💸 Cheque First, Questions Later

🗞️ Top Story

• 🇩🇪 Burn Notice. A pro-Iranian group says it was behind the arson attack on a Munich Israeli restaurant, as authorities confirm the existence of a confession video. (Spiegel)
• 🇪🇺 Sign Here to Sanction. Over 1M citizens signed a petition demanding Brussels suspend its association agreement with Israel due to Gaza conflict human rights violations. The Commission must now officially respond as political pressure mounts. (El Pais)
• 🇺🇸 Dust Off. President Trump claims Iran will hand over « nuclear dust »—enriched uranium buried by airstrikes—though Tehran has yet to confirm any deal. (Washington Post)
• 🇺🇸 Power Play. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth threatens to strike Iran’s energy grid if cease-fire talks fail, making electricity a bargaining chip in Washington’s negotiations. (New York Times)
• 🇺🇸 ICE Breaker. Todd Lyons will step down as acting director of ICE on May 31, leaving America’s most controversial immigration agency searching for its next enforcer. (Le Parisien)
• 🇰🇵 Kim Possible. The IAEA chief lands in Seoul warning North Korea is now producing nuclear warheads at a pace and scale unseen in years, thanks to an expanding arsenal network. (El Pais)
• 🇮🇩 Bribe and Prejudice. Hery Susanto, Indonesia’s lead anti-corruption officer, was arrested for corruption involving nickel industry kickbacks. The watchdog bit the hand—and took the cash. (Libé)
• 🇹🇷 Mute Button. After two school shootings in Turkey, authorities arrested 162 people and blocked over 1,000 social media accounts for spreading content deemed panic-inducing. (Le Figaro)
• 🇮🇷 Nuclear Option. Iran and the US prepare for more nuclear talks while military brinkmanship over Hormuz keeps the ceasefire one misstep away from unraveling. (El Pais)
• 🇱🇧 Calm for Now. A 10-day truce between Israel and Lebanon is in force, but Israeli military presence and airstrikes remain very much on the table. (El Pais)
• 🇳🇬 Friendly Fire. A Nigerian airstrike meant for Islamist militants hits a crowded market instead, leaving over 100 civilians dead and officials claiming a terrorist target. (Washington Post)

• 🇬🇧 Due Processed. Sir Olly Robbins is pushed out as chief civil servant after the Foreign Office skipped a critical step: telling the PM Mandelson failed vetting. (BBC)
• 🇬🇧 Patient Zero Trust. Labour and Lib Dem MPs are calling for the £330M NHS contract with Palantir 🇺🇸 to be scrapped, citing serious privacy concerns over the spy-tech firm. (The Guardian)
• 🇬🇧 Visa Versa. Some migrants exploit domestic abuse rules to stay in the UK, faking allegations with help from unregulated advisers while the government scrambles to respond. (BBC)

• 🇺🇸 Scandalifornia. The California governor’s race morphs into a spectacle of scandals, deep-pocketed billionaires, and Trump-fueled drama with no clear front-runner. (Bloomberg)
• 🇺🇸 PAC to the Future. Newsom’s political committee bought 67,000 copies of his own memoir for $1.5M, making donor gifts double as book sales. (New York Times)
• 🇺🇸 Floor Wars. Judge Richard Leon halts the Trump administration’s above-ground White House ballroom project, but allows underground security work while the order faces an appeal. (Cnbc)
• 🇺🇸 Chit Happens. Vice President JD Vance has raised over $60M for Republicans ahead of the midterms, collecting donor IOUs and future campaign ammo along the way. (New York Times)

