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🗞️ Top Story

• 🇫🇷 Macron in the Middle. As Emmanuel Macron faces domestic struggles, commentators warn Europe may soon realize how much it relied on his presence between Trump and Putin. (Spiegel)
• 🇩🇪 Sticker Shock. Berlin police are investigating after far-right stickers and hidden staples at a Spandau school left seven children with minor injuries on the playground. (Die Zeit)
• 🇵🇱 Spy Hard. Poland has matched three decades of Russian espionage investigations in just two years, with 69 new cases and 91 arrests since 2024. (Financial Times)
• 🇪🇺 Fence Off. Former top leaders ask the bloc to intervene against Israel’s E1 settlement, warning it risks cutting the West Bank in half. (Le Monde)
• 🇪🇺 Unreal Consent. lawmakers strike a deal to outlaw AI-generated sexual deepfakes, shifting the focus from punishment to prevention in digital abuse cases. (Die Zeit)
• 🇨🇭 Cabin Fever. After returning from the MV Hondius cruise, a Swiss passenger tested positive for the Andes hantavirus and is now isolated in Zurich while his ship remains quarantined. (Le Temps)
• 🇷🇺 Inside Job. US prosecutors say the Karakurt ransomware group used Russian government access and law enforcement ties to pressure victims and dodge accountability. (TechCrunch)
• 🇻🇦 Holy States. Leo XIV, the first American pope, uses his US roots as both a bridge and a counterweight to US political influence at the Vatican. (New York Times)
• 🇺🇸 Liberty on Ice. President Trump suspends « Project Liberty » to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, crediting supposed breakthroughs in Iran talks for the abrupt U-turn. (Le Monde)
• 🇺🇸 Ready, Set, Wait. The launched « Project Freedom » to guide ships past Iranian threats in Hormuz, then froze the mission almost immediately for supposed diplomatic “progress.” (BBC)
• 🇸🇻 Exit Interview. In 2025, over fifty Salvadoran journalists went into exile citing harassment and intimidation by state authorities under President Bukele. (Le Temps)
• 🇮🇷 Deal or No Deal Iran is reportedly reviewing a US proposal to end the Gaza war, putting the next move in Tehran’s hands for now. (Bloomberg)
• 🇲🇷 Speechless. Mauritanian lawmakers Mariem Cheikh Dieng and Ghamou Achour are jailed for four years after accusing President Ghazouani of racist policies on social media. (Le Monde)

• 🇬🇧 Green Shoots. Zack Polanski says he is not ready to be Prime Minister yet, but the Green party leader hints he might go for it in two years. (The Guardian)
• 🇬🇧 Red Alert. Labour faces the prospect of finishing third or worse in thousands of local contests as Starmer’s leadership becomes a magnet for voter frustration across Britain. (New York Times)
• 🇬🇧 Brake on Pain. With oil prices surging due to the Iran war, the IPPR suggests lower UK speed limits might ease the squeeze on consumers at the pump. (The Guardian)
• 🇬🇧 Commons Sense. Nigel Farage has earned £2M in outside income since becoming an MP, proving that Parliament is the only side hustle with its own mace. (The Guardian)

