Apps

Jana Partners Presses Cooper to Replace CEO — 21hJana Partners on September 18, 2026 pressed Cooper Companies to launch an immediate external CEO search and explore sales of CooperVision and CooperSurgical assets.

Dana Whitfield Cooper should seriously consider selling those divisions to unlock real value for shareholders.

S&P Global Leads Kaiko Funding Round to $110 Million — 4dS&P Global led a strategic investment extending Kaiko’s Series B to $110 million, backed by a broad group of strategic investors and a Kaiko-chaired Industry Working Group to shape data and infrastructure for tokenized markets. The funding supports Kaiko’s expansion of digital asset market data and on-chain infrastructure, complemented by milestones such as the launch of co-branded S&P Kaiko Digital Asset Indices and related tokenization initiatives for traditional assets.

Jared Kim The industry working group on tokenized markets could finally push consistent standards if the big players actually follow through.

Trump Signals Possible End to U.S.-Iran War — 3dIranian security officials repeated that there will be no negotiations with the United States until Washington complies with Iran’s conditions linked to the Islamabad Memorandum and signals that Tehran’s control of Hormuz and the broader oil situation have changed, criticizing Trump’s mixed messages as irrelevant to the core demands. The officials insist sanctions relief, release of frozen assets, and a regional ceasefire are prerequisites, while the U.S. naval blockade remains a lever in ongoing tensions.

Senate Faces 60-Vote Test on Crypto Oversight Bill — 4dA new wave of crypto interest is merging space tech and AI with blockchain, as SPXIUM pitches a space‑oriented, governance‑driven asset framework and alerts to AI safety risks that could threaten crypto infrastructure. At the political level, Trump is pushing a sweeping crypto bill with ethics divestment provisions and state-enforcement roles as crypto becomes mainstream, with millions of Americans holding digital assets and numerous jobs tied to the industry.

Asset Owners Double AI Environmental Risk View in Year — 3dGrowing concerns about AI's environmental footprint are rising among asset owners and the public, with surveys showing worries about data-center energy use, electricity costs, and climate impacts as AI expands. Meanwhile, new research explores using generative AI to forecast air pollution more efficiently, and debates over data centers include pollution from power plants and calls for policies on grid upgrades and clean energy.

Ares, PSP Establish $2.4B U.S. Logistics JV — 2dAres Management and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board have launched a joint venture to invest up to $2.4 billion in U.S. logistics real estate, starting with a 5.2 million-square-foot seed portfolio of 14 properties in California, Texas, and New Jersey, with Marq Logistics leading sourcing and asset management. The venture combines Ares' real estate platform and PSP Investments' capital to target cash-flowing assets in high-growth markets amid growing demand from onshoring, digital infrastructure expansion, and e-commerce.

Tom Gallagher Starting with 5 million square feet already leased is a safer bet than chasing new builds in a crowded market.

TotalEnergies Partners With GIP on $1.8 Billion African Infrastructure Deal — 14hTotalEnergies and Global Infrastructure Partners, a BlackRock affiliate, have agreed to a US$1.8 billion investment into TotalEnergies’ African oil and gas midstream assets in exchange for a throughput-based tariff lasting up to 15 years, allowing monetization while preserving operational control. The deal signals a broader strategy to unlock value from midstream infrastructure and attract major investors to Africa’s energy sector.

Priya Raman BlackRock's affiliate backing African oil infrastructure at this level should draw more serious money into the sector.

Kimberly-Clark weighs asset sales amid EU review of Kenvue deal — 4dKimberly-Clark is preparing asset sales and concessions to address European Union antitrust concerns over its roughly $40 billion bid for Kenvue, with the EU expected to formally outline objections during the preliminary review and push for remedies that could include divesting overlapping brands. The move signals the transaction is moving into the regulator’s scrutiny phase and aims to secure conditional approval to close the deal.

Delos Data raises over $100 million to cut AI data center bottlenecks — 3dDelos Data raised over $100 million on Sep 15, 2026; CEO Ed Doe calls a GPU waiting on the network the most expensive idle asset in a data center.

Maya Lindstrom With that much capital behind it the new chips might actually cut latency enough to matter in practice.