🏛️ Economy

• 🇫🇷 Foreign Affairs. More than 55% of France’s €3.46T public debt is now held by foreign investors, who seem undeterred by its rising cost and persistent deficits. (Le Figaro)
• 🇩🇪 Watt’s the Deal? The EU has approved a €3.8B subsidy so German energy-hungry sectors can keep lights on at 5 cents per kWh, at least for half their usage. (Die Zeit)
• 🇪🇺 Hike Hype. The ECB signals a June rate increase as expectations for 2026 inflation surge, leaving markets bracing for tighter days ahead. (Bloomberg)
• 🇪🇺 Ground Control. The IEA warns Europe’s jet fuel reserves could run dry within six weeks, putting summer travel plans on standby as the Iran conflict bites. (Wall Street Journal)
• 🇪🇺 Watt’s Up. The eurozone’s March inflation hit 2.6% after a revision blamed on pricier energy, reminding everyone what volatility feels like. (Wall Street Journal)
• 🇪🇺 Champions League. Brussels is set to relax decades-old merger restrictions, aiming to create homegrown corporate titans to compete globally and please dealmakers. (Financial Times)
• 🇺🇸 Green Screen. Microsoft steps back from carbon removal, putting a $12B market on standby and leaving climate start-ups scrambling for new buyers. (New York Times)
• 🇲🇽 Crude Awakening. Pemex finally admits its pipeline leak caused an oil spill that fouled 600 km of Gulf coast, after weeks of official denial. (Ouest-France)
• 🇻🇪 Access Granted. Venezuela is back on the IMF and World Bank’s client list, breaking a 2019 standoff and tempting markets with the prospect of $5B in frozen assets. (Cnbc)

• 🇬🇧 Loaf and Order. SNP leader John Swinney promises to cap supermarket prices on bread, milk, and other basics if his party wins Scotland’s election, declaring grocery inflation a public health crisis. (The Guardian)
• 🇬🇧 Bug’s Life. Anthropic’s Mythos model, which claims to spot severe flaws in major systems, lands in UK banks’ hands next week with regulators on high alert. (FinExtra)
• 🇬🇧 Fuel for Thought. The UK economy surprised with 0.5% growth in February, but surging energy prices may quickly turn the recovery into a memory. (Wall Street Journal)
• 🇬🇧 Red Flagged. British financier John Ormerod is accused of defying Russian oil sanctions, transferring funds after arranging tanker acquisitions for Lukoil 🇷🇺. (Financial Times)
• 🇺🇸 Test of Faith. Banks and regulators rush to study Anthropic’s Mythos AI after it found critical flaws in core systems, raising global security concerns. (BBC)

• 🇬🇧 Gridlocked. Reeves wants to decouple UK electricity prices from volatile gas markets, insisting the days of fossil-fuel price contagion for consumers are numbered. (Financial Times)
• 🇺🇸 Claim to Calm. unemployment claims fell last week, hinting that layoffs remain subdued even as the job market loses some heat. (Wall Street Journal)
• 🇺🇸 Under Construction. industrial production shrank 0.5% in March, defying analyst forecasts of flat performance and adding another dent to the recovery narrative. (Wall Street Journal)

🏢 Real Estate

• 🇺🇸 Money Machines. Silicon Valley titans and crypto players are stacking $250M in PAC cash to tilt the 2026 elections toward tech-friendly outcomes. (Financial Times)
• 🇺🇸 Home Alone. A new NYC tax will hit absentee owners of high-end apartments, with Mamdani promising $500M in revenue from penthouses gathering dust. (Le Parisien)
• 🇺🇸 Retire to Rent. Public pension funds in New York City will finance $4B in affordable housing, targeting both new builds and renovations as rents hit fresh highs. (New York Times)
• 🇨🇳 Steeper Hopes. China’s home prices are still falling but at a gentler clip, which officials are quick to call progress. (Bloomberg)
• 🇭🇰 Flat Out. Hong Kong’s residential property market is flashing early boom signals as buyers return and prices start to climb after a long slump. (Bloomberg)

• 🇬🇧 Let It Go. Landlords in Great Britain are being forced to let go of rent hikes, as advertised prices flatline for the first time in nearly a decade. (The Guardian)