🏛️ Economy

• 🇪🇺 Pay It Forward. Despite energy costs climbing, the ECB expects eurozone wage growth to lose steam by 2026, cooling recent worker gains. (Wall Street Journal)
• 🇪🇺 Price Tagalogue. Eurozone inflation hits 3% in April, moving beyond fuel to textiles and even condoms, proving no sector gets a free pass. (Le Temps)
• 🇬🇧 Pay to Play. The FCA is investigating Mastercard, Visa, and PayPal for allegedly restricting competition in the UK by controlling how PayPal’s wallet is funded and used. The house rules may need rewriting. (Boursier)
• 🇺🇸 Empty Goals. Despite years of planning, hoteliers face disappointing demand for the World Cup, as bookings trail projections across all host cities. (France Info)
• 🇺🇸 Suit Yourself. Elite Wall Street attorneys are accused of passing secret merger tips to an insider trading ring, turning legal briefs into illegal windfalls. (Financial Times)
• 🇦🇷 Chainsaw Medicine. Milei’s austerity measures slash funding for university hospitals, pushing Argentina’s public health system dangerously close to collapse.
• 🇨🇳 Bot to Reality. Over 150 Chinese humanoid robot companies are flooding the market, but with only 23% of buyers satisfied, optimism is meeting some stubborn resistance. (Thenextweb)
• 🇹🇼 Chips on the Line. The Hormuz crisis highlights vulnerabilities in Taiwan’s semiconductor defenses, suggesting the « Silicon Shield » is not immune to global shocks. (Bloomberg)
• 🇦🇺 Tank You Very Much. Australia plans to store 1B liters of fuel, treating energy security as a numbers game rather than a solved problem. (Le Parisien)
• 🌍 Ground Control. Nearly 13,000 flights have been cancelled globally this May as jet fuel prices take off, sending airlines scrambling to protect margins. (BBC)

• 🇬🇧 Gilt Trip. British borrowing costs just hit a 26-year record, outpacing US and German bonds, with inflation and political risk adding fuel to the fire. (New York Times)

• 🇺🇸 Hire Power. ADP says companies added 109,000 jobs in April, another sign the labor market refuses to cool off for the Fed. (Cnbc)

🏢 Real Estate

• 🇺🇸 Fuel’s Gold. The dream of affordable suburbia is losing its shine as commuters like Nicole Smith watch gas bills erase housing savings. (Wall Street Journal)

🔗 On-chain

• 🇸🇪 Spy High Club. Swedish authorities warn that Polymarket 🇺🇸, a crypto betting site, could be a goldmine for foreign intelligence services seeking sensitive information through user predictions. (Breakit)
• 🇺🇸 Stable Genius. Circle stock jumped nearly 20% after lawmakers agreed on a CLARITY Act compromise that keeps stablecoin reward programs alive and well. (Cnbc)
• 🇺🇸 Going Crypto. Strategy announced a $12.77B Q1 loss as bitcoin’s value tanked, reminding investors that volatility is the only constant. (Wall Street Journal)
• 🇺🇸 Coin Operated. Morgan Stanley is letting E*Trade users buy and sell crypto directly, charging half a cent per dollar and daring competitors to match it. (Financial Times)

💱 Listed Markets

• 🇫🇷 Pump and Circumstance. TotalEnergies draws fire from the left for resisting government calls to freeze fuel prices, earning labels like « crisis profiteer » and « blackmailer. » (Le Parisien)
• 🇧🇪 Golden Parachute. Ilham Kadri will receive €40.4M from Syensqo despite the company’s poor performance and a share price collapse since her tenure began. (Le Monde)
• 🇪🇺 Euro Vision European dealmakers notch $450B in transactions at record speed, setting the stage for a blockbuster year in mergers and acquisitions. (Bloomberg)
• 🇬🇧 Chip Happens. Arm predicts $2B in sales from its new AI chip starting next year, doubling its initial forecast and betting big on the AI gold rush. (Financial Times)
• 🇺🇸 Stream and Scream. Warner Bros. Discovery logs a $2.92B quarterly loss, mostly due to a massive $2.8B Netflix termination fee. (Wall Street Journal)
• 🇺🇸 Fare Share. Uber Technologies posted rising revenue and bookings last quarter, driven by more trips and a growing base of active users. (Wall Street Journal)
• 🇺🇸 Siri Not Sorry. Apple will pay $250M to settle claims it misled buyers about how soon its new AI-powered Siri would actually work as promised. (TechCrunch)
• 🇺🇸 IPOcalypse Now. Bank of America warns that mega-IPOs from SpaceX and Anthropic could signal the final act of the bull market, citing rule tweaks as a red flag. (Cnbc)
• 🇨🇦 Have It Their Way. Restaurant Brands International reported sharply higher profits and growing sales last quarter, proving the burger business is still sizzling. (Wall Street Journal)
• 🇯🇵 Tokyo Drift. The Nikkei 225 sped to a new all-time high above 62,000, with markets across Asia largely ignoring Trump’s warnings of military action against Iran. (Cnbc)
• 🇭🇰 F-Bonds. Andy Xie’s court appearance in Hong Kong turns into finance theater, as blockbuster trades and four-letter words share the spotlight. (Bloomberg)

