Latest / Key Markets & Headlines / Key Markets & Headlines — Monday, May 11, 2026
Transcript
- Key markets and headlines for today. The most market-moving story this morning is the intensifying competition among Big Tech giants to secure funding for artificial intelligence expansion, with Amazon and Alphabet both tapping new global debt markets in record fashion. Amazon is preparing to issue Swiss franc bonds for the first time, joining a wave of US technology hyperscalers seeking fresh capital to fuel their artificial intelligence ambitions. The company has mandated BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, and JPMorgan for a six-part Swiss franc bond sale, spanning maturities from three to twenty-five years. This move underscores how the AI arms race is pushing even the largest tech firms to diversify their funding sources and lock in long-term capital at attractive rates. Amazon’s decision comes as its peers, including Alphabet, are also aggressively raising funds outside the US. Alphabet, the parent of Google, is planning to issue yen-denominated bonds for the first time, further broadening its funding base. This follows Alphabet’s recent record-setting euro bond sale and its debut in Canadian dollar notes, which together raised nearly seventeen billion dollars. In the past few months, Alphabet has also issued sterling and Swiss franc bonds, alongside a major US dollar debt sale. The company has now raised its capital expenditure outlook for the year to as much as one hundred ninety billion dollars, up from a previous estimate of one hundred eighty-five billion, which itself was double what it spent in twenty twenty-five. Alphabet’s aggressive spending and funding strategy reflects its determination to maintain dominance in artificial intelligence as competition heats up, with the company on the verge of overtaking Nvidia as the world’s largest by market capitalization. Turning to other major moves in the AI and technology sector, Anthropic, a leading developer of frontier artificial intelligence models, has signed a one point eight billion dollar computing deal with Akamai Technologies. The seven-year agreement will provide Anthropic with the cloud infrastructure needed to meet surging demand for its AI software. Akamai confirmed the deal last week, referring only to a “leading frontier model provider,” but sources have identified Anthropic as the client. This partnership highlights the escalating infrastructure requirements of AI companies and the growing importance of cloud providers in enabling the next wave of AI innovation. Broadcom, ticker A-V-G-O, is also making headlines as it seeks roughly thirty-five billion dollars in private credit financing from lenders including Apollo and Blackstone. This would be one of the largest private credit deals ever, aimed at funding Broadcom’s development of chips for artificial intelligence tasks. The company has already signed a long-term agreement to supply custom tensor processing units, or TPUs, for Google, and will also provide networking components for Google’s next-generation AI racks through twenty thirty-one. Broadcom’s fortunes have become increasingly tied to the AI boom, with Chief Executive Officer Hock Tan projecting AI chip sales to top one hundred billion dollars next year. The company’s valuation has soared on the back of these agreements, including deals to make custom AI chips for OpenAI and others. Cerebras Systems, another AI chipmaker, is set to increase the price range of its highly anticipated initial public offering as soon as today, according to people familiar with the matter. The company is considering raising the range to one hundred twenty-five to one hundred thirty-five dollars per share, up from the current one hundred fifteen to one hundred twenty-five dollars, as demand for its shares continues to surge. Cerebras is seeking to raise three point five billion dollars by marketing twenty-eight million shares, and orders have reportedly come in for more than twenty times the number of shares available. The IPO is set to price on May thirteenth, and the company is asking institutional investors to specify both the number of shares and the maximum price they’re willing to pay, to better gauge true demand. In other AI-related corporate news, Isomorphic Labs, an artificial intelligence-powered drug discovery company spun out of Alphabet’s DeepMind, is in advanced talks to raise more than two billion dollars in a new funding round. Thrive Capital, which led Isomorphic’s first round last year, is expected to lead again, with Alphabet also participating. Isomorphic Labs is one of several firms aiming to use AI to accelerate and reduce the costs of drug discovery, building on the success of DeepMind’s AlphaFold protein prediction technology. The company has already forged partnerships with Johnson & Johnson, Eli Lilly, and Novartis, and is recruiting heavily from DeepMind as it scales up its operations. Digital Asset