🔗 On-chain

• 🇳🇱 Dutch Treat. ABN Amro is serving up crypto ETPs and bitcoin-linked notes to its customers, bringing a regulated taste of crypto to the Dutch financial diet. (FinExtra)
• 🇺🇸 Coin Toss. Charles Schwab reports a 30% jump in earnings and announces plans to launch crypto trading, because every market frenzy deserves a new casino. (Wall Street Journal)

💱 Listed Markets

• 🇫🇷 Gucci Reset. Kering plans to finish a full structural overhaul by year-end, hoping a fresh strategy will revive Gucci’s lagging growth. (Wall Street Journal)
• 🇫🇷 Barrel of Laughs. Despite stagnant production, TotalEnergies forecasts a financial bump from the latest oil price jump, because who needs more barrels when prices do the work. (Wall Street Journal)
• 🇩🇪 Red Alert. Bosch records a €400M net loss, blaming €2.7B in restructuring costs and US tariffs for its first negative result in 15 years. (Die Zeit)
• 
  🇩🇰 Recrutement et restructuration. Novo Nordisk prévoit d’embaucher 2 000 personnes en 2026, restructurant ainsi ses effectifs et réduisant la taille de ses divisions historiques pour un avenir plus agile. (Bloomberg) 🔒
• 🇺🇸 Binge Break. Netflix disappointed Wall Street with weak earnings and Reed Hastings is handing over the remote, just as the plot thickens. (Bloomberg)
• 🇺🇸 Ellison Wonderland. David Ellison pledged at CinemaCon that a combined Paramount-Warner Bros. will release at least 30 films a year, promising theaters a blockbuster pipeline Hollywood can believe in, or at least hope for. (New York Times)
• 🇺🇸 Buy and Deny. Investors pushed the S&P 500 to new heights, ignoring current war turmoil because history says Trump will retreat if markets suffer. (Cnbc)
• 🇹🇼 Silicon Optimism. Despite rising Middle East tensions, TSMC hiked its revenue outlook and expects AI demand to keep its chips—and profits—surging. (Wall Street Journal)
• 🇹🇼 Chip Leader. Taiwan’s stock market has surged past $4T in value, overtaking the UK thanks to a runaway AI-fueled rally led by TSMC . (Bloomberg)

• 🇺🇸 Bank Shot. BNY Mellon posted higher-than-expected profits this quarter as revenue climbed, leaving analysts scrambling to update their spreadsheets. (Bloomberg)

🛎️ Big Deals (M&A)