• 🇺🇸 Optical Illusion. Nvidia is investing $500M in Corning to massively expand fiber optic manufacturing, all in service of the AI gold rush. (Wall Street Journal)

🛎️ Big Deals (M&A)

• Getaround Europe 🇫🇷 merges with GoMore 🇩🇰 to create Europe’s largest peer-to-peer carsharing network, operating across 11 countries.
• Mane 🇫🇷 acquires Fromatech Ingredients 🇳🇱, a company specializing in aromatic solutions for the food industry.
• Siparex Midcap 🇫🇷 acquires a majority stake in Corali 🇮🇹 and its subsidiary Gazzella Atlantique 🇫🇷.
• Batch 🇫🇷 acquires Moonfish AI 🇫🇷, marking its first external growth move.
• Prodways Group 🇫🇷 sells its Software activity, led by subsidiary AvenAo, for €35M.
• LVMH 🇫🇷 is exploring sales of Marc Jacobs 🇺🇸, Fenty Beauty 🇺🇸, and Joseph Phelps Vineyards 🇺🇸 after recent offloads.
• Derichebourg 🇫🇷 acquires Scholz Recycling 🇩🇪, expanding its presence in metal recycling across Europe.
• Rheinmetall AG 🇩🇪 and MSC 🇨🇭 are considering acquiring Șantierul Naval Mangalia 🇷🇴 to transform it into a dual-use hub for military and civilian shipbuilding.
• Bayer 🇩🇪 to acquire eye-drug developer Perfuse Therapeutics 🇺🇸 for up to $2.45B.
• Heidelberg Materials 🇩🇪 is considering a bid for PPC 🇿🇦 valued at $600M.
• SAP 🇩🇪 acquires Dremio 🇺🇸, a specialist in lakehouse architectures, and Prior Labs 🇩🇪, a German startup focused on AI models for tabular data.
• Prysmian 🇮🇹 is exploring a $4B acquisition.
• Amadeus 🇪🇸 acquires Idemia Public Security 🇫🇷 from Advent International for €1.2B, with a potential additional payment of up to €150M.
• Seaya 🇪🇸 acquires a majority stake in Smileat 🇪🇸, a baby food company generating €21M in revenue in 2025.
• EDP Renovaveis 🇵🇹 is exploring a ~$500M sale of its US distributed-generation business.
• EQT 🇸🇪 makes a third improved offer of $12B for Intertek 🇬🇧, after its previous bid of $11.2B was rejected.
• Vodafone 🇬🇧 acquires CK Hutchison 🇭🇰’s 49% stake in VodafoneThree 🇬🇧 for $5.8B.
• Visma 🇳🇴 acquires Bilky 🇪🇸, marking its 8th investment in the Iberian Peninsula.
• Cisco 🇺🇸 acquires Astrix Security 🇮🇱, focusing on AI agents in cybersecurity, with estimates around $300M-$400M.
• Quantum Machines 🇺🇸 acquires QHarbor 🇳🇱 to expand its presence in the European quantum ecosystem.
• Netradyne 🇺🇸 acquires Moove Connected Mobility 🇩🇪 to enhance AI-powered fleet intelligence in Europe.
• Sentinel Capital Partners 🇺🇸 sells NSI Industries 🇺🇸 to Hubbell Incorporated 🇺🇸 for $3.0B.
• MSA Safety 🇺🇸 acquires Autronica Fire & Security 🇳🇴 from Sentinel Capital Partners for $555M.
• Kraken 🇺🇸 acquires Bitnomial 🇺🇸 in a $550M cash-and-stock deal.
• Lumen Technologies 🇺🇸 acquires Alkira 🇺🇸 for $475M in cash.
• Lupa Systems 🇺🇸 is in advanced talks to acquire New York Magazine 🇺🇸 and various podcasts from Vox Media 🇺🇸 for ~$300M.
• Northridge Capital 🇺🇸 is exploring a $175M sale of the W Hotel Aspen 🇺🇸.
• William Blair 🇺🇸 acquires boutique advisory Inner Circle Sports 🇺🇸.
• OpenAI 🇺🇸 and Anthropic 🇺🇸 are in talks to acquire services companies that assist businesses in deploying AI.
• Bullish 🇺🇸 to acquire Equiniti 🇬🇧 for $4.2B in a deal aimed at enhancing digital asset services.
• Epic Charging 🇺🇸 acquires Bluedot 🇺🇸, a Palo Alto-based EV fleet charging management and payment platform.
• Barry Diller 🇺🇸 expresses interest in acquiring CNN 🇺🇸, and also considered a deal for Vox 🇺🇸.
• EQB 🇨🇦 acquires Loblaw 🇨🇦’s mass-market banking arm after receiving government approval.
• Boost Security 🇨🇦 acquires SecureIQx 🇨🇦 and Korbit.ai 🇨🇦, enhancing its AI-native application security capabilities.
• Temasek 🇸🇬 backs CapitaLand 🇸🇬 and Hongkong Land 🇭🇰 as possible bidders for the $4.5B Marina One high-rise complex in Singapore.
• Aravest 🇸🇬 is in talks to acquire a 50% stake in a portfolio of three hotels from New World Development 🇭🇰 for $2B.