Holdings, the company behind the Canton Network blockchain used by major banks and trading firms, is raising around three hundred million dollars from investors including Andreessen Horowitz’s a16z crypto, at a valuation of about two billion dollars. The financing round is expected to close in the coming weeks, with FT Partners advising on the deal. Digital Asset’s Canton Network is designed to allow users to keep some information private, making it attractive for mainstream financial transactions. The company is already backed by Wall Street banks, DRW Holdings, and Citadel Securities, and has raised significant capital from Bank of New York Mellon, Nasdaq, Liberty City Ventures, and others over the past year. SoftBank is launching a new battery business in Japan to address the growing power demands of artificial intelligence, particularly for data centers. The company plans to begin manufacturing battery cells and energy storage systems in fiscal twenty twenty-seven, with mass production reaching gigawatt-hour scale by around twenty twenty-eight. These batteries will be used in SoftBank’s own data centers as well as for grid, industrial, and residential applications. SoftBank is targeting more than one hundred billion yen in annual revenue from the business by twenty thirty. Sony Group shares surged nearly ten percent in Tokyo after the company announced plans to establish an image-sensor joint venture with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, or TSMC, and projected stronger fiscal-year net profit on higher game earnings. Sony aims to limit capital expenditure through the joint venture as it prepares for greater demand for machine vision in the age of AI. The company expects to be the majority and controlling shareholder, and Chief Executive Hiroki Totoki said Sony’s ability to supply image sensors has been constrained by manufacturing capacity. The new venture is intended to position Sony for future demand as artificial intelligence applications proliferate. Uber is making a major push into autonomous vehicles, investing ten billion dollars to bolster its Robotaxi efforts. Two and a half billion dollars will go toward acquiring equity in Robotaxi operators, while seven and a half billion will be used to expand Uber’s Robotaxi fleet, beginning in twenty twenty-seven. The company is targeting more than one hundred thousand vehicles from multiple manufacturers using Nvidia DRIVE technology. Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi described the self-driving sector as a “trillion-dollar” total addressable market and said Uber will continue to invest aggressively in autonomous vehicles through its partnership model. Uber already has partnerships with Alphabet’s Waymo, Baidu’s Apollo Go, WeRide, Nuro, Lucid, and Rivian across global markets. Some investors believe Uber could lead the global Robotaxi sector over Tesla and Waymo due to its operational leverage, with more than two hundred million monthly active users and ten million active vehicles on its platform. In other tech news, xAI, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, cut about ten employees last week after SpaceX agreed to a deal that would allow it to acquire Cursor later this year. Cursor staff have been visiting xAI offices to meet with employees and discuss their work. Other recent departures from xAI include Devendra Chaplot, a founding member of Mistral AI and Thinking Machines Lab. SpaceX has said it has the right to acquire Cursor later this year for sixty billion dollars. Turning to the financial and investment space, Bruin Capital has taken a minority stake in Matchroom Holdings, forming a strategic partnership to accelerate the growth of one of the world’s largest independent sports promotion and media businesses. The Hearn family will retain majority control, with Eddie Hearn continuing as chairman, while Bruin joins the board and brings expertise in scaling sports and media platforms. The partnership is designed to capitalize on rising global demand for live sports content, with a focus on expanding Matchroom’s presence in the US and enhancing its digital distribution, data, and direct-to-consumer engagement capabilities. Matchroom operates across boxing, darts, and snooker, with extensive global media rights and events, and is expected to leverage Bruin’s experience to drive its next phase of international growth. Prosus is selling a five percent stake in Delivery Hero, ticker D-H-E-R G-Y, to Aspex Management, the second-largest shareholder of the German e-commerce firm. The deal will take place at a twenty-two percent premium to Delivery Hero’s thirty-day volume weighted average price, with Prosus making about three hundred thirty-five million euros, or three hundred ninety-five million dollars, from the sale. Prosus will sell at twenty-two euros per share, ten percent more than the price it sold a four and a half percent stake in April to Uber, and a similar premium to Delivery Hero’s closing