• Delta Plus Group 🇫🇷 acquires Athenas 🇧🇷, a specialist in fall protection in Brazil.
• Bouygues Telecom 🇫🇷, Iliad 🇫🇷, and Orange 🇫🇷 are in advanced talks to acquire SFR 🇫🇷 from Altice 🇵🇹 for a potential $23B valuation.
• UniCredit 🇮🇹 invests €4M to acquire a 16% stake in BlockInvest 🇮🇹, focusing on on-chain financial solutions.
• Solaria 🇪🇸 is in talks to join a consortium with Telefónica 🇪🇸 and ACS 🇪🇸 to develop a $4.7B data center hub.
• EQT 🇸🇪’s $11B buyout bid for Intertek Group 🇬🇧 is rejected.
• Schroders 🇬🇧 to be acquired by Nuveen 🇺🇸 for £9.9B, marking the end of two centuries of family ownership.
• OnlyFans 🇬🇧 is in discussions to sell a minority stake at a valuation of over $3B.
• Standard Life 🇬🇧 acquires Aegon 🇳🇱’s UK arm for $2.7B in a cash and stock deal.
• Getty Images 🇺🇸 must sell Shutterstock 🇺🇸’s editorial business as part of a $3.7B merger to address competition concerns, according to the CMA.
• American Express 🇺🇸 acquires Hyper 🇺🇸, an AI expense management startup.
• Stereotaxis 🇺🇸 acquires Robocath 🇫🇷 for $45M, expanding its presence in the medtech sector.
• KKR 🇺🇸 and Apollo 🇺🇸 are among potential suitors for Logoplaste 🇵🇹.
• United Airlines 🇺🇸 and American Airlines 🇺🇸 are considering a merger valued at ~$40B, with the U.S. having no opinion yet.
• Sazerac 🇺🇸 offers to acquire Brown-Forman 🇺🇸 for $15B, impacting rival Pernod Ricard 🇫🇷’s merger discussions.
• Johnson Controls International 🇺🇸 is considering divesting its Access Control and Intrusion Detection units for $4.5B.
• Esco Technologies 🇺🇸 acquires Megger Group 🇬🇧’s testing unit for $2.35B in a cash-and-stock deal.
• Yum Brands 🇺🇸 is negotiating take-private deals for its pizza chains, with Papa Johns 🇺🇸 potentially valued at $1.5B.
• Skild AI 🇺🇸 acquires Zebra Technologies 🇺🇸’ robotics automation division.
• Cineplex 🇨🇦 is gauging interest from potential buyers.
• CSN 🇧🇷 expects binding offers for its cement unit in the coming weeks.
• Suntory 🇯🇵 acquires Daiichi Sankyo Healthcare 🇯🇵 for $1.6B.
• eToro 🇮🇱 acquires Zengo 🇫🇷 for approximately $70M, enhancing its crypto offerings.

🧳 Private Markets & VC

• 🇪🇺 Majority Report. AI-native companies captured 51% of equity funding across European tech in Q1, as investors made their preferences crystal clear. (Sifted)
• 🇪🇺 Size Matters. The shifts its merger rulebook, with Teresa Ribera confirming that market scale and innovation trump consumer interests in future corporate deals. (Financial Times)
• 🇬🇧 Claude Nine. Anthropic plans a major London expansion with new office space for 800 people, just as OpenAI announces its first UK base. The AI arms race now has a postcode. (Cnbc)
• 🇺🇸 Artful Dodger. Sotheby’s posts its first profit in years after deploying creative cash maneuvers and asset sales to ease its $2.8B debt load. (Financial Times)
• 🇺🇸 AI of the Tiger. OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI, and Waymo hauled in $188B in Q1 2026, capturing nearly two-thirds of all venture capital while deal counts kept shrinking. (Crunchbase)
• 🇨🇳 Chain Reaction. China Asset Management fund manager says Chinese AI stocks are nowhere near bubble levels and is doubling down on AI and healthcare bets. (Bloomberg)
• 🇨🇳 Hedged Out. Bridgewater and other major macro hedge funds in China posted steep losses, with Bridgewater dropping 5.6% as volatile markets took their toll. (Bloomberg)

• 🇺🇸 Rocket Docket. The NLRB dismissed charges against SpaceX for firing workers who criticized Musk, and now two senators want to know if the agency’s reasoning was more launchpad than law. (Cnbc)