🧳 Private Markets & VC

• 🇬🇧 Doc and Roll. French giant Doctolib 🇫🇷 snaps up UK’s Medicus Health and pledges £100M for a British push, hoping NHS doctors like online bookings. (Ouest-France)
• 🇬🇧 Entente Cordiale. UK Trade Minister Peter Kyle urges closer tech ties with France, hoping to spark a European answer to Silicon Valley. Minus the sunshine. (Maddyness)
• 🇺🇸 Cart Blanche. Instacart’s Q1 revenue climbs as customers fill their baskets with goods from value retailers, proving thrift is back in style. (Wall Street Journal)
• 🇺🇸 Rally Tally. The latest tech rally hands hedge funds their fattest gains since 2020, proving risk is just another line on the spreadsheet. (Financial Times)
• 🇺🇸 Board Games. Elon Musk’s confidante Shivon Zilis testified she kept him informed at OpenAI, fueling claims Musk had an inside track during the Microsoft deal drama. (New York Times)
• 🇺🇸 Snap Decision. Snap and Perplexity have called off their $400M AI search engine partnership, dissolving plans to integrate Perplexity’s tech into Snapchat’s chat interface. (TechCrunch)
• 🇺🇸 Six Seconds Again Vine’s spirit returns with the launch of diVine, a nostalgia-fueled video app led by ex-Twitter insiders and framing itself as “anti-AI.” (Le Monde)
• 🇺🇸 Apollo 1000. Apollo Global Management crossed the $1T assets under management mark, setting a new record for fee income in the first quarter. (Boursier)
• 🇺🇸 Credit Where It’s Due. The Financial Stability Board warns that private credit’s $2T surge exposes banks, insurers, and asset managers to hidden risks and calls for tougher oversight. (Cnbc)
• 🇨🇳 Big Fund Theory. DeepSeek, China’s AI start-up, is close to raising funds at a $45B valuation with the state-backed “Big Fund” leading the round and Tencent possibly joining. (Financial Times)