price on Friday. The sale will increase Aspex’s holding in Delivery Hero to about fourteen percent, while reducing Prosus’s stake to about seventeen percent. This move raises the pressure on Delivery Hero’s founder and CEO Niklas Östberg, as Aspex has campaigned for management to press ahead with asset sales or face removal. Delivery Hero is present in about sixty-five countries and recently announced the sale of its Taiwan business for six hundred million dollars to Grab. Digital Asset Holdings, as mentioned earlier, is raising capital at a two billion dollar valuation, with Andreessen Horowitz’s a16z crypto leading the round. The company’s Canton Network blockchain is gaining traction among major banks and trading firms, offering privacy features suited for mainstream financial transactions. Kalshi and Madison Square Garden Entertainment have announced a new multi-year partnership, making Kalshi an Official Prediction Market Partner of Madison Square Garden. As part of the deal, the sixth-floor concourse at MSG will be renamed the Kalshi Concourse, and Kalshi branding will be integrated throughout the customer experience for fans attending concerts and comedy events at The Garden. Microsoft is facing delays in its major data center project in East Africa due to disagreements with the Kenyan government over guaranteed payments. Microsoft and its partner, Abu Dhabi-based G42, had requested the government commit to paying for a certain amount of capacity annually, but talks broke down when the government couldn’t provide guarantees at the requested level. On the macro front, all eyes are on the upcoming US inflation report, as rising oil prices driven by escalating US-Iran tensions in the Strait of Hormuz complicate the Federal Reserve’s policy outlook under incoming chair Kevin Warsh. Higher crude prices have pushed Treasury yields up and led markets to scale back expectations for rate cuts, with some now even pricing in a potential rate hike by twenty twenty-seven. Economists expect April inflation to tick up to three point seven percent, with core inflation at two point seven percent, which could reinforce concerns about persistent price pressures, especially given a still-stable labor market. Fed officials have signaled uncertainty about the next move, with both cuts and hikes on the table depending on inflation trends. While some investors worry that sustained inflation could force tighter policy, others believe oil-driven price increases may prove temporary and that a cooling economy could eventually allow rate cuts later this year. Upcoming Treasury auctions will also serve as a key test of market demand amid this uncertain rate environment. In geopolitics, the United States and Iran remain far apart on a framework to end their war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. President Donald Trump has called Iran’s reply to his proposed peace plan unworkable. Tehran is demanding a lifting of the US naval blockade and sanctions relief, while maintaining some control over traffic through Hormuz. Iran also insists that any agreement must result in an immediate end to fighting, including in Lebanon, where Israel is waging a parallel war against Hezbollah. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman said at a press conference that everything proposed by Iran was reasonable and generous, but Trump rejected the response, stopping short of declaring a resumption of fighting. The conflict, which began when the US and Israel started a bombing campaign on February twenty-eighth, has killed thousands across the Middle East and upended oil and gas markets. Iran has offered to transfer some of its highly enriched uranium stockpile to a third country, but rejects dismantling its nuclear facilities. Other demands include the release of frozen assets and the lifting of US sanctions on oil sales. Iran’s state-run media described Trump’s plan as tantamount to surrender and said the US must also pay war damages. In Japan, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is set to meet Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Finance Minister Katayama on Tuesday during a trip to Tokyo. US and Japanese officials are expected to discuss foreign exchange market developments following Japan’s recent intervention to support the yen. Both sides are also likely to exchange views on economic security and the situation in the Middle East. Secretary Bessent will then travel to South Korea to meet with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng on trade and economic matters before joining President Trump for a state visit to Beijing later this week. In the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Keir Starmer is fighting to save his premiership after poor local election results triggered calls for his departure from within the Labour Party. In a make-or-break speech, Starmer said he won’t abandon the responsibility of leading the country, acknowledging public frustration with