Know What's Happening in Finance
Know What's Happening in Finance
Klarna secures $1.7B risk‑transfer deal to free capital for lending
Klarna announced a $2 billion forward‑flow facility with Elliott Investment Management to back up to $17 billion of U.S. loan originations over the next three years. On April 1 the fintech completed its largest ever Significant Risk Transfer, a €1.7 billion ($1.9 billion) deal led by Värde Partners, unlocking capital for further growth.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Huntington Bancshares completes Cadence Bank acquisition
The Jay Group secured a $300 million refinancing loan from Affinius Capital for its 102 Fleet Place development in Downtown Brooklyn. The debt will fund the completion of the 30‑story, 495‑unit luxury multifamily tower and support lease‑up activities. The project, located near the Barclays Center and Fulton Mall, will feature 3,700 sq ft of ground‑floor retail and a suite of high‑end amenities. This refinancing follows a series of recent acquisitions and construction loans that have expanded the developer’s footprint in the borough.
I get why companies do it, but ... me no like incenting executives on stock price / market cap as opposed to operating metrics like revenue and profit. They can miss their target and multiples expand enough the bonus stil pays....
Usage-based pricing is the future of SaaS. It's also a sales tax compliance nightmare nobody warns you about. Here's the problem: Traditional subscriptions are simple for tax. Customer pays $99/month. Same price, same tax, same jurisdiction. Every month. Usage-based pricing? Complete opposite. Every transaction is...
A new NCMM‑CBIZ study of 400 U.S. middle‑market executives reveals that while growth remains a top priority, profitability is the default choice when leaders face hard trade‑offs. Innovation‑driven firms outperformed peers, with 51% posting at least 10% revenue growth and...
Corus Entertainment secured Ontario Superior Court approval to move forward with its previously announced recapitalization, aimed at slashing third‑party debt and liabilities by more than $500 million CAD (≈$365 million USD). The deal is expected to cut annual cash interest payments by...
Boehringer Ingelheim announced it will maintain its high‑level R&D spending while exploring dealmaking opportunities in China to counteract mounting U.S. drug‑price pressure. The company is prioritising an obesity‑focused pipeline, betting on the fast‑growing weight‑loss market to sustain revenue. By keeping...
Sift, a Southern California startup founded by former SpaceX engineers, announced a $42 million Series B round led by StepStone Group with participation from Google Ventures and other investors. The capital will be used to grow its engineering team and enhance its...
Demand for AI expertise in accounting roles surged dramatically over the past year, climbing from 18% to 30% of job postings, according to Datarails' analysis of 5,000 U.S. finance listings. FP&A positions showed the steepest rise, with 43% now requiring...
On 24 March 2026 the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) published its Insurance Climate Vulnerability Assessment, a stress test that projects how climate change could erode home‑insurance affordability through 2050. The analysis models two severe climate scenarios—heightened physical weather risks and costly...
Teck Resources has postponed the construction decision for its Zafranal copper project in Arequipa, Peru, a venture valued at roughly US$1.9 billion. The company is instead directing capital toward expanding its existing Quebrada Blanca mine in Chile. The deferment underscores ongoing...
The European Investment Fund announced a €15 bn (≈$16.2 bn) fund‑of‑funds, the second European Tech Champions Initiative, to back about 100 growth‑stage venture capital funds across the EU. The program will target mid‑size funds raising €300‑600 m (≈$324‑$648 m) and mega funds of €1 bn...
New Ocorian research shows 86% of family offices, managing $119.37 billion, are deploying AI to enhance daily operations and data analysis. Executives cite faster fraud detection, streamlined reporting, and regulatory compliance as key benefits, with most leveraging Azure or Google Cloud....
Finance departments face mounting pressure to accelerate closes, improve forecast accuracy, and deliver real‑time insights while coping with talent shortages and exploding data volumes. A recent Thomson Reuters survey shows only about 20% of tax firms have moved beyond evaluating...
On 25 March 2026 the FCA published Consultation Paper CP26/10 to simplify pensions and investment advice rules. The paper proposes merging COBS 9 and 9A into a single framework, deleting overlapping rules covered by the Consumer Duty, and redefining suitability assessments...