Fundraising

• Sierra 🇺🇸 (AI): $950M (Tiger Global, GV)
• Starling Bank 🇬🇧 (Fintech): $470M
• Qutwo 🇫🇮 (Tech): $380M
• Kela Technologies 🇮🇱 (Defense-tech): $200M (Stripes, D1)
• Blitzy 🇸🇪 (Software): $200M
• Corgi 🇺🇸 (Insurtech): $160M (TCV, Oliver Jung, Leblon Capital, Kindred Ventures, Repeat VC, Zone 2 Ventures, Audeo Ventures, Quadri Ventures, First Order Fund, Vocal Ventures, Maiora Ventures, Nordstar, Seven Stars Ventures, Hexa Capital, Alpha Square Group, GSBackers, OurCrowd, Alumni Ventures, Global Growth Fund)
• QuantWare 🇳🇱 (Quantum Computing): €152M (Intel Capital, In-Q-Tel, ETF Partners, FORWARD.one, Invest-NL Deep Tech Fund, InnovationQuarter Capital, Ground State Ventures, Graduate Ventures)
• GSR 🇭🇰 (Crypto): $150M
• Verda 🇫🇮 (AI): $117M
• Deepinfra 🇺🇸 (AI): $107M (500 Global, Georges Harik, Nvidia, Samsung Next, Supermicro, A.Capital Ventures, Crescent Cove, Felicis, Peak6, Upper90)
• waterdrop 🇦🇹 (Beverages): €100M (Aspeya, Atlantic Grupa)
• Sateliot 🇪🇸 (Telecommunications): €100M
• RadixArk 🇺🇸 (Tech): $100M
• Tavion 🇸🇪 (Energy): $76M (Course Corrected, Backing Minds, Carl Manneh)
• Fun 🇺🇸 (Fintech): $72M (Multicoin Capital, SignalFire, Infinity Ventures, Pharsalus Capital, Justin Mateen)
• JuliaHub 🇺🇸 (AI): $65M (Dorilton Capital, General Catalyst, AE Ventures, Bob Muglia)
• Cytospire Therapeutics 🇬🇧 (Biotech): £61M
• ZyG 🇺🇸 (eCommerce): $60M
• eleQtron 🇩🇪 (Quantum Computing): €57M (Schwartz Digits, EIC Fund, Earlybird, Ankaa Ventures, Precitec, NRW.BANK, IFB Hamburg)
• Astrocade 🇺🇸 (Gaming): $56M (Sea, Sequoia, Google, Nvidia)
• Versana 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $43M
• Moment Energy 🇨🇦 (Energy): $40M
• LTZ Therapeutics 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $38M
• CopilotKit 🇺🇸 (AI): $27M (Glilot Capital, NFX, SignalFire)
• Ethos 🇬🇧 (Expert Network): $22.75M (a16z, General Catalyst, XTX Markets, Evantic Capital, Common Magic)
• Lithosquare 🇫🇷 (Geology AI): €22M (World Fund, Kindred Capital, Daphni, Omnes Capital, Ovni Capital)
• Vori 🇺🇸 (Retail): $22M (Cherryrock Capital, Greylock Partners, The Factory)
• Nace.AI 🇺🇸 (AI): $21.5M
• Fence 🇪🇸 (Fintech): $20M (Galaxy Ventures, ParaFi Capital, Crane Venture Partners)
• Moleculent 🇸🇪 (Biotech): $20M
• EnteroBiotix 🇬🇧 (Biotech): £19M
• Scout Space 🇺🇸 (Aerospace): $18M
• Photon 🇺🇸 (Tech): $16M
• SageOx 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $15M
• Danish Performativ 🇩🇰 (Tech): $14M
• Dandelion Health 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $14M