Fed Raises Rates as India Faces Inflation Pressure — 4dGlobal markets are bracing for potential Fed tightening with expectations of a 25 basis-point hike in September and possibly more through year-end, while oil sits above $100 and US yields rise, reinforcing a stronger dollar dynamic. Asian assets are weighing rate hike prospects as the Bank of Korea indicates a possible rate increase amid solid growth, with analysts warning that persistent inflation and higher discount rates could pressure equities and trigger volatility in currencies and flows.

Bank of England pauses gilt sales until 2027 while keeping 2034 unwind target — 1dThe Bank of England has redesigned its quantitative tightening plan, halting long-dated gilt sales and steering the unwind toward shorter and medium maturities while targetting zero long-dated holdings by 2034; it will pause open-market sales and potentially sell via the Debt Management Office to smooth supply and avoid weak pricing. The changes, unfolding over about eight years, aim to reduce the Asset Purchase Facility and manage higher borrowing costs while maintaining a clear path for investors and taxpayers.

Vertex Lab Combines V2Fun AI With GPT-6 Astra for Editable 3D Assets — Sep 11, 2026Vertex Lab showcased a component-based workflow that merges its V2Fun 3D generation with GPT-6 Astra’s planning and coding to turn reference images into assembled, editable 3D assets, preserving major components for later editing. The demos, including an excavator and armored character, use Three.js to assemble parts and add detailed features, highlighting how procedural and hybrid approaches can shape final models.

Elena Vasquez The excavator demo shows real promise for keeping parts separate instead of baking everything into one mesh.

Zelenskyy sanctions ex-press secretary Mendel over disinformation claims — 5dZelenskyy has imposed personal sanctions on former press secretary Yuliia Mendel alongside ten other individuals for spreading disinformation and supporting Russia, including asset freezes and restrictions on trade and movement. Mendel has criticized the move as unconstitutional, arguing sanctions on Ukrainian citizens contradict peace efforts.

Jared Kim Freezing assets of Ukrainian citizens like Mendel without due process risks dividing the country further during war.

Illegal Gold Mining Surges on Brazil Indigenous Lands — 3dG Mining Ventures reports a new near-surface gold discovery at Gurupi in Brazil, along with strong drill results at Tocantinzinho, signaling potential for a broader, multi-asset growth pipeline. Separately, IPAM’s analysis shows illegal gold mining on Brazil’s Indigenous lands in the Amazon expanded dramatically, with 2024 areas far larger than 1985 and ongoing mercury contamination and climate-related harms, prompting calls for stronger enforcement, traceability, and Indigenous-led adaptation.

Closed Pennsylvania Winery Files Chapter 11 BankruptcyBusiness — 4dMoon Dancer Vineyards & Winery in York County filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September 2026 to reorganize after closing its facilities the prior year, with assets of $100,000–$500,000 and debt between $1 million and $10 million, and creditors led by M&T Bank and the Small Business Administration. The broader wine sector faces a 21% revenue drop from 2020–2025, a trend underscored by Signorello Estate’s August 2026 Chapter 11 filing and repeated bank-driven efforts to halt foreclosures and wind down troubled operations.

Suns Center Mark Williams Undergoes Shoulder Surgery — Sep 11, 2026Phoenix Suns center Mark Williams underwent surgery to repair a torn left shoulder labrum and will miss an extended period, with no return timeline announced as training camp approaches, potentially reshaping the Suns’ rotation in his absence. The injury comes amid past trade drama with the Los Angeles Lakers over Williams and underscores asset considerations in that deal’s history.

Nicole Hardy Williams needs to focus on a full recovery before worrying about any past Lakers trade issues.

Gevo Commissions Upgrades, Expects 10%-15% Output Increase — 4dGevo reports continued progress on its North Dakota debottlenecking program at the Gevo North Dakota facility in Richardton, with a beer degassing system commissioned ahead of schedule to boost CO2 capture and enable a 10-15% increase in output—following the previously completed steam turbine project. The upgrades include a third liquefaction tank and a fifth fermenter to lift production toward a targeted 75 million gallons per year, with all assets expected to be online by the end of 2026 as part of a plan to nearly double GND output and returns.

