Today's Finance Pulse

Autodesk to acquire MaintainX for $3.6B, expanding into operations software
Autodesk announced a $3.6 billion purchase of MaintainX, a leader in operational‑phase software for the built environment. The deal extends Autodesk’s portfolio from design and manufacturing into ongoing building operation, creating an end‑to‑end data loop. CEO Andrew Anagnost said the acquisition unlocks a $40 billion total addressable market.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Pemberton Asset Management closes $3.7B fourth vintage fund
Empery Digital Announces Update on Share Repurchase Program
Empery Digital reported that it has repurchased 26,244,657 shares under its $200 million buy‑back program, averaging $5.71 per share. The repurchases leave 29,813,797 shares outstanding after accounting for 2,146,395 pre‑funded warrants. In the week to April 17, 2026 the company sold 20 BTC for roughly $1.5 million, while its treasury still holds 2,914 BTC. Management signaled willingness to increase borrowing to fund additional share repurchases and narrow the gap between market price and net asset value (NAV).
Bulley & Andrews Acquires Interiors Contractor ICG
Bulley & Andrews, a 135‑year‑old Chicago contractor, announced the acquisition of Interior Construction Group (ICG). Financial terms were not disclosed, and ICG will operate as Bulley & Andrews Interior Construction Group with no layoffs. The deal expands B&A’s interior‑fitout capabilities...

Polymarket Seeks $15B Valuation as It Raises Capital Ahead of U.S. Regulatory Outcome
Polymarket is in talks to raise an additional $400 million, expanding its current round to $1 billion and valuing the platform at roughly $15 billion. The funding follows a $600 million investment from Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), which may increase its strategic stake to $2 billion....

Commission Approves €411 Million Croatian Capital Injection Into Development Bank HBOR
The European Commission has cleared a €411 million (approximately $447 million) capital injection into Croatia’s development bank HBOR, financed through the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility. The funding expands HBOR’s mandate to back SMEs, renewable‑energy projects, digital transformation, infrastructure and the defence...
FedNow Tries to Take Its Domestic Success Global
The Federal Reserve is proposing a rule change that would let FedNow members use non‑Fed intermediaries to handle the international leg of cross‑border payments, while keeping the domestic settlement instant. FedNow, launched in 2023, now has about 1,700 member banks...
Update: Lilly Makes $7bn Bid for in Vivo CAR-T Firm Kelonia
Eli Lilly has confirmed a $3.25 billion upfront offer for Kelonia Therapeutics, with milestone payments that could lift the total value to $7 billion. Kelonia’s in vivo CAR‑T candidate KLN‑1010 demonstrated MRD‑negative responses in a four‑patient early‑stage study, highlighting the promise of off‑the‑shelf cell...

I Replaced a $31,980 Bloomberg Terminal With a $240 Claude Setup. Here's the Tape
A solo investor replaced a $31,980 annual Bloomberg Terminal with a DIY AI workflow built on Claude Pro, costing only $240 per year. The new setup uses five Claude agents—Analyst, Tracker, Calendar, Curator, and Digger—to automate the six core morning...
VONG: Growth Can Outperform Value For The Fourth Consecutive Year
Vanguard Russell 1000 Growth Index Fund ETF (VONG) has been upgraded to a Buy rating, marking its fourth consecutive year of outperformance versus value‑focused peers. The fund’s roughly 50% exposure to mega‑cap technology and AI‑driven stocks such as Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple...
ARDC: Buy This High-Yield Dynamic Credit Fund Before The Sale Ends
Ares Dynamic Credit Allocation Fund (ARDC) is rated Buy, delivering a 10.7% yield while trading at a 7.5% discount to net asset value. The fund’s distribution is well‑covered by undistributed net investment income after a recent cut to $0.1125 per...
How a Buyer’s AI Conversations Sank Its Earnout Avoidance Strategy
The Delaware Court of Chancery ruled that Krafton breached its Equity Purchase Agreement by terminating Unknown Worlds' key executives without contractual cause and seizing operational control of the studio. The court reinstated the studio's CEO, enjoined Krafton from circumventing that...
The (Missing) Relation Between Acquisition Announcement Returns and Value Creation
The paper by Ben‑David, Bhattacharya, Huang and Jacobsen shows that the cumulative abnormal return (CAR) around acquisition announcements does not predict actual deal outcomes. Analyzing over 47,000 deals from 1980‑2018, the authors find no correlation between CAR and goodwill impairments,...