• MOSH 🇺🇸 (Nutrition): $13M (Main Street Advisors, Great Circle Ventures, Rogers Healy, Morrison Seger, PCG, Tonic Ventures)
• Village 🇺🇸 (Foodtech): $9.5M
• Moritz 🇺🇸 (Legal Tech): $9M (20VC, Urban Innovation Fund, Inception)
• Barocal 🇬🇧 (Energy): €8.5M (World Fund, Breakthrough Energy Discovery, Cambridge Enterprise Ventures, IP Group)
• Illuminant Surgical 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $8.4M
• Modicus Prime 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $8M (Frist Cressey Ventures, Silverton Partners, Oncology Ventures)
• Redpine 🇸🇪 (AI): €6.8M
• XCaliber Health 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $6.5M
• WaiV Robotics 🇬🇧 (Maritime): €6.4M
• Davis 🇫🇷 (Proptech): $5.5M (Heartcore Capital, Balderton Capital, Yellow, Evantic, Entrepreneurs First)
• Spring Labs 🇺🇸 (Fintech): $5M
• Realm 🇫🇮 (SaaS): $4.5M
• Corvera 🇬🇧 (Supply Chain): $4.2M (6 Degrees Capital, 20VC, Rebel Fund, Duke Capital Partners, Multimodal Ventures)
• A-Cube 🇮🇹 (Regtech): €4M (P101 SGR, Sella Direct Ventures)
• Reduciner 🇫🇮 (Deeptech): €3.6M (Voima Ventures, Lifeline Ventures, Mikko Kodisoja Foundation)
• TheStorage 🇫🇮 (Energy): €3.6M
• Nabu 🇫🇷 (Logistics): €3M (Getlink, Maersk Growth)
• Herd Security 🇺🇸 (Cybersecurity): $3M
• Huelco 🇫🇷 (IoT): €2.5M (Financière de Sorlin, LVMA, GTI, Bpifrance, Société Générale, BNP Paribas, Crédit Coopératif)
• TietAI 🇪🇸 (Healthcare): €2.5M (Plus Partners, JME Ventures)
• Impetux 🇪🇸 (Photonics): €2.5M
• Mindtail 🇹🇷 (Gaming): $2M (APY Ventures, Inveo Ventures, Ak Portföy GSYF)
• Spiideo 🇸🇪 (Sports Tech): €2M
• Jetty 🇨🇦 (AI): $2M (AQC Capital, Hidden Layers Capital, Mila, strategic angel investors)
• Mobility Signage 🇩🇪 (Mobility): €1.8M (High-Tech Gründerfonds, 2bX)
• BirdyChat 🇱🇻 (Communication): €1.7M
• Tachyon Networks 🇸🇪 (Telecom): $1.5M
• profitize 🇮🇹 (Fintech): €1.4M (Alpine Fund, aws Gründungsfonds)
• Kacentric Optics 🇫🇷 (Photonics): €1.2M
• Fresh32 🇸🇮 (Healthcare): €1.2M (AYMO Ventures, Tivoli Partners, Business Angels of Slovenia, SMOK Angels CEE)
• Humara 🇪🇸 (SaaS): €1.2M (Impact Shakers, Inclimo)
• Maurice & Nora 🇧🇪 (Social Impact): €1M
• ENVIOTECH 🇩🇪 (Tech): €1M (Jürgen Fitschen, Joachim Drees, Alexander Eyhorn, Danilo Jovicic-Albrecht)
• eVoost 🇪🇸 (Proptech): €1M
• Hirevoice 🇪🇸 (AI): €900K (Draper B1, 4FoundersCapital)
• Atech 🇫🇮 (Hardware): $800K
• Luna Pet Healthcare 🇬🇧 (Healthcare): £700k
• Detecht 🇸🇪 (Mobility): €395K
• Kabloie 🇩🇰 (Audio): €200k
• Karavan 🇹🇷 (Logistics): 10M TL
• Elastics 🇵🇱 (Fintech): 7.2M PLN
• Geopyörä 🇫🇮 (Testing): Seed round
• GetUp 🇪🇸 (Social Impact): €150,000

