Major equity markets advanced as the Nasdaq hit a record high on strong AI demand, while Snorkel AI secured $350 million in new funding at a $3.5 billion valuation. Crypto markets also rallied, with Bitcoin surging to $85,000 as spot ETF inflows neared $1 billion. Meanwhile, central banks launched investigations into bank exposures to major trading firms after Jane Street suffered a $15 billion loss.
01Company specific
Paramount Accelerates California Settlement Talks Near Warner Bros. Merger
Paramount agreed to settle an lawsuit brought by 12 state attorneys general, clearing the final major legal hurdle for its $111 billion of Warner Bros. Discovery. California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the agreement on Monday, removing a trial that had been scheduled for a future date. The settlement averts the prospect of Paramount moving operations out of California, a threat CEO David Ellison raised during negotiations that drew concern from Governor Gavin Newsom over potential job losses. Under the five-year consent decree, Paramount must invest $1.5 billion in domestic film production above its 2025 baseline, averaging $300 million annually. The combined company must release at least 30 theatrical films a year for the first two years and 32 annually for the following three years, while maintaining its Los Angeles studio lots. Failing to meet the production quota triggers a $30 million per film penalty and puts Paramount's stake in Miramax in play. The agreement also establishes a five-member independent board to oversee editorial standards at CNN and CBS News, a workforce training fund for laid-off employees, and separate basic-cable negotiations for five years. Paramount expects the transaction to close in about two weeks.
Amazon Restricts Internal Use of Meta's Muse AI Agent Over Security Concerns
Amazon blocked Meta's new Muse agent from accessing its online store, citing security and user experience concerns. The giant stated that continued access by an unauthorized AI agent violates its Conditions of Use and that Meta never asked for permission to access the site. Muse, which launched earlier in September, features a personal AI agent that books appointments, organizes calendars, and completes online purchases on behalf of users. The tool quickly rose to the top of Apple's App Store, amassing 2.8 million downloads in its first 12 days. For Amazon, autonomous shopping agents pose a threat by bypassing the traditional process of humans visiting its platform, which underpins the company's lucrative advertising and sponsored-product business. Amazon has taken similar action against other AI tools, having sued Perplexity last year over its Comet AI agent and also restricting OpenAI's ChatGPT and Alphabet's Gemini from shopping directly on its platform. Meanwhile, Meta partnered with Shopify to allow Muse users to complete purchases through Shopify's Shop Pay checkout service.
Telix Acquires ITM for $1.6 Billion to Expand Radiopharmaceutical Reach
Telix Pharmaceuticals is acquiring Isotope Technologies Munich for $1.65 billion upfront in a deal that expands its reach in radiopharmaceuticals. The transaction includes an additional $700 million in milestone payments tied to regulatory approvals and sales targets for ITM's lead candidate, ITM-11. Telix will also assume more than $300 million of ITM's at closing. ITM generated $273 million in in 2025, supported by strong growth in recent years. The combined company projects 2026 revenue to exceed $1.3 billion. ITM brings manufacturing infrastructure and a distribution network spanning more than 65 countries. The gives Telix control over supplies of radioisotopes including lutetium-177, actinium-225, and terbium-161. ITM-11 is a peptide receptor radionuclide therapy designed to treat gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a complete response letter for ITM-11 last month, citing manufacturing issues at a third-party facility rather than clinical safety or data. ITM plans to resubmit its application following remediation talks. Post-acquisition, Telix shareholders will own approximately 76.3% of the combined company, with ITM backers holding the remaining 23.7%. The transaction has secured approval from Telix's board and investors representing more than 90% of ITM's shares, with closure expected by the end of 2026.
Boryung Signs $277 Million Anticancer Drug Supply Deal in China
Boryung signed a seven-year supply agreement worth $277.1 million with Yifan Pharmaceutical for the cancer drug Taxotere in China. The contract marks the largest supply deal in the Korean drugmaker's history and its first major commercial agreement since acquiring the global business of Taxotere from Sanofi. China represents the largest market by sales among the 19 countries and regions included in Boryung's of the drug. The agreement features annual minimum purchase commitments alongside compensation provisions for volumes falling below agreed targets, securing long-term visibility for Boryung's . Boryung will recognize revenue sequentially according to the product supply schedule. The company currently plans to supply Taxotere through existing manufacturing arrangements before gradually transferring production to its Yesan Campus in Korea, a transition requiring local technology transfers and regulatory approvals. Boryung previously executed a similar integration strategy after acquiring domestic rights to Eli Lilly's Gemzar and Alimta. Yifan Pharmaceutical, a drugmaker listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, handles sales and marketing in China for Xeloda. Boryung has set a target of generating more than 300 billion won in global revenue by 2030 through stabilized Taxotere operations, manufacturing transfers, additional brand acquisitions, and the expansion of its contract development and manufacturing organization business.
Fed and BoE Increase Scrutiny of Bank Exposures After Jane Street Trading Loss
The and the Bank of England are investigating global banks regarding their exposures to major trading and market-making firms following a $15 billion trading loss at Jane Street in July. Supervisory authorities requested information from global banks on risk appetite levels, changes in bank exposure during the trading day, and whether intraