☕️Smash ‘n Grab

Good morning.

In a shockingly brazen (and zerefore utterly French) heist, thieves broke into the Louvre on Sunday, stealing priceless jewellery from the French museum’s Apollo Gallery, which holds what remains of the country’s crown jewels. Sacre bleu indeed.

Slightly less audacious, but still on ‘crime pays’ theme, Jefferies chief Rich Handler told investors that the firm was “defrauded” by First Brands Group, as Wall Street clambers to stem the damage from the car parts group’s collapse, the FT reports.

“I’ll just say, this is us personally, we believe we were defrauded, OK,” Handler said, after fielding questions on First Brands at the bank’s investor day last week.

While the comments appeared to slow Jefferies’ share price plummet to end the week, fraudulent activity being reported at Tricolor, Western Alliance and Zions Bank in recent days have sent the Vix “fear gauge” index sky-high.

As one eloquent FT reader commented, nodding to W Buffett, “when the tide goes out all the nekked people shout fraud.”

🏆 LOI Subscriber #TBD

Market movers

Shares in Lynas Rare Earths fell as much as 11.6% on Friday in their steepest intraday fall since 2021. The drop came amid growing scepticism around the Albanese government’s critical minerals strategy ahead of trade talks with Donald Trump, sparking a broad sell-off across the sector.

The quick sync

• OpenAI says it will invest in Australia regardless of copyright changes but warns countries with strict laws risk falling behind in building sovereign AI. (Capital Brief)

• ASIC’s actions against disclosure failures in private credit are filtering out poorly governed managers and lifting protections for SMSF investors, writes Richard Woodhead. (Capital Brief)

• Labor will soon reveal which platforms must comply with Australia’s teen social media ban as enforcement of the world-first law nears. (Capital Brief)

• As Albanese meets Trump in Washington, the RBA will prepare to explain a jump in unemployment that could shape its next rate move. (Capital Brief)

• The official SXSW Sydney might be government funded but the real innovation and energy is in the unofficial events (Capital Brief)

Trading floor

M&A

• Matthew Kidman’s Centennial Asset Management exits Fifth Estate, giving Roberts and Droga full ownership of the investment firm. (AFR)

• Westpac’s $30b RAMS loan sale draws Apollo, KKR, Blackstone; Pepper eyes servicing deal. (The Australian)

• Bain Capital confirmed as mystery bidder for $1.6b software group Iress. (AFR)

• Coronado sale hit by low bids and US mine collapse. (The Australian)

• White Oak eyes control of Gupta’s Tasmanian smelter with $80m restart bid. (AFR)

• Genesis quits Aurora bid as $1b price, lender pressure deter buyers. (The Australian)

• Blackbird fund stakes sell at 35% discount, sparking valuation concerns. (AFR)

• UTA nears full control of Sydney desal plant as APG leads Transgrid stake race. (The Australian)

Capital Markets

• HESTA calls for urgent overhaul of super test, warning climate investment is stalling under broken rules. (Capital Brief)

• ASM launches $50m share placement at $1.20 after stock rally. (AFR)

• Paul Lederer demands probe into Elanor’s fees amid $270m fund battle. (AFR)

• ASIC’s crackdown on private credit strengthens the sector by protecting SMSF investors and rewarding disciplined operators. (Capital Brief)

• Litchfield Minerals launches $6m raise after 300% share surge on NT discovery. (AFR)

• LHC Capital shorts HMC, boosting quarterly returns by 4.4%. (AFR)

• Michael Brennan says the super tax backdown doesn’t signal the end of tax reform, urges focus on closing the fiscal gap. (Capital Brief)

VC 

• Ex-Grok CIO Jeremy Kwong-Law aims to bridge the funding gap for climate tech firms stuck between venture and infrastructure financing. (Capital Brief)

People moves

• Fortescue Zero CFO Rian Urding quits amid mass layoffs and leadership turmoil. (AFR)

• Cbus top lawyer Jefferson Petch quits after bullying probe. (AFR)

The watercooler