Today's Finance Pulse

SpaceX files for record‑size IPO, targeting $50B‑plus raise and $1T valuation
SpaceX confidentially filed for an IPO slated for June 2026, aiming to raise at least $50 billion and push its valuation above $1 trillion. Founder Elon Musk holds roughly 44 percent of the company, giving him a net worth of about $823 billion. The filing positions the rocket and satellite maker among the most valuable public companies ever.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Berkshire Hathaway invests $10B in Alphabet's private placement
Sitharaman to Move Finance Bill 2026 and Corporate Laws Amendment Bill in Lok Sabha Today
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will introduce the Finance Bill 2026 and the Corporate Laws (Amendment) Bill 2026 in the Lok Sabha during the second phase of the budget session. The Finance Bill will operationalise the government’s fiscal proposals for FY 2026‑27, while the amendment bill seeks to update the Limited Liability Partnership Act 2008 and the Companies Act 2013. The session, which began on Jan 28, runs until April 2 and includes multiple ministries presenting reports on cyber safety, housing, MSME credit and insurance regulation.

Vanguard Finally Files for Junk Bond ETF Nearly Two Decades Later
Vanguard announced filing for a U.S. high‑yield corporate bond ETF (VCHY), slated for a June launch, finally entering a market dominated by iShares HYG and State Street JNK since 2007. The fund will track Bloomberg’s US High‑Yield $250 million 2% Issuer...

QQQ Gets an Equal Weight Buddy
Invesco has added a new equal‑weight ETF, the QEW, which tracks the Nasdaq‑100 by giving each of its 100 stocks an equal 1% weight. The fund arrives as equal‑weight strategies have outperformed traditional cap‑weighted indexes this year, with the Nasdaq‑100...

Why L’Oréal Took on Kering for Gucci
L'Oréal agreed to buy Kering's entire beauty portfolio for roughly $4.7 billion, securing the coveted Gucci fragrance license that expires in 2028. The deal marks Kering's swift exit from cosmetics, allowing it to shed debt and refocus on fashion, jewelry and...
Google Parks ‘$20 Billion Investment’ over Fears the $5.5 Trillion Behemoth Might Have to Pay More Australian Tax
Google Australia has put its proposed $20 billion data‑centre programme on hold, citing fears that the projects could be deemed a permanent establishment and subject to Australia’s 30% corporate tax rate. The pause follows a decline in the subsidiary’s effective tax...

Japan Weighs Cutting Inflation-Linked Bond Buybacks as Demand Rises
Japan is considering trimming its inflation‑linked government bond buy‑backs to about ¥15 billion per operation for April and June, down from ¥20 billion a month in Q1. The change follows a rise in break‑even inflation rates above 1.9%, indicating stronger investor demand...

Winner Spotlight 2026: Aster Chemicals and Energy
Singapore’s FinanceAsia named Aster Chemicals and Energy’s $1 billion sustainability‑linked syndicated loan as a Highly Commended Best Syndicated Loan Deal. The facility, led by OCBC and DBS, was upsized by $300 million through a greenshoe option and syndicated to ten additional banks...

VPBank Seeks $1.2 Billion in One of Vietnam’s Largest ESG Deals
Vietnam's VPBank is pursuing a $1.2 billion sustainability‑linked loan, one of the country’s largest ESG‑tied financings. The three‑year facility will be underwritten by more than a dozen banks. Proceeds will be tied to specific environmental, social and governance performance targets. The...
QCraft Closes $100 Million New Series D Financing to Advance Physical AI for Autonomous Driving and Mobility
QCraft announced the close of a $100 million Series D round aimed at scaling its physical‑AI hardware platform for autonomous driving and broader mobility applications. The financing, led by XYZ Capital with participation from existing backers and strategic automotive partners, will fund...

Audit Flags Gaps in NSW Project Cost Reporting, Billions Written-Off
The NSW Audit Office flagged serious gaps in cost reporting for capital projects worth about $78 billion USD, and revealed that $907 million AUD (≈$600 million USD) has been written off as non‑recoverable over three years. The audit found limited disclosure of total...
DLO's Post-IPO Multiples Keep Compressing To
New to the name... why have multiples continued to compress since IPO? 13x next years earnings $DLO
Kotak Bank Set to Acquire Deutsche's Retail Business in Rs 4,500-Crore Deal
Kotak Mahindra Bank is poised to acquire Deutsche Bank's India retail business for roughly Rs 4,500 crore, after being named the preferred buyer. The transaction covers a loan‑and‑deposit portfolio valued at about Rs 27,000 crore, including personal, home and MSME loans, retail deposits and...
New Rental Rules Trigger Mass Eviction Fears and Property Value Shifts in Ireland
Ireland's recent overhaul of private‑rental regulations has sparked a wave of attempted mass evictions in Wexford, Limerick and Galway. Experts warn landlords may favor vacant units to capture higher market rents, while a parallel health‑sector cost‑saving initiative shows €260,000 saved...

