Hi there, this is your daily ☕️ Finpresso.
In today's newsletter:
🛢️ Oil jumps 7% after Trump declares Iran ceasefire over
🚀 Bezos' Blue Origin raises $10B at $130B valuation
🏛️ Fed minutes reveal split over hiking or cutting rates
🇨🇦 Meta to build $9B AI data center in Alberta
💰 Crypto VC Paradigm raises $1.2B to chase AI
Plus: 🌍 11 macro news, 🏢 7 corporate news, 💰 6 deal flow, and 📑 4 research & reports.
📰 Top News
| 🛢️ Oil jumps 7% after Trump declares Iran ceasefire over LINK |
- Oil prices climbed more than 7% to a two-week high after President Trump declared the interim ceasefire with Iran over, with Brent up 7.6% to $79.76 a barrel and WTI up 7.2% to $75.40.
- The spike followed Iran's attacks on three commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. airstrikes on more than 80 targets inside Iran, and Tehran's formal closure of the waterway to international shipping.
- Washington also cancelled a waiver that let Iran sell oil, cutting Tehran's revenue, while Gulf tanker freight rates jumped on higher risk premiums and Asian refiners raced to source alternative cargoes from West Africa, the U.S. and Latin America.
| 🚀 Bezos' Blue Origin raises $10B at $130B valuation LINK |
- Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin is raising $10 billion in its first-ever outside funding round, valuing the rocket maker at $130 billion before the new money and ending its 25-year reliance on Bezos as sole backer.
- Coatue Management is leading the round with roughly $4 billion, Bezos is adding $2 billion personally, and large institutional investors are expected to supply the remaining $4 billion, a portion the article says has drawn strong interest.
- The deal follows SpaceX's roughly $86 billion IPO, which valued Elon Musk's company near $1.75 trillion and lifted valuation benchmarks across private space firms, though Blue Origin still trails SpaceX in launch frequency and revenue.
| 🏛️ Fed minutes reveal split over hiking or cutting rates LINK |
- Minutes from the Fed's June 16–17 meeting showed policymakers split between holding rates and raising them, with some officials favoring an immediate hike at Chair Kevin Warsh's first meeting, though all agreed to hold for now.
- The Fed kept its benchmark rate in a 3.5% to 3.75% range in a unanimous vote, but nine of 18 policymakers saw a case for at least one hike before year-end, reversing March projections that had leaned toward a cut.
- The hawkish turn reflected worsening inflation, with total PCE prices rising to an estimated 4.1% in May and consumer prices up 4.2% year-over-year, a three-year high driven by a Middle East-linked energy shock.
| 🇨🇦 Meta to build $9B AI data center in Alberta LINK |
- Meta will invest more than $9.1 billion to build an AI data center in Alberta, Canada, its largest such facility outside the United States, in a bet on future artificial intelligence computing capacity.
- The site in Sturgeon County will run on its own dedicated 932-megawatt natural gas plant, expected online in the second half of 2030, because Alberta's grid cannot support multiple large AI facilities drawing from shared power.
- The plant, called Greenlight Electricity Centre, is backed by Calgary's Pembina Pipeline, Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners and Kineticor, while Meta will also spend $42 million on local roads and water systems and use water-free cooling.
| 💰 Crypto VC Paradigm raises $1.2B to chase AI LINK |
- Crypto-focused venture firm Paradigm has closed a $1.2 billion fourth fund to move into artificial intelligence and robotics, pushing its total assets under management to $11.9 billion, up from its $750 million debut fund in 2018.
- The bet pits a crypto specialist against generalist giants like Andreessen Horowitz, General Catalyst and Thrive Capital for the same AI deals, at a time when AI funding is hitting records while crypto funding stays well below its 2021 peak.
- Paradigm has already deployed capital into drone-delivery firm Zipline, valued at $7.6 billion, and orbital-defence startup True Anomaly, worth $2.2 billion, though the fund fell short of the $1.5 billion the firm originally sought, per TechCrunch.
🌍 Macro News
- China's consumer prices grew just 1% in June, missing forecasts as factory-gate prices surged. LINK
- US two-year Treasury yield rose near June peak amid deepening global bond selloff. LINK
- Russia banned diesel exports through July after drone strikes hit refining capacity. LINK
- IMF held 2026 global growth forecast near 3%, citing AI exports offsetting oil shock. LINK
- New York Fed survey shows more firms plan tariff-driven price hikes ahead. LINK
- US stocks fell as Iran strikes and Fed minutes lifted oil, rate fears. LINK
- EU regulator ESMA launches coordinated audits of crypto platforms' customer asset safeguards. LINK
- Senator Wyden urges keeping developer-protection clause in Senate's crypto market-structure bill. LINK
- Sony wins conditional US approval to launch trust bank for stablecoins. LINK
- Swift says blockchain-based network for round-the-clock cross-border transfers is ready. LINK
- European Commission plans to revise MiCA crypto rules just weeks after launch. LINK
🏢 Corporate News
- Bain Capital exits Kioxia stake, reaping huge gains from AI-driven rally. LINK
- State attorneys general prepare antitrust suit to block Paramount-Warner Bros deal. LINK
- Bank of America extends $520 million credit line to OpenAI before IPO. LINK
- Judge approves $1.5 million settlement in SEC's lawsuit against Elon Musk. LINK
- Block agrees to pay $45 million settling multistate fraud-protection claims over Cash App. LINK
- Fed released June 2026 policy meeting minutes detailing FOMC's rate discussion. LINK
- Thought Machine raises £30 million from a bank client, tops $100 million revenue. LINK
📈 Stocks
💰 Deal Flow
- Equifax to buy Mexican credit bureau Círculo de Crédito for $750 million. LINK
- Swedish startup Lovable in talks to raise $300 million at $13.2 billion valuation. LINK
- Prime Intellect raises $130 million Series A, reaching $1 billion valuation. LINK
- Kraken Technology Group becomes European maritime defence unicorn after $175 million raise. LINK
- QuantumDiamonds wins €76 million EU grant for German chip-testing plant. LINK
- Venus Aerospace raises $90 million to develop rotating detonation rocket engine. LINK
📑 Research & Reports
- JPMorgan slashes 2026 silver price forecast to $60-$65 after sharp crash. LINK
- Morgan Stanley strategist warns Big Tech's AI-driven borrowing risk is undervalued. LINK
- Survey finds 85% of financial firms plan to boost AI spending, leading sectors. LINK
- US banks enter Fed stress tests in stronger shape than eight years ago. LINK