Dangote Sugar Refinery Gets Shareholders’ Approval for N500bn Rights Issue
Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc secured shareholder approval for a N500 billion (≈$1.1 billion) rights issue at its AGM. The company, with 12.146 billion shares outstanding at N68 (~$0.15) each, is 66.9% owned by Dangote Industries, while Aliko Dangote holds 5.4%. Financially, the 2025 loss...

How Europe’s New Rules Are Closing the APP Fraud Gap
Europe’s upcoming Payment Services Regulation will obligate payment‑service providers to reimburse victims of personal‑account impersonation fraud and, more critically, to connect to a mandatory, cross‑border fraud‑intelligence exchange. The framework, agreed politically in late 2025, narrows the UK’s geographic limitation by...
D. Ricardo on Private Credit & the Real Risk to Financial Markets
The Financial Accounting Standards Board’s working group voted to add loan recapture to mortgage‑servicing‑right (MSR) valuations, a move that could anchor current MSR pricing rather than lift fair values. Over the past three decades, MSRs have averaged roughly 1.5% of...
Data Authenticity & Accountability Crucial in the AI Age
Data authenticity has become a cornerstone of AI deployment as deepfake and synthetic‑data threats rise, exposing firms to fraud, litigation and reputational damage. The EU’s new digital omnibus aims to streamline AI, cybersecurity and data rules, promising roughly $6 billion in...
Will AI Change FinServ Regulation? Here’s What History Tells Us.
U.S. securities regulators are not drafting new AI‑specific rules; instead they rely on technology‑neutral existing regulations. The SEC’s 2023 proposal to address AI‑induced conflicts of interest was withdrawn, while state legislatures such as California, Texas and Colorado have enacted broader...

Agnico Lines up $3B Multi-Deal to Build Finland Hub
Agnico Eagle is orchestrating a roughly $3 billion, three‑deal package to consolidate a 2,492‑sq‑km gold district in Finland. The core transaction is a $2.1 billion acquisition of Rupert Resources, adding the 3.5 million‑ounce Ikkari project adjacent to its Kittila mine. Additional cash deals...

Groww Crosses Rs 3 Lakh Cr in Customer Assets; to Deploy Profits and Fresh Funds Into Lending Biz
Fintech platform Groww announced that its customer assets have crossed ₹3 trillion (about $36 billion), a 36% year‑on‑year increase. In Q4 FY26 the company posted revenue of ₹1,535.5 crore (~$185 million) and PAT of ₹686 crore (~$83 million), marking strong profitability. Active users grew to 16.7 million,...

World’s Best Investment Banks 2026: Latin America
Latin America’s investment banking sector showed robust activity in 2025, with BTG Pactual reaffirming its lead by generating $15 bn in M&A, $2 bn in equity capital markets and over $159 bn in debt capital markets. Itaú BBA leveraged a market rebound to...
How Is Spirit Still Flying?
Spirit Airlines remains operational despite a precarious Chapter 11 reorganization. The carrier has halved its fleet and narrowed its network to core hubs in Florida, Detroit and New York while presenting a revised plan that projects a -7.4% operating margin...

World’s Best Investment Banks 2026: Middle East
In 2025 the Middle East’s investment‑banking scene was driven by post‑pandemic growth, energy diversification and sweeping capital‑market reforms. KFH Capital topped the list, executing over $60 billion in transactions and leading 16 debt issuances, including a landmark $3 billion sukuk for Saudi...

World’s Best Investment Banks 2026: North America
In 2025 North America’s investment banks overcame early‑year geopolitical and tariff headwinds, with J.P. Morgan, Houlihan Lokey, Morgan Stanley and BofA Securities emerging as the top performers. J.P. Morgan drove a $1 billion Circle deal, a $364 million Heartflow offering and advised a $15 billion Walgreens...
Eastnine to Offload Two Riga Offices for €38 Million ($41 M)
Swedish real estate investment firm Eastnine AB has agreed to sell the Alojas Biroji and Zala 1 office buildings in Riga for roughly €38 million ($41 million). The buyer, Indexo Real Estate Fund managed by Provendi Asset Management, will receive about €32 million in...
REITs Own One‑Fifth of U.S. Senior Housing, Raising Care Quality Concerns
Real‑estate investment trusts have bought roughly 20% of the nation’s senior‑housing portfolio and a sixth of its nursing homes, prompting lawsuits over resident deaths and renewed scrutiny of their influence on care quality. Critics argue that rent‑focused lease terms and...
UCB to Acquire Neurona Therapeutics for $650M, Adding Regenerative Epilepsy Asset
UCB announced a definitive agreement to acquire Neurona Therapeutics for $650 million upfront and up to $500 million in milestones, adding the regenerative cell therapy NRTX‑1001 to its epilepsy pipeline. The deal, expected to close by Q2 2026, expands UCB’s portfolio into advanced‑therapy...
SEC Proposal Watch: Semi-Annual Reporting
The SEC is poised to issue a semi‑annual reporting proposal that would allow, but not require, public companies to replace the mandatory Form 10‑Q with twice‑yearly filings. The rule is still subject to notice‑and‑comment, and accounting firms have voiced strong...

