The pendulum of Japanese corporate governance is swinging back toward “Stakeholder Protection.” Amid a record wave of M&A activity ($228 billion last year), Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has signaled it will update its merger guidelines in May to explicitly confirm that companies are not obliged to accept unsolicited takeover bids, even...
The scale of AI infrastructure financing just hit a new gear. Australian AI infrastructure developer Firmus has finalized a massive $10 billion debt funding package led by Blackstone (BX) and Coatue Management. The deal underscores a major shift in the market: the “picks and shovels” of AI are now attracting sovereign-scale credit, not just venture...
The sleeping giant of copper production is waking up. Vicuña Corp—the joint venture between BHP (BHP.AX) and Lundin Mining (LUN.TO)—is planning to double its investment in the Argentine Andes this year to $800 million (up from ~$400M in 2025). The capital will fuel the development of the Filo del Sol and Josemaría projects, located over...
The rising tide is no longer lifting all boats. After two years of treating “AI” as a monolithic buying opportunity, global markets are fracturing. As soaring capex bills meet fears of software displacement, investors are drawing sharp new battle lines across sectors and regions. The trade has mutated from “Hope” to “Hard Questions.” 1️⃣ HARDWARE...
The “exit freeze” appears to be officially over. Carlyle Group (CG) reported fourth-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street estimates, driven by a resurgence in private equity dealmaking and robust performance in its credit and secondaries businesses. Shares rose nearly 4% pre-market on the news. 💰 THE NUMBERS: 🚪 THE RETURN OF M&A: CEO Harvey Schwartz...
The “Sell America” trade is bleeding into the hedge fund world. According to a new Barclays survey of 342 investors (managing $7.8 trillion), allocators are planning to decrease their exposure to US-based hedge funds by ~5% for the first time in three years. The catalyst? The geopolitical fallout from President Trump’s “Liberation Day” levies in...