☕️Goldman Stanley

Good morning.

Bank earnings szn is here and once again Wall Street’s leaders are vying for who has the biggest bulge margins on the trading floor.

Bulge bracket player Morgan Stanley followed up Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan’s earnings on Wednesday with a one-two punch to the vampire squid, trouncing DJ Sol’s troop of equities traders with revenues of USD4.1 billion ($6.45 billion), up 35% from a year ago and strides ahead of the USD3.7 billion reported by Goldman.

Good way to Pick a fight with the music man, Ted.

While the kids were squabbling, daddy Jamie Dimon got clapped back by Blue Owl Capital’s co-chief executive officer, Marc Lipschultz, who suggested banks should look at their own books for any “cockroaches,” after the JPM CEO warned the collapse of First Brands and Tricolor Holdings should serve as warnings for credit markets.

“I probably shouldn’t say this, but when you see one cockroach, there are probably more,” Dimon said on an earnings call Tuesday.

🏆 LOI Subscriber #TBD

Market movers

Shares in radiopharmaceutical company Telix Pharmaceuticals surged on Wednesday after it upgraded its FY25 revenue guidance to between $800 and $820 million, helping lift the ASX 1% as healthcare stocks led broad market gains.

The quick sync

• With gold prices surging past USD4,100, Australian miners like Greatland Resources are using AI to uncover deeper deposits and extend mine life. (Capital Brief)

• Australian pharma stocks, hit hard by policy shocks and weak sentiment, may be set for a recovery. (Capital Brief)

• Albanese is under pressure for downplaying his role in a parliamentary sports club after attending an event with a gambling executive. (Capital Brief)

• Meredith Whittaker and Lucy Guo quietly withdrew from SXSW Sydney without public explanation. (Capital Brief)

• US regulators gave conditional approval to a new bank backed by Trump donors and tech billionaires called Erebor, focused on serving crypto, AI and defence firms. (FT)

Trading floor

M&A

• The ACCC is investigating the Southern Cross–Seven West merger over competition and content concerns. (Capital Brief)

• Nine Entertainment is reportedly eyeing Quadrant’s QMS as it prepares for sale. (The Australian)

• Supreme Court ruled Cosette must proceed with its $672m takeover of Mayne Pharma despite its bid to withdraw. (Capital Brief)

• Blackstone plans sale of Malaysian AirTrunk data centre. (AFR)

• A BlackRock- and Nvidia-led group will buy Aligned Data Centers in a USD40b AI infrastructure deal. (Capital Brief)

• Aware Super blocks Scape’s bid for Keyton; Singapore’s GIC emerges as possible buyer. (The Australian)

• Barrenjoey arranges Carnegie’s $80m share sale in Generation Development. (AFR)

• Novo Nordisk signed a USD2.1b deal to license Omeros’ rare-disease drug Zaltenibart. (Capital Brief)

• KKR-backed Pepper Money eyes BOQ’s $3.8bn equipment loan book amid its own sale process. (The Australian)

• Accel-KKR buys Sydney software firm Phocas for $500m; founders and early investors cash out. (AFR)

• S&P Global to buy With Intelligence for USD1.8b to boost private markets data capabilities. (Capital Brief)

Capital Markets

• APRA removed Westpac’s $500m capital buffer after the bank’s risk management overhaul. (Capital Brief)

• FinTech Australia urges the R&D review to include digital sectors like fintech and AI to ensure continued innovation funding. (Capital Brief)

• Carma launches $100m IPO at $300m valuation with backing from US funds. (AFR)

• BOQ’s profit fell 53% to $133m from one-off costs, but cash earnings rose and outlook remains cautious. (Capital Brief)

• Articore Group posted its first profitable Q1 in four years as profit rose and costs fell despite lower revenue. (Capital Brief)

• Orthocell raises $25m to expand US sales of its nerve repair device. (AFR)

• QIC invested $8m in Iltani  to advance its Queensland silver-indium project. (Capital Brief)

• The RBA warned its lowered productivity forecast of 0.7% may still be too optimistic, though AI could improve growth. (Capital Brief)

• WAM Income Maximiser seeks $120m after missing April IPO target. (AFR)

• Regal Partners’ FUM rose 13% to $20b on strong inflows and investment gains. (Capital Brief)

• The Tax Practitioners Board probes PwC partners over new code breach allegations. (AFR)

• GrainCorp shares fell after Bell Potter downgraded the stock to ‘hold’ following recent price gains. (Capital Brief)

• King & Spalding opens Sydney office to target Australia’s disputes market. (AFR)

• Evolution Mining shares fell after weak Q1 output cast doubt on full-year guidance. (Capital Brief)

• Domino’s shares rose despite continued uncertainty over store growth and performance. (Capital Brief)

• Origin shareholders backed its 2025 climate plan despite criticism over modest emissions targets. (Capital Brief)

• The federal government will centralise a public beneficial ownership register under ASIC by 2028. (Capital Brief)

• Morgan Stanley and BofA beat Q3 estimates on stronger trading and investment banking activity. (Capital Brief)(Bloomberg)

• UK court rules in favour of SoftBank, rejecting Credit Suisse’s USD440m Greensill-related lawsuit. (Capital Brief)

• Australian pharma stocks rebound after steep 2025 losses, buoyed by optimism over US policy shifts. (Capital Brief)

• Zip and Stake founders raise $40m for new private credit fund Eldium. (AFR)

• Allan Gray shifts out of overvalued tech stocks as ASX trades at 21 times earnings, risking a sharp correction. (AFR)

• Spike in shorts before Barrenjoey trades prompts scrutiny over whether some investors got early word. (AFR)

• Geoff Wilson hosted a celebration after Labor dropped its $3m super changes, marking another successful campaign against the government. (AFR)

• The UK sanctions Russian oil firms Lukoil and Rosneft and 51 tankers linked to the shadow fleet in a new push to cut Kremlin revenues funding the war in Ukraine. (Reuters)

• Scott Bessent says the US may extend tariff relief if China delays new rare earth restrictions, as G-7 and allies prepare a joint response. (Bloomberg)

VC 

• E-commerce startup Carted shuts down four years after $13m seed raise. (Startup Daily)

People moves

• Three Corrs Chambers Westgarth partners — Matthew Critchley, Alicia Salvo, and Brendon Clarke — are leaving the firm’s Melbourne office to join US law firm Jones Day. (AFR)

• Westpac hires Macquarie’s top AI and digital executive Luis Uguina. (AFR)

• Matt Comyn will remain CBA CEO until at least 2028 as the bank navigates unresolved succession, rising AI investment and a chair nearing exit. (The Australian). (AFR)

The watercooler