Credit Crunch: Saturna’s Drum on Sukuk Growth, Geopolitical Risk
In this episode of Bloomberg Intelligence’s FIC Focus, host Noel Hebert talks with Patrick Drum, fixed‑income lead at Saturna Capital, about the rapidly expanding sukuk market – the Islamic‑compliant bond universe now exceeding $1 trillion in issuance. Drum outlines the market’s...
Toby Mathis Disputes Zillow's 4.7 Million Home Shortage, Cites 14 Million Unit Surplus
Tax attorney and real‑estate investor Toby Mathis says Zillow's latest estimate of a 4.7 million home shortage ignores a 14 million‑unit surplus when uninhabitable homes are excluded. His analysis, based on 2026 data, could force investors to rethink valuation models and construction...

World’s Best Investment Banks 2026: Western Europe
The 2026 Global Finance ranking spotlights Western Europe’s top investment banks as the region rebounds. UBS led equity capital markets, coordinating the €808 m (≈$874 m) Ottobock IPO and a £348 m (≈$467 m) UK listing, while Rothschild & Co dominated M&A with 362...
Uber CTO Says Anthropic AI Spend Exhausts 2026 Budget, Highlights Scaling Costs
Uber's chief technology officer, Praveen Neppalli Naga, disclosed that the company's aggressive rollout of Anthropic's Claude Code has already consumed its entire AI budget for 2026. The overrun forces Uber to rethink its AI strategy even as AI‑generated code now...

Singapore Jet Fuel Doubles, Squeezing Un‑hedged Airlines
SINGAPORE jet fuel prices have doubled to an average around $166 per barrel so far in April compared with $82 in January. Fuel is one of the three largest costs for passenger airlines (together with crew labour and capital) so...
UAE Can Preserve Peg via Swap Line, Not Reserve Cuts
A lot of this seems preemptive, given UAE’s large existing FX reserves. Using a swap line for a bit to help maintain the currency peg would be seen as less disruptive than trimming reserves.

Houlihan Lokey: Hiring Top Talent Is The Key
Houlihan Lokey reported closing 458 M&A deals in 2025, surpassing giants such as Goldman Sachs, Rothschild and JPMorgan Chase. The firm attributes the surge to deep sector expertise combined with a broad geographic footprint—55% of its revenue comes from the U.S. and...

Buying a Canadian Business: Complex, Risky for Americans
Can You Buy a Business in Canada? An American asked me this—and the answer is more complicated (and risky) than you think. Watch the full video here: https://t.co/vLaP5jaaF2 #businessbuying #entrepreneurship #smallbusiness #investing #canada #BDC #SBA #businesstips #acquisitions #finance
Vanguard S&P 500 ETF Under the Lens as Index Hits Fresh Record High
The S&P 500 rose 1.2% to a fresh record on April 15, spurring analysts to evaluate Vanguard's S&P 500 ETF (VOO). With a 0.03% expense ratio and exposure to AI‑driven mega‑caps, VOO remains a top choice, though renewed tensions in...

Hospitality Faces Steepest Cost Surge as UK ‘Inflation Gap’ Widens
New research from payments provider Dojo shows UK small‑and‑medium enterprises are paying 11.75% more than consumer inflation, with hospitality bearing the steepest cost surge. Over the past decade, catering firms saw operating expenses rise 62% and material costs more than...
Dianthus CFO Ryan Savitz Sells 8,224 Shares for $739,000 Under 10b5‑1 Plan
Ryan Savitz, the chief financial officer of Dianthus Therapeutics, exercised and sold 8,224 stock options for approximately $739,000 on April 9, 2026. The transaction, executed under a Rule 10b5‑1 plan, reduced his direct share ownership to zero while leaving a sizable...
Eli Lilly in Advanced Talks to Buy Kelonia Therapeutics for over $2 Billion
Eli Lilly is in advanced talks to acquire Kelonia Therapeutics for over $2 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal. The deal, which may include milestone payments, could be announced as early as Monday and would bolster Lilly’s oncology pipeline. Shares...