politics and with his leadership. He warned that the country risks going down a “dark path” if Labour doesn’t get things right, name-checking Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and the Greens’ Zack Polanski as dangerous opponents. Starmer hinted at a policy offering to turn his party’s fortunes around, vowing to rebuild the UK’s relationship with Europe and to legislate for full ownership of British Steel. The results of last week’s elections have convinced many in Labour that a change at the top may be needed before the next general election, which must be held by August twenty twenty-nine. Turning to event-driven news, Apollo Global Management has been in talks to sell MidCap Financial Investment Corporation, its publicly listed business development company. MidCap invests in loans made by Apollo’s giant MidCap Financial, which lends primarily to midsize companies. Defaults in the fund jumped to five point three percent in the first quarter from three point nine percent in December, and management has been using cash to repurchase shares this year because they traded at deep discounts to net asset value. The buyer is likely to be another business development company, which could use shares in its own fund to purchase MidCap. Analysts believe it’s unlikely any buyer would be willing to pay the full net asset value in cash. Apollo is also acquiring Emerald Holding and Questex in separate all-cash deals and plans to combine them into a scaled North American business-to-business events and media platform. The combined business will span roughly one hundred sixty events across complementary industries, blending Emerald’s large exhibitions with Questex’s year-round digital engagement model. Apollo will pay five dollars and three cents per share for Emerald, a forty-two percent premium, valuing the company at about one point five billion dollars. Emerald will go private upon closing, which is expected in the second half of twenty twenty-six. Apollo is betting that demand for in-person industry events remains strong despite digital alternatives, and that the combined platform can leverage content, customer relationships, and hybrid engagement to expand and consolidate the B2B events space. In Australia, I Squared Capital has made a higher competing bid to acquire outdoor advertising company oOh!media, offering one dollar and forty-five cents Australian per share in cash and valuing the company at about seven hundred sixty-six million Australian dollars. This tops an earlier one dollar and forty cent proposal from Pacific Equity Partners and represents a fifteen percent premium to the company’s recent trading price, sending shares up over seven percent. Despite the increased interest, oOh!media said neither offer fully reflects its intrinsic value but is allowing both bidders limited due diligence access to potentially improve their proposals, while also engaging with other interested parties. The company has paused its share buyback program as takeover discussions continue, signaling a more active strategic review process. In legal news, Elliott Investment Management, T. Rowe Price, and other money managers failed to persuade a Cayman Islands judge to award more than the deal price in the eight point seven billion dollar take-private of China’s largest online classified-ad marketplace, 58.com, also known as WUBA. The judge ruled last week that an investor group backed by private equity firms Warburg Pincus and General Atlantic bought the firm for a fair price of fifty-six dollars cash per American depositary share in twenty twenty. Attorneys for Elliott and other dissenting investors argued in court that the company had been undervalued by the pandemic. Dozens of investment firms opposed the deal and sued to challenge what was considered the largest take-private of a Chinese company, contending the deal significantly undervalued the online classified-ad firm often described as China’s Craigslist. Looking at key market trends and charts, the S&P five hundred is so far following the historical path typically seen during the four-year US presidential cycle, according to Strategas. However, the current rally is narrowly focused, with only fifty-five percent of the S&P five hundred in an uptrend. This suggests that while headline indices are strong, market breadth remains limited. In credit markets, Alphabet is close to overtaking Nvidia in market capitalization, reflecting the shifting dynamics among the world’s largest technology companies as artificial intelligence investment accelerates. Tech stocks relative to the broader market are at an all-time high, while tech jobs as a share of all jobs are at an all-time low, according to Bloomberg data. This divergence highlights the increasing dominance of a handful of large technology firms in driving equity market performance, even as the broader tech workforce remains constrained. That wraps up today’s key markets and headlines. Thanks for listening.