SEBI has partnered with Google to launch a “verified” badge for investment apps on the Play Store, initially covering more than 600 stock‑broker applications. Only apps belonging to SEBI‑registered entities will display the badge, helping investors differentiate legitimate platforms from...
Satellite analyst Tim Farrar says SpaceX is close to buying Globalstar for about $10 billion, after a sale process that began in October 2025. The acquisition would cement Starlink’s dominance in the direct‑to‑device (D2D) market and block Amazon’s bid to broaden...
In this March 2026 episode of This Month in Banking, host Tara Ween interviews Matt Burke, CEO of Mutual Bank Corp., about the next growth strategies for community banks. Burke explains how the post‑COVID stimulus, rapid interest‑rate hikes, and shifting...
Jim Cramer argued that neither Bitcoin nor gold acted as effective crisis hedges during the recent U.S.–Iran conflict, observing only margin calls and forced selling. Gold has slumped 27% from its January peak and is down about 12% since the...
Aptiv announced the spin‑off of its electrical distribution systems into a new company, Versigent, which will debut on the NYSE on April 1 under the ticker VGNT. Shareholders will receive one Versigent share for every three Aptiv shares. Versigent targets $8.3 billion...
DBRS, Inc. issued provisional credit ratings on March 25, 2026 for the Mortgage‑Backed Notes of the GS Mortgage‑Backed Securities Trust 2026‑PJ5. All senior A‑class tranches received a (P) AAA rating, while subordinate B‑class tranches were assigned lower ratings ranging from AA to...
AI startup Zivy, backed by Blume Ventures, announced it will cease operations on March 31, 2026 after struggling to convert users into paying customers. The Bengaluru‑based firm, which raised $1.2 million in a September 2024 pre‑seed round, saw demand evaporate as...
Euronext has launched container freight futures and selected Xeneta’s Global Container Price Index (XSI‑C) as the underlying benchmark. The index is praised for its real‑time data, comprehensive coverage of carriers and trade lanes, and focus on 40‑foot containers. Its independence...
ETF are increasingly dominating the market. They now account for 37% of total trading volume in the US-higher than in 2019-2020. The idea here is not just that more money is flowing through ETFs. The deeper point is that market participants are...
IBM completed an $11 billion acquisition of Confluent on March 17, 2026, adding the leading data‑streaming platform used by over 6,500 enterprises, including 40 % of the Fortune 500. IBM frames the deal as buying an AI‑focused data platform that delivers real‑time data to power...
Bottom‑up forecasting builds revenue projections from granular inputs—rep headcount, quota attainment, deal size, and pipeline conversion—while top‑down starts with market‑level figures such as TAM and estimated share. Companies often combine both methods: a top‑down target sets strategic direction, and a...
The U.S. regulator’s latest proposal to ease capital adequacy rules for the nation’s largest banks marks a reversal of post‑2008 reforms aimed at curbing systemic risk. Critics argue the move weakens loss‑absorbing buffers, reviving the “too‑big‑to‑fail” dynamic that forces taxpayers...
Today's M&A notes $BLX.to to be acquired by Brookfield / La Caisse for $37.25 cash per share, 31.8% premium, $9.0 billion $TERN to be acquired by MRK for $53.00 cash per share, 6.0% premium, $5.7 billion $JHG / Trian bumped bid by 6.1%...
Bob Lewis argues that independence for accounting firms is no longer a blanket refusal of private‑equity offers but a strategic decision based on a firm’s ability to fund technology, sustain succession, and compete in a rapidly consolidating market. He highlights...
Robinhood Stock Rises After $1.5 Billion Buyback as Shares Stay Under Pressure Question: if stock tripled in 2025 then dropped 39% in 2026, is $1.5B buyback buying the dip or catching a falling knife? Robinhood's crypto reliance = structural vulnerability when...
Dream Sports, the parent of fantasy‑sports platform Dream11, announced it will launch a stockbroking service called Dream Street. The brokerage, aimed at retail investors, builds on the company’s recent wealth‑management app Dream Money and will tap the large Dream11 user...
Everplay, the parent of Team17, posted flat revenue of £166 million (≈ $208 million) for FY2025 but saw gross profit rise 10% to £76.3 million (≈ $95 million). The increase stemmed from ending low‑margin physical distribution, which lifted gross margins, while new releases generated an 80%...
