Parker files Chapter 7 after Avalara deal collapse; $58m equity wiped
The e-commerce credit card startup shut down on 4 May after acquisition talks with tax-software firm Avalara collapsed. The Chapter 7 filing lists $50m to $100m in both assets and liabilities.
Economy
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The ECB and BoE Are Unlikely to Rush With Rate Hikes
Europe's two largest central banks kept borrowing costs on hold at their April meetings, but the direction of the next move is no longer ambiguous. Rising energy prices and sticky services inflation are forcing Frankfurt and Threadneedle Street to confront a question neither wants to answer: how much growth are they willing to sacrifice to keep inflation expectations anchored?
NY Fed: 3.6M student loans in default
3.6 million federal student loan borrowers entered default as payments resumed, NY Fed data show Tuesday. Credit scores dropped 91 points.
Warsh Confirmation Meets 3.8% CPI as Rate-Hike Bets Eclipse Cuts
The April consumer price index rose 3.8 per cent year-over-year, beating every Wall Street estimate as Kevin Warsh's Senate confirmation vote approaches. Markets now price a greater than 50 per cent chance of a rate increase by January 2027, upending the rate-cut mandate that defined his nomination.
Warsh confirmed: 12 Fed voters gather as Powell's final meeting looms
Kevin Warsh joins the FOMC this week after a 51-45 Senate confirmation, taking a seat at the table just three days before Jerome Powell's term as chair expires. With April inflation at 3.8% and Iran-driven energy costs still climbing, the 12 voting members are almost certain to hold rates steady.
Commodities
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Gold's 12% Iran sell-off is a rates story, not a haven failure
Gold has fallen 12 per cent since the Iran conflict began, defying the safe-haven script. ING's Ewa Manthey says the sell-off is a macro story — real yields and a strong dollar — not a structural failure. J.P. Morgan and the ECB see central bank demand keeping the bull case intact.
Gold Falls From Three-Week High as Fading Middle East Peace Hopes Lift Dollar
Spot gold slipped 0.8% to $4,698.22 an ounce on Monday, retreating from a three-week high, as deteriorating U.S.-Iran peace talks boosted the dollar and oil prices, undercutting the metal's safe-haven bid.
Markets
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Dollar Rises for Fourth Day as Inflation Data Lifts December Rate-Hike Odds to 35%
The dollar rose for a fourth consecutive session on Thursday, pushing the DXY index to 98.57, as back-to-back US inflation prints drove a sharp repricing of Federal Reserve rate expectations — lifting the odds of a December increase to 35 per cent.
Schiff flags regime shift as oil, yields and gold climb
Oil, Treasury yields and gold are rising in tandem for the first time since 2022 — a correlation breakdown that Peter Schiff says signals a market regime change driven by persistent inflation. Traditional economists see cost-push pressure arriving faster than Schiff's model predicts.
Morgan Stanley MSBT draws $194m in debut month with zero outflow days
Morgan Stanley's spot Bitcoin ETF completed its first trading month with roughly $194 million in net inflows and not a single day of net redemptions, setting a benchmark for Wall Street crypto products backed by a brand name rather than an advisor sales force.
Oil surges 8% to $109 after Trump rejects Iran peace offer
Brent crude surged 8 per cent to $109.74 a barrel after President Trump rejected Iran's peace proposal as unacceptable, extinguishing weeks of cautious optimism that diplomacy could reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Latest
Cerebras Surges 68% in Nasdaq Debut After $5.55 Billion IPO
Cerebras Systems closed at $311.07 after surging 68% in its Nasdaq debut, raising $5.55 billion in the largest US tech IPO since Uber.
Burry buys MercadoLibre in the $1,600s after post-earnings drop
Michael Burry bought a full position in MercadoLibre after the stock fell 13% on a Q1 margin miss, betting his IV15 framework will prove right over a 15-year horizon.
Affirm Targets Bank Charter With $350M Nevada Capital Pledge
Affirm outlined plans at its 12 May investor forum to inject $350 million into a Nevada-chartered industrial bank, aiming to lower funding costs and recapture fees paid to partner banks. The move puts the buy-now-pay-later firm at the centre of a growing push by fintechs to secure ILC charters.
CFTC Issues Blanket No-Action Letter on Prediction Market Data Reporting
The CFTC issued Letter No. 26-14 on Tuesday, granting 19 prediction market platforms — including Polymarket US and Kalshi — relief from swap data reporting obligations, as the agency presses its jurisdictional claim against five state-level gambling regulators.
Real Brokerage acquires RE/MAX for $880M in stock-and-cash deal
The Real Brokerage agreed to acquire RE/MAX Holdings for $880 million, forming a combined real estate platform with 180,000+ agents across 120-plus countries.
SEC, CFTC align on six enforcement fronts
SEC and CFTC launched coordination across six regulatory fronts to eliminate duplicative enforcement, CFTC Chair Michael Selig said.
Cisco (CSCO) surges 17% on Q3 beat as AI orders double to $9bn
Cisco shares jumped 17% in extended trading after the networking giant beat Q3 estimates, raised its AI infrastructure orders forecast to $9bn from $5bn, and unveiled a $1bn restructuring that will cut nearly 4,000 positions.
SoFi's $1.5 billion capital raise was opportunistic
SoFi raised $1.5 billion at $27.50 a share, sparking a 6% slide despite record Q4 revenue. CEO Anthony Noto calls it opportunistic; Bank of America questions the timing.
The ECB held rates in April. A June hike now looks like the baseline.
Eurozone inflation jumped to 3.0 percent in April, driven by an Iran-conflict energy shock, and ECB policymakers are signaling the first rate hike since the easing cycle is coming in June.