EDP - Energias De Portugal, S.A. & EDP Finance B.V.: Credit Rating Report
On March 13, 2026, DBRS Ratings GmbH reaffirmed its issuer ratings for EDP – Energias de Portugal, S.A. and its finance arm, EDP Finance B.V., at BBB with a Stable trend. The confirmation places both entities in the lower medium‑grade...
Netflix Q1 2026 Earnings Beat but Guidance Drags Stock 10% Lower; Morgan Stanley Keeps $115 Target
Netflix reported a 16% YoY revenue increase to $12.25 billion and a surge in free cash flow, yet its 2026 revenue outlook fell short of estimates, prompting a 10% post‑earnings sell‑off. Morgan Stanley, however, kept an Overweight rating and a $115...
PBOC Sets Yuan Midpoint at Weakest Since April 13, Signaling Continued Depreciation
The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) announced a daily midpoint for the yuan that is the weakest since April 13, reinforcing a trend of depreciation. The move is expected to ripple through emerging‑market currencies and affect global trade pricing.
Truist: Mixed Results But A Supportive Buyback
Truist Financial (TFC) remains on a Hold rating after a 40% rally this year, but recent volatility has tempered enthusiasm. Deposit growth slowed to just 1.7% year‑over‑year, lagging peers and squeezing margins amid heightened competition. Loan growth is steady yet...
Vanguard Short‑Term Bond ETFs BSV Vs. VGSH: Yield Edge Comes With More Risk
Vanguard’s short‑term bond ETFs—BSV (Short‑Term Bond) and VGSH (Short‑Term Treasury)—both charge a 0.03% expense ratio and currently yield about 3.9%. BSV posted a higher one‑year total return, but its broader mix of corporate and international dollar‑denominated bonds leads to a...
SpaceX Targets $75 B IPO, Could Set Record with $1.75 T Valuation
Elon Musk’s SpaceX is lining up a $75 billion capital raise that would value the private launch and satellite firm at roughly $1.75 trillion, the largest IPO ever contemplated. Morgan Stanley is leading the bookrun as investors weigh the upside of Starlink...
Tesla Stock Faces Tight Margins and Delivery Miss Ahead of Q1 2026 Earnings
Tesla (TSLA) is set to report Q1 2026 earnings on April 22 after a 14% sequential drop in deliveries and widening margin pressure. The stock, down 18% from its peak, trades at a PE near 370, forcing investors to weigh...

Track Performance Drivers, Not Just Outputs, with MAPS
You track performance. But do you track what drives it? Michael Gordon challenges FP&A’s focus on outputs alone. The MAPS framework highlights four drivers: focus, energy, emotions, purpose. 💬 Which one are you not managing? 🔗 https://t.co/AMLjyEn8We https://t.co/mZegLud819

Pension Surplus Era Reshapes Strategy as Corporate Plans Rethink Risk and Returns
BlackRock’s 2026 U.S. corporate pension report shows funded ratios climbing to roughly 108%, up from 87% in 2018. With many plans now over‑funded, sponsors are shifting from deficit‑closing to preserving surplus and deciding how to deploy excess assets. Liability‑driven investing...
Sidus Space Secures $58.5 Million in Direct Stock Offering to Fuel Growth
Sidus Space, the Florida‑based space and defense technology firm, priced a best‑efforts registered direct offering of 13.45 million Class A shares at $4.35 each, raising roughly $58.5 million. The cash will be used for working capital and general corporate purposes, signaling strong investor...
Kailera Therapeutics' $625 Million IPO Sets Record as Largest Biotech Offering
Kailera Therapeutics completed a $625 million IPO on Nasdaq, the largest biotech offering by proceeds to date. The upsized deal lifted its share price 62.5% on debut and dramatically increased RTW Bio’s net asset value, underscoring the appeal of its new‑co...
Amazon to Acquire Globalstar for $11.6 B, Expanding Satellite IoT Services
Amazon announced a $11.6 billion deal to buy Globalstar, securing 24 operational satellites, spectrum licenses and direct‑to‑device capability for its Leo network. The acquisition dovetails with an Apple partnership and positions AWS to offer satellite‑backed IoT solutions to remote enterprises.