Good morning. Here’s what happened overnight and what you need to know today.
1.
Liftoff: SpaceX raised USD75 billion ($106.4 billion) in the biggest IPO of all time, selling 555.6 million shares at USD135 each for a fully diluted valuation of about USD1.8 trillion and putting founder Elon Musk on the verge of becoming the world’s first trillionaire. According to Bloomberg, retail investors placed more than USD100 billion in orders, far exceeding the 20% of shares reserved for them, while BlackRock was seen ordering at least USD5 billion. Veteran short-seller James Chanos called it “a hopes-and-dreams IPO” driven by enthusiasm for Musk and AI rather than the fundamentals of a company yet to post a profit. Musk will control 84% of the voting power. Meanwhile, Nasdaq, Citadel Securities and Jane Street have been stress-testing systems for tomorrow’s debut, to avoid a repeat of Facebook’s glitch-marred 2012 debut, sources told Reuters. Meanwhile, US stocks rallied as oil fell after Donald Trump signalled a US-Iran settlement was near. The S&P 500 rose 1.75%, the Nasdaq 100 rose 2.54% and the Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index rose 7.91%. (SpaceX filing)(Reuters)(Bloomberg)(WSJ)
2.
Brink manship: Donald Trump called off new military strikes on Iran, just a few hours after vowing on Truth Social to hit the Islamic Republic “VERY HARD TONIGHT" and threatening to seize Kharg Island, the heart of Iran’s oil economy. The US president said “final points" of an initial peace deal had been approved at “the highest level” of Iranian leadership and that the signing would be announced shortly. But Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported Tehran had not approved the text of any agreement, Reuters reported. Brent crude fell nearly 4% to below USD90 a barrel after the announcement. The reversal followed two days of US strikes on southern Iran and Iranian retaliation on US bases in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan, which had raised fears the fighting could become impossible to contain. Three Indian crew members were killed in a US strike on the oil tanker Settebello, the first seafarers known to have died in the US blockade enforcement, prompting a diplomatic protest from New Delhi. (Reuters)(Bloomberg)(NYT)(WSJ)(AP)
