fund, startup accelerator)
Pono Capital Four 🇺🇸: $380M (SPAC merger valuation for Blackstar Orbital, reusable spacecraft platform)
White Star Capital 🇨🇦: $250M (4th fund, Series A/B AI startups)

🔔IPO

Intel 🇺🇸 (Semiconductors): offering $15B of common stock to fund capex and working capital amid surging AI-compute demand.
Formlabs 🇺🇸 (3D printing): backed by SoftBank and in early talks for a $500M IPO.
Latigo Biotherapeutics 🇺🇸 (Biotech): raised $345M in an upsized IPO at a $1.2B market cap.
BlossomHill Therapeutics 🇺🇸 (Biotech): raised $150M in an upsized IPO at a $490M valuation.
Switch 🇺🇸 (Data centers): DigitalBridge-backed operator filed confidentially for a IPO.
KLX Energy Services Holdings 🇺🇸 (Energy): announced a $125M rights offering at $1.49/share, backstopped up to $94M to reduce leverage.
Moore Threads Technology 🇨🇳 (Semiconductors): planning a Hong Kong listing after shares surged over 420% and the company is valued at $42B.
Shein 🇸🇬 (Fast fashion): advisers pitching an IPO at a valuation below $30B, down from over $100B at its 2022 peak.
Fossil Group 🇮🇳 (Accessories): invited banks to pitch for a $500M India IPO of its India business.

🧳 Debt

Cloudflare 🇺🇸: announced a $2.175B private placement of convertible senior notes due 2031.
Sila 🇺🇸: landed a $1.4B Pentagon loan to expand silicon‑carbon anode production.
Radiant Logistics 🇺🇸: completed an amended and restated $200M secured revolving credit facility (five-year term to 2031).
Avere Therapeutics 🇺🇸: raised $500M in a private placement to fund development of once-weekly oral IL-23 therapy AVR-001.
San Juan 🇵🇷: saw $2.2B in demand for a $120M muni sale.
The Executive Centre 🇭🇰: seeking a $500M loan.

❌ Failures

PGA Tour 🇺🇸: ended merger talks with Saudi sovereign fund PIF after negotiations collapsed.
First Brands 🇺🇸: collapsed auto-parts supplier urged a bankruptcy judge to approve a restructuring to fund civil lawsuits over the fraud and collapse.
777 Partners 🇺🇸: filed for bankruptcy after creditors pushed for liquidation.
Tractor Supply 🇺🇸: after concluding customer pressures will persist, the retailer cut expansion, lowered financial targets and reduced prices to boost sales.
Sherritt International 🇨🇦: battling rival bids to recapitalise and restart its Fort Saskatchewan refinery while at risk of defaulting on a $57M loan.

🎯 For a Few More Minutes…

🇸🇪 Rock of Ages. Researchers found a Stone Age woman and her unborn child buried together on a Swedish island, providing rare evidence of early settlement and maternal life. (Le Parisien)
🇬🇧 Licence to Thrill. After catching a Dubai-registered Ferrari Monza SP2 driven illegally, a Met officer enjoyed the £3.7M ride straight to the police pound. (The Guardian)
🇬🇧 Fun Size. A 35-year-old, 62.5g Mars Bar found in a Scunthorpe house is 20g heavier than today’s version, fueling viral outrage over shrinkflation. (Bbc)

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