Priya Raman Reaching 75 million gallons by late 2026 with the extra fermenter and tank will be a real test for their expansion plans.

Saudi Wealth Fund Weighs EA Merger With Savvy Games — Sep 10, 2026Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is weighing a merger of Electronic Arts with Savvy Games to form a global gaming behemoth that would consolidate EA’s franchises with Savvy’s assets like Scopely and Pokemon Go. A final decision hinges on Savvy’s $6 billion Moonton acquisition, with potential antitrust scrutiny and fears of widespread layoffs shaping the discussions.

Priya Raman This merger might run into antitrust blocks since it would control too many popular franchises in one company.

Citadel pursues more US shale deals after losing $4 billion auction — Sep 4, 2026Citadel is expanding from trading into owning physical oil assets, engaging with private equity owners of oil-weighted exploration and production companies and among the bidders for WildFire Energy in the Eagle Ford, a bid that Magnolia Oil & Gas won for about $4.06 billion. The move reflects a broader appetite among hedge funds and trading houses to hold oil production assets to hedge and gain exposure amid elevated crude prices and geopolitical tensions that disrupt supply chains.

Elena Vasquez Losing a $4 billion auction and calling it "pursuing more deals" is a nice way to spin coming in second place.

DavosWeb3 2027 Plans Global Digital Asset Finance RoundtableBusiness — Aug 27, 2026DavosWeb3's 2027 institutional roundtable will explore deeper systemic integration of digital assets with traditional finance and AI, featuring discussions on scalable blockchain, DeFi, and digital identity with Arnold Johnson as a special speaker. Separately, Hawkeye Digital and RedChip outline a merchant banking and private equity platform for the digital asset economy, while Accenture lists CFO & Enterprise Value roles aimed at driving digital finance transformation for global clients.

Nasdaq completes Dasseti acquisition to speed institutional investor due diligence — Sep 3, 2026Nasdaq has completed the acquisition of Dasseti, folding the AI-powered due diligence and ongoing monitoring platform into Nasdaq eVestment to cover the full manager research lifecycle, from screening to ongoing oversight, with financial terms not disclosed. The deal notably expands eVestment’s private markets reach, linking thousands of asset managers and owners and billions to trillions in assets, and is expected to speed data processes and improve quality across due diligence, RFPs, and monitoring.

U.S. producer prices rise 0.4% in August matching forecasts — Sep 10, 2026August’s PPI increased 0.4% month over month with year‑over‑year readings around 5.4%–5.5%, though revisions to prior months have sparked questions about whether the data meets consensus expectations and how it feeds inflation and policy expectations. Core PPI rose 0.2% (YoY about 4.6%), while analysts and investors weigh the impact of higher energy costs and ongoing geopolitical tensions on inflation and asset valuations.

Priya Raman Higher energy costs keep pushing these prices up, so inflation looks stickier than hoped and rate cuts might wait.

Apollo Eyes $20 Billion J&J Orthopedics Unit — 6dApollo Global Management is poised to acquire Johnson & Johnson's DePuy Synthes orthopedics unit for about $20 billion, a deal that would value the asset at roughly two times its sales as J&J considers a tax-free spin-off or other paths to sharpen focus on higher-growth healthcare areas. DePuy Synthes generated about $9.3 billion in 2025 revenue but trails faster-growing segments and carries thousands of hip-implant lawsuits that would influence buyer pricing.

Marcus Bell Two times sales feels fair given the revenue but the lawsuits could still force a lower final price.

Kawhi Leonard Returns to Raptors in Trade — Sep 11, 2026The proposed Kawhi Leonard trade between the Clippers and Raptors remains in flux as the Clippers’ front office lacks an interim governor after the NBA imposed a $30 million fine and suspensions on owner Steve Ballmer, Gillian Zucker, and Lawrence Frank for a salary-cap circumvention investigation, complicating league approval of the deal. Despite assurances there is no league-level holdup, internal governance issues and ongoing investigations continue to delay finalizing Leonard’s return to Toronto in exchange for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, and multiple draft assets.