M360 Roundup - Volume 80

March 24th - 28th, 2025

Cole LaCour

The S&P 500 is nearing March 13 lows amid tariff uncertainty and weak consumer sentiment with rising inflation expectations

The S&P 500 is down 2.40%, the Nasdaq is down 4.01%, and the Dow Industrials is up 1.41% WTD

The 10-Yr U.S. Treasury yield has decreased -0.076% to a current yield of 4.253%, whereas the 30-Yr U.S. Treasury yield decreased -0.032% to a current yield of 4.631%

Crude oil prices increased 1.44% to a current $69.04/bbl while bitcoin decreased 4.16% to a current $83,825.10/coin

U.S. stocks tumbled Friday, with the Dow dropping over 700 points and tech shares sliding amid hotter-than-expected inflation, weak consumer sentiment, and new Trump tariffs, sparking a broad selloff and marking the worst market week in months [WSJ]
Trump’s new 25% auto tariffs are pressuring major car-exporting nations like Japan, Germany, Mexico, and Canada, threatening their economies and prompting automakers such as Toyota and Hyundai to shift more production to the U.S. to avoid trade penalties [WSJ]

CoreWeave’s $3 billion IPO is a high-stakes bet on sustained AI demand, as the fast-growing cloud provider burns billions in capital and carries heavy debt to compete with tech giants, despite growing investor skepticism around AI spending [WSJ]

As electricity demand surges due to AI, EVs, and industrial growth, the U.S. economy is shifting from oil to electricity dependence, requiring massive investment and posing new regulatory and political challenges [WSJ]

Proposed GOP cuts to SNAP and other benefits could strain low-income consumers, potentially hurting sales of affordable food brands like Pop-Tarts and Kraft Mac & Cheese, while dragging on economic growth and shifting spending toward essentials [WSJ]

Dollar Tree is selling its struggling Family Dollar business to private-equity firms Brigade Capital and Macellum Capital for $1 billion to focus on growth and turnaround efforts under new leadership [WSJ]

Shanghai Dazhong Public Utilities offered to take Chinese gas distributor ENN Energy private for $11.6B, a 35% premium to its last close

AT&T is in talks to acquire Lumen Technologies' consumer fiber operations at a potential $5.5B valuation

PAI Partners and Bain Capital are considering bids for Nestle's water business, which could be valued at $5.4B

Real estate analytics firm CoStar raised its bid for Domain Holdings Australia by 5.5% to ~$1.8B

Pharma giant Merck will pay up to $2B for the rights to Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals' experimental heart drug

Irish food manufacturer Greencore raised its bid for $1.3B-listed UK grocery supplier Bakkavor

Bain Capital will acquire a majority stake in Italian software firm Namirial from PE firm Ambienta at a $1.2B valuation

Phillips 66 has nominated two new board members amid a proxy battle with activist investor Elliott, which is pushing for a midstream business spinoff and greater board influence to boost the oil refiner’s value [WSJ]

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy is touring Asia to rally support for the $44 billion Alaska LNG project, aiming to fulfill Trump’s vision of boosting U.S. energy exports and trade ties with key allies like Japan and South Korea [WSJ]

OpenAI is finalizing a $40 billion funding round led by SoftBank, but risks losing half if it doesn't restructure into a for-profit company by year-end, adding pressure amid financial losses, legal hurdles, and Microsoft’s resistance [WSJ]

Anthropic won a key legal round after a judge denied record labels’ request to block it from using copyrighted lyrics to train its AI, Claude, though the broader copyright dispute over AI training practices continues [WSJ]

Elon Musk merged his AI startup xAI with social platform X in an all-stock deal valuing the combined entity at $113 billion, aiming to unify data, distribution, and talent under a new holding company, xAI Holdings Corp [WSJ]

Novo Nordisk signed a $2 billion licensing deal with United Bio-Technology for UBT251, an experimental obesity and diabetes drug targeting three hormones, to strengthen its pipeline amid rising competition and investor concerns [WSJ]

Bayer shares plunged after a U.S. jury ordered it to pay $2.1 billion in a Roundup lawsuit, marking another major legal blow tied to its Monsanto acquisition, as the company faces tens of thousands of similar claims [WSJ]

CoreWeave’s IPO fell flat, pricing below expectations and ending its first trading day unchanged, reflecting investor concerns over AI hype, high costs, and a weak market for new listings [WSJ]

Jefferies reported a surprise drop in capital markets revenue, signaling Wall Street's cautious mood amid uncertainty over Trump-era policies, though solid M&A and debt activity suggest the sector is down but not out [WSJ]