Spanish-Bank-Prints-Record-Corporate-SRT
A leading Spanish bank announced a record‑high volume of corporate Structured Risk Transfer (SRT) transactions in Q1 2026, issuing approximately €5 billion ($5.4 billion) of SRT securities. The surge reflects an expanding pipeline of high‑yield corporate assets and heightened investor appetite for...

Singapore: Simplifying AI Risk Management for Financial Services
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has finished phase two of Project MindForge, releasing an AI Risk Management Toolkit for the financial sector. The toolkit features an Operationalisation Handbook and real‑world case studies, guiding banks, insurers and fintech firms through governance,...
$JOJO: CE-Credit Webinar on Credit Rotation — Why Static Bond Allocations May Be a Risk
The ATAC Credit Rotation ETF ($JOJO) challenges the common belief that bond exposure should stay static, proposing a dynamic credit‑rotation framework. Portfolio manager Michael Gayed will detail this approach in a CE‑credit approved webinar on March 24, covering credit‑vs‑duration risk, utilities...

Oil Shock Could Trigger Bond Market Turmoil, Warns FT
The Financial Times’ Katie Martin: “It is hard, in that environment, to pick the market moves that really matter. This week’s wild ride in UK government bonds is, I think, one of them. It is an early warning sign of...

Invested Assets Growth Bolsters UBS Group AG (UBS) Net Profit
UBS Group AG reported a strong 2025 performance, with invested assets climbing 15% to over $7 trillion, reinforcing its status among the world’s largest wealth managers. Net profit rose to $7.7 billion, driven by a 56% jump in fourth‑quarter earnings to $1.2 billion...

Senegal Overstretch Saga Shadows Francophone Debt Diversion
The Iran‑related war in the Middle East has effectively halted new sovereign bond issuance in Francophone Sub‑Saharan Africa, leaving the region with only $6 billion of fresh issuance—half of last year’s pace. Credit spreads have surged to 375 basis points, and...
Unlock Excel Checkboxes for Instant Dashboard Updates
Excel has checkboxes. Most finance teams have no idea. Here's what they're missing. Not filters. Not dropdowns. Checkboxes. Click a box. Dashboard updates. That's it. Sounds simple because it is. Let me show you two dashboards where this actually matters. First one. Comparison Dashboard. Check...
American’s Hub Problem Is A Credit Card Problem
Airlines now earn more from co‑branded credit cards than from flying passengers, with Delta pulling $8.2 billion and American $6.2 billion in 2025—amounts that dwarf their operating incomes. Executives like Doug Parker admit that traditional hub profitability models ignore the true value...

Electric Propulsion Innovator Arc Raises $50M in New Funding
Arc, a Los Angeles‑based electric boat and powertrain firm, closed a $50 million Series C round led by investors such as a16z, Menlo Ventures, and Eclipse. The capital will be used to accelerate production of electric tugboat powertrains and to expand the...
Finding Value in Numbers
In this episode, Mark Gandy interviews Issan Isani about his book *Finding Value in Numbers*, which offers a practical, math‑light toolkit for CEOs, finance directors, and board members to assess and create value in growing businesses. They discuss the importance...

Exasol FY2025: The Turnaround Is Complete. Now Comes the Hard Part.
Exasol AG reported FY2025 results that confirm its cost‑structure turnaround, delivering $4.5 million EBITDA, $3.3 million net income and $4.3 million free cash flow. Annual recurring revenue in its focus verticals reached $29 million, but growth slowed to 10 % year‑over‑year, down from 24 % the...

Sharpe Ratio Misleads: It Masks Fat Tails and Upside
You're being lied to by a number. The Sharpe Ratio looks like risk management. It isn't. It's a single statistic that hides fat tails, punishes upside, and assumes your returns are normally distributed. They aren't. Here's why it breaks — and what professionals use instead:
New 5‑Pillar SaaS Metrics Engine Enables AI‑Powered Benchmarking
My 5 Pillar SaaS Metrics framework has been core to helping SaaS & AI founders and students in my Academy. I'm about to release the framework in my next code push to production for my SaaS metrics engine. My framework...

Fannie, Freddie Place Large Bids for Mortgage-Backed Securities
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have begun placing large orders for mortgage‑backed securities, acting on President Trump’s directive to acquire $200 billion of MBS to help lower mortgage rates. Their retained‑portfolio balances have rebounded to $278 billion, up from $158 billion at the...

Tokenized Money Threatens Traditional Banking by 2030
🔺 The $2 Trillion Shift: Is Tokenized Money About to Kill Traditional Banking? 💸 By 2030, tokenized money could be a $2T market. But while the tech is moving fast, the global financial map is becoming a "fragmented mess" of rules. 💬...

SaaS Valuations Plunge, yet Growth Stays Robust
SaaS valuations have reset — but growth remains intact. Significant multiple compression - Median EV/Sales declined from 15–17x to 4–5x. Median subscription SaaS snapshot 👇 • EV/Sales: 4.7x • NTM Growth: 16.5% • 51 public companies • for SaaS companies (including device / fixed-capacity subscriptions and...

Why Smarter Benefits Are Now Key to Protecting UK Competitiveness
UK employers face record staffing costs as National Insurance rises to 15% and income‑tax thresholds remain frozen, widening the gap between labour expenses and productivity. Simultaneously, benefit costs such as private medical insurance and pension contributions are climbing, pressuring payroll...