UiPath unveiled its new Purchase-to-Pay (P2P) solution, an agentic AI platform that overlays existing ERP and CRM systems to automate procurement and accounts‑payable workflows. The tool leverages Intelligent Xtraction and Processing, AI‑driven approval routing, and UiPath Maestro orchestration to capture...
Noah Holdings Limited released unaudited results for Q4 and the full year 2025, showing a 12.5% year‑over‑year increase in quarterly net revenue to RMB733.2 million and a 17.5% rise in full‑year net income to RMB558.9 million. The data underscores expanding demand among...
Cohen & Steers' board announced monthly distributions for April‑June 2026, increasing the Infrastructure Fund’s payout to $0.165 per share—a $0.010 rise. All eight closed‑end real‑estate and infrastructure funds will continue regular cash distributions under a managed‑distribution policy, signaling fund health...
Elon Musk’s SpaceX is set to file its IPO prospectus this week, eyeing a June debut that could fetch more than $75 billion in new capital and a valuation between $1 trillion and $1.75 trillion. The deal would involve top Wall Street banks...
Branch has partnered with Stripe to embed its digital wallet into Stripe Connect, allowing platforms to launch customizable wallets and branded debit cards for workers. The solution delivers instant, fee‑free payouts, cash‑back rewards, and everyday financial tools without requiring pre‑funding....
The $TERN / $MRK deal announced this morning provides a good case study on how Accelerate's AI agents quickly analyze a merger arbitrage investment opportunity: - Equity research agent: Paste target ticker. Agent generates an initiating coverage report on the target. -...
$1.7tril asset manager Franklin Templeton partnering w/ Ondo to offer tokens backed by Franklin ETFs… “You can think of this as a new distribution channel." Think arrangements like this will actually help accelerate full securities tokenization. via @isabelletanlee @sidcoins https://t.co/77juyqvqBj
Cambridge Mobile Telematics announced a $350 million financing round led by private‑equity firm TPG and joined by insurers Allianz and State Farm. The capital will fuel AI model development, a European rollout with Allianz and a hiring push for 30 AI...
UST 5y auction will be interesting after a nasty 2y yesterday. Some news cross-currents may have affected clean bidding for 2s which should be a factor for 5s today as well. Also more of a concession would be...
Long yields broke out last week and finished the week at 4.39%. As I have written many times, nothing good happens above 4.5% when the risk-free rate is competitive with risky assets, as is now the case. https://t.co/mq0q2S2nBU
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Ghana's long‑term sovereign rating at B‑ and introduced a RR4 recovery rating, marking the first time the agency embeds recovery assumptions into its sovereign framework. The move removes Ghana from Under Criteria Observation and keeps a...
Market is ignoring the looming governance catalyst. Super-voting shares are being phased out as two activists build meaningful stakes, one owning a highly complementary peer. With shares at multi-year lows and the biz stabilizing, the path to a buyout is increasingly likely....
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Merck & Co. is in advanced negotiations to acquire U.S. biotech Terns Pharma for an all‑cash price of about $6 billion. The news lifted Merck shares 0.5% to $116.99 and sent Terns stock soaring 12% to $55.97, underscoring the deal’s market...
I asked $TERN CEO Amy Burroughs right after the #ASH25 data was out how she felt about M&A. Congrats to her and her team. https://t.co/2HemPoiqWO
United Airlines announced a potential 20% increase in ticket prices if jet‑fuel prices stay high and introduced a new premium “Relax Row” seat class. CEO Scott Kirby said the airline is already cutting capacity on unprofitable routes and preparing for...
Specialised Investment Funds (SIFs) have amassed roughly $1.2 billion in assets under management within six months, driven by a net inflow of about $1.2 billion. The hybrid long‑short strategy leads the pack, holding around $890 million across six schemes, while equity‑focused long‑short funds...
Epic Games is eliminating more than 1,000 positions, with 82 jobs lost at its Bellevue office, and targeting $500 million in cost savings after a sharp drop in Fortnite engagement. CEO Tim Sweeney said the cuts are needed to bring spending...
Analysts including S&P Global, Goldman Sachs and the RBI have lowered India's GDP growth outlook, citing soaring oil import bills, geopolitical uncertainty and a weakening rupee. The downgrade reflects widening pressures on the private sector, from corporate tax reforms to...