Fund Watch

• MIP Real Assets 🇲🇽: $12B (infrastructure fund, renewable energy and more, currently raising)
• Apollo 🇺🇸: $6.5B (3rd hybrid debt-equity fund)
• a16z 🇺🇸: $2.2B (5th crypto fund)
• Audax Private Debt 🇺🇸: $1B (private credit continuation fund, led by Pantheon)
• Bridge Growth Partners 🇺🇸: $790M (continuation fund for software, Solace)
• LifeX Ventures 🇪🇺: €70M (Life Extension Fund II EU, investing in life sciences startups)
• Kfund 🇪🇸: €20M (KFounders Preseed II, new seed fund)

🔔IPO

• Cerebras Systems 🇺🇸 (AI): requiring limit orders from institutional buyers as demand for its $3.5B IPO grows.
• AIG 🇺🇸 (Insurance): selling its remaining stake in Corebridge Financial for $710M.
• Robinhood Ventures Fund I 🇺🇸 (Fintech): attracted over 150,000 retail investors in its NYSE-listed IPO.
• Sunmi Technology 🇭🇰 (IoT): surged 300% in its trading debut after raising $118M at a valuation exceeding $3B.
• Star Sports Medicine 🇭🇰 (Medical): surged 117% in its trading debut after raising $106M in a Hong Kong IPO.
• Yotta Data Services 🇮🇳 (Data Centers): weighing raising $900M at a $6B valuation an India IPO.
• ASG Hospital 🇮🇳 (Healthcare): plans to file for a $500M IPO backed by General Atlantic.
• Access Holdings 🇳🇬 (Banking): will reduce equity stakes in foreign units to below 10% to comply with new regulations.

🧳 Debt

• Erste Group 🇦🇹: working on a SRT tied to $4.7B of Austrian CRE loans.
• Lilly 🇺🇸: set to raise $9B from a bond sale to fund deals.
• Alphabet 🇺🇸: raised $17B in its biggest-ever euro bond sale and debut Canadian dollar bond sale.
• Access Holdings 🇺🇸: considering refinancing a $500M eurobond due September.
• Bank of Maldives 🇲🇻: seeking to raise $300M in a dollar sukuk bond sale.
• Mozambique 🇲🇿: considering converting $1.4B of dollar bonds owed to China into yuan loans.

❌ Failures

• Shellac 🇫🇷: the independent film distributor shut down, unable to sustain its operations in the competitive market.
• HSBC 🇬🇧: the bank took a $400M hit from the collapse of UK mortgage lender MFS.
• Harbour Energy 🇬🇧: the North Sea oil producer is acquiring Waldorf Production UK amid restructuring, including a write-off of unpaid taxes.
• SPX Capital 🇬🇧: the hedge fund is undergoing a shake-up and plans to exit London amid operational challenges.
• TGJones 🇬🇧: up to 150 of the 480 stores will close as part of a restructuring plan following challenging retail conditions.
• Stanley Black & Decker 🇺🇸: the toolmaker closed its last hometown plant due to declining demand for its single-sided tape measures.

🎯 For a Few More Minutes…

• 🇫🇷 Pawparazzi. A new survey finds the French are now more likely to snap photos of their pets than their own children, confirming the true household stars. (Ouest-France)
• 🇩🇪 Phish and Chips. Germans rate their passwords as secure, yet few adopt two-factor authentication or password managers, making phishing attacks all too easy. (Die Zeit)
• 🇧🇪 Tour de Farce. After the Famenne Ardenne Classic, dozens of cyclists including Lotto riders fell ill, possibly from cow manure splashed on Belgian roads. The Giro d’Italia now begins with a depleted, nauseous peloton. (Le Parisien)
• 🇬🇧 Dawk to the Future. Richard Dawkins declares that AI bots like Anthropic’s Claude are conscious, though most scientists call it wishful thinking with code. (The Guardian)
• 🇬🇧 Saving Private Parts. Alastair Munro underwent major penile cancer surgery, losing nearly a third of his penis, and let cameras document the ordeal for BBC’s Surgeons. (BBC)
• 🇺🇸 Seed Funding. Shivon Zilis, a former OpenAI board member, says Elon Musk offered her sperm donations while she was advising the company, blurring every imaginable boundary. (BBC)
• 🇺🇸 Brand Slam. Peter Arnell, who once tanked Tropicana sales with a rebrand, has just two months to design a new government identity. What could go wrong. (Thenextweb)