Want Your Startup to Survive? Track Burn Rate Like It’s Your Real Health Score
The article urges founders to treat burn rate as a core health metric, not an after‑thought. It outlines how realistic budgeting, purposeful spending, and milestone‑driven fundraising keep cash runway sustainable. Early revenue generation is highlighted as a lever that both...

Tokenization Poised for $500M Savings, Banks Lag
Tokenization at a Turning Point in 2026: NASDAQ Eyes $500M Collateral Savings, IBM Urges Banks to Act – But Interoperability Stalls Topics: ↳ IBM: Tokenization at a Turning Point Banks Can’t Afford to Miss in 2026 (But Most Likely Won’t Act) ↳...

Growth Alone Isn't Enough: Prioritize Low Dilution
SBC/Revenue vs NTM growth 👇 High growth ≠ shareholder-friendly $TEAM $FIG → strong growth, but SBC eats a large portion of value The best companies balance both $PLTR $APP $SHOP $ZETA → high growth with controlled dilution Low SBC = real operating leverage $MSFT $FICO $FTNT...

The $2.3B Wake-Up Call: What GE HealthCare’s Intelerad Deal Actually Means for Imaging IT
GE HealthCare completed a $2.3 billion all‑cash acquisition of Intelerad, the largest recent enterprise‑imaging deal. The platform serves 1,500 health systems, processes 230 million exams annually and generates roughly $270 million in recurring revenue. The transaction underscores a strategic shift from hardware‑centric OEM...
Poste Italiane Bids €10.8bn for Telecom Italia
The re-Post Officication of telecoms was not something I expected to read this morning: Poste Italiane launches €10.8bn bid for Telecom Italia via @FT https://t.co/gR3vmnrlkX

Weak Stock Prices Fueled 2015, 2018 Buybacks, M&A
BofA: Weaker stock prices were behind the jump in share buybacks and M&A spending in 2015 and 2018. https://t.co/zOxaox8YSB

Who’s The Biggest In 3D Printing, March 22, 2026
The weekly Fabbaloo leaderboard shows Farsoon retaining the top spot with a $4.6 billion market cap, though it slipped 12% amid profit‑taking. Xometry bucked the sector trend, rising 6% while the broader 3D‑printing market fell about 6% due to energy‑supply concerns....
Airlines' Abandoned Fuel Hedges Signal Rising Ticket Prices
Oh no! US airlines are no longer hedged against oil price shocks. Now we will all be paying in higher fares. Just like PJM states who didn't hedge against the recent increase. And California in 2000-2001. Hindsight is 20-20 but...
Markets Reprice Inflation Shock, Not Recession Fears
1/4 Yesterday I posted the thread below arguing that the market is repricing an inflation shock, not a recession scare. 10-year yields are rising, bond volatility is exploding, inflation expectations are jumping, and Fed pricing has swung from cuts toward hikes. Follow up...

Trenzet Infra Files Papers with SEBI to Raise Funds via IPO
Trenzet Infra Ltd, a railway‑focused EPC contractor, has filed a draft red‑herring prospectus with SEBI to launch an IPO comprising a fresh issue of 1.05 crore shares and an offer‑for‑sale of 18 lakh promoter shares. The proceeds are earmarked for working‑capital needs,...
UK Firms Accelerate £30bn Share Buyback Surge
What’s behind the UK’s £30bn share buyback boom? - The Times and The Sunday Times https://t.co/ajOCo5YkMa
Finished Taxes Early Using Free Open‑Source GnuCash
I think this is the earliest I’ve ever finished my taxes. BTW if you have bookkeeping chops, you can ditch Intuit products and just use open source GnuCash. It’s free.
Imminent Treasury Supply Surge Threatens Auction Failure
This is maybe not this week or even next month, but this is a failed auction waiting to happen. #TreasurySupply
Banks Adopt Crypto but Shun High Stablecoin Yields
Brian Armstrong says that the banks are already integrating crypto and stablecoins Of course they are. It’s the new financial system. They just don’t want to pay you 4 to 5% yield on stablecoins because it hurts their bottom line https://t.co/8Kj5v9xmv7
U.S. Defense Stocks Shine via Buybacks, Not
Don’t worry the U.S. defense base can’t produce missiles but it’s great at the key to this war, buybacks and dividends.

US Banks Receive $200 Bn Capital Infusion
The $200bn capital boost to US banks. More on this in the Chartbook Top Links of today. https://t.co/Z0naICa1tz
Markets Aggregate Opinions with Cash, Revealing Future Expectations
Markets are useful for the same reason polls are useful: not because they’re flawless, but because they aggregate lots of views. The difference is investors back their opinions with cash. Stocks aren’t GDP, but they do reveal what people expect...

Markets Tighten on Trump Amid Bond, Credit Strain
Markets have been the ultimate constraint on Trump and they're starting to look very iffy, especially where the US bond market (bottom left) and private credit (bottom right) are concerned. If the US escalates the war with Iran, markets will...