Fundraising

• Plata 🇲🇽 (Fintech): $405M (Bicycle Capital, Qatar Investment Authority, BTG Pactual, Valor Capital Group)
• Glydways 🇺🇸 (Mobility): $170M (Suzuki, ACS Group, Khosla Ventures)
• Slash Financial 🇺🇸 (Fintech): $100M (Ribbit Capital, Khosla Ventures, Goodwater Capital, New Enterprise Associates, Y Combinator)
• Turion Space 🇺🇸 (Space Infrastructure): $75M
• Artemis 🇺🇸 (Cybersecurity): $70M
• Wealth.com 🇺🇸 (Fintech): $65M (Titanium Ventures, Pruven Capital, The K Fund, Dynasty Financial Partners, Charles Schwab, GV, Citi Ventures, 53 Stations, Anthos Capital, Alumni Ventures)
• Expo 🇺🇸 (Software): $45M (Georgian, Leadout Capital, A. Capital Ventures, Red Swan Ventures)
• Resolve AI 🇺🇸 (AI): $40M (DST Global, Salesforce Ventures)
• Parasail 🇺🇸 (Cloud Computing): $32M (Touring Capital, Kindred Ventures)
• NanoTech Materials 🇺🇸 (Materials): $29.4M (HPI Real Estate & Investments)
• Hilbert 🇺🇸 (AI): $28M (a16z)
• Nas.com 🇺🇸 (AI): $27M (Khosla Ventures, 500 Global, Shuo Wang, Stanley Tang, Scott Adelson, Tim Ferriss)
• Solidroad 🇺🇸 (AI): $25M (Hedosophia, First Round Capital, Y Combinator, Sony Innovation Fund)
• Joyful Health 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $22M (CRV, XYZ Venture Capital, Designer Fund, Inflect Capital, Go Global Ventures)
• Gizmo 🇺🇸 (Edtech): $22M
• Sennos 🇺🇸 (AI): $20M (TomEnterprise, Jan Ståhlberg)
• Spektr 🇩🇰 (Fintech): $20M (New Enterprise Associates, Northzone, Seedcamp, PSV Tech)
• Auctor 🇺🇸 (AI): $20M
• Landmark Bio 🇺🇸 (Biotech): $18.3M
• Phonely 🇺🇸 (AI): $16M (Base10 Partners)
• Agriodor 🇫🇷 (Agritech): €15M (Fonds Révolution Environnementale et Solidaire, Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale, Région Sud Investissement, CAAP Création, Capagro, Ambra Capital, SWEN Capital Partners)
• HYFIX 🇺🇸 (Semiconductors): $15M
• GobbleCube 🇺🇸 (AI): $15M
• Gitar 🇺🇸 (AI): $9M
• Osteoboost Health 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $8M (Ambit Health Ventures, Emmeline Ventures, Disrupt Health Impact Fund, Esplanade Ventures, Portfolia)
• HrFlow.ai 🇫🇷 (HR Tech): $7M (115K, EmergingTech Ventures)
• Caruso 🇳🇿 (Fintech): $6.5M (Icehouse Ventures, GD1, Balmain)
• Brix 🇺🇸 (Fintech): $5.5M (FRWRD Ventures, Circle Ventures)
• GetWhys 🇺🇸 (GTM Platform): $5.2M (EPIC Ventures, CEAS Investments, Portland Seed Fund, Next Frontier Capital, Tuesday Capital, Capital Eleven)
• ETPHFA 🇺🇸 (Community): $4.3M
• Worki 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $2.75M (Redesign Health, Healthliant Ventures)
• SolvaPay 🇸🇪 (Fintech): €2.4M (Redstone, MS&AD Ventures, Antler, Greens Ventures)

Fund Watch

• Meridian & Saturn Capital 🇸🇬: $1B (mandate from Gulf SWF, trading Chinese stocks)
• Alder 🇸🇪: $300M
• Trasteel Holding 🇪🇺: $230M (merger with Sizzle Acquisition Corp. II)
• ACE & Company 🇨🇭: $230M
• Spain 🇪🇸: $200M (Boston-focus biotech VC fund, planned)

🔔IPO

• Belron 🇳🇱 (Automotive): planning a €30B IPO in Amsterdam to enhance Europe’s sluggish market.
• Onward Medical 🇳🇱 (Neurotech): successfully raised €40.6M through a private placement with institutional investors.
• Aevex 🇺🇸 (Defense): raised $320M in its IPO.
• Alamar Bio 🇺🇸 (Medtech): boosting its IPO to raise $191M.
• Kailera 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): upsizing its IPO to raise $625M for obesity treatment initiatives.
• Arxis 🇺🇸 (Aerospace): raised $1.13B in its IPO.
• X-Energy 🇺🇸 (Nuclear): seeking to raise $815M at a $7.5B valuation in its IPO.
• Madison Air Solutions 🇺🇸 (HVAC): raised $2.2B at a $13.2B valuation in the largest industrials IPO of this century.
• CoreWeave 🇺🇸 (Cloud): Jane Street took a $1B stake in the $62B AI cloud computing firm and signed a $6B cloud deal.
• Victory Giant 🇨🇳 (Electronics): set to price its Hong Kong listing at the highest possible figure to raise $2.6B.
• IAQ Group 🇲🇾 (Industrial): considering an IPO that could raise 1 billion ringgit.
• UzNIF 🇺🇿 (Finance): in discussions to secure cornerstone investors for its upcoming London IPO.

🧳 Debt

• NFL Biosciences 🇫🇷: raised €2.6M in a bond financing to support clinical trials.
• Dar Global 🇬🇧: secured a $250M syndicated loan from Emirates NBD to support global expansion.
• TRUNO 🇺🇸: secured a new $40M credit facility from Huntington Bank to accelerate growth.
• JPMorgan 🇺🇸: raised $10B in a record bond sale.
• Morgan Stanley 🇺🇸: raised $10B in a record bond sale.
• Google 🇺🇸: seeking to raise $5.7B in a record junk bond sale for two data centers.
• Switch 🇺🇸: raised $770M in an ABS sale.
• PIMCO 🇺🇸: purchased $400M in bonds from a Blue Owl private credit fund.
• Brazil 🇧🇷: raised $5.9B in its biggest global bond market sale and first euro bond sale in over a decade.
• Colombia 🇨🇴: bought $290M of dollars ahead of a $4B bond buyback plan.
• China 🇨🇳: plans to raise $2.3B in its biggest yuan bond sale in Hong Kong since 2023.
• Emirates NBD 🇦🇪: secured a $250M syndicated term loan for Dar Global to accelerate global growth.

❌ Failures

• Réalités 🇫🇷: la société avance dans son plan de redressement, avec des augmentations de capital prévues pour les créanciers ayant opté pour la conversion.
• Stellantis 🇫🇷: the company plans to stop new car assembly at Poissy in 3-4 years, with a €100M investment for new automotive activities.
• Speciality Steel 🇬🇧: the UK has selected an unnamed preferred bidder for its sale.
• QVC Group 🇺🇸: filed for bankruptcy to cut over $5 billion in debt amid declining viewership and sales.
• Spirit Airlines 🇺🇸: the airline may begin to liquidate immediately due to financial difficulties.
• Quadra Capital 🇧🇷: the Brazilian investment firm is nearing a $3B acquisition of assets from Banco de Brasília.
• Evergrande 🇨🇳: liquidators selected Guangdong Provincial Tourism for exclusive talks to acquire a majority stake in Evergrande Property Services.

🎯 For a Few More Minutes…

• 🇫🇷 Monet Talks. Claude Monet’s Vétheuil, effet du matin just sold for €10.2M in Paris, setting a new French auction record for the artist. Sotheby’s can now add « record-breaking » to impressionism. (Le Monde)
• 🇫🇷 Space Oddities. Jean-Philippe Uzan and Sébastien Carassou release L’Univers incompris, a book charting the mysteries and unresolved tensions of modern cosmology, dark energy included. (Le Monde)
• 🇳🇮 Headline Exile. With over 300 journalists fleeing and 61 media outlets closed, President Ortega’s Nicaragua now relies on foreign-based news to keep the truth alive. (El Pais)
• 🇮🇳 Script Kiddie. Bollywood will release Maharaja Denims, its first feature film entirely generated by AI, from sets to virtual actors to direction, with only the music left to humans. (Le Figaro)
• 🇺🇳 Justice League. The International Court of Justice marks its 80th anniversary as the UN’s top court, facing open defiance from the US and Israel right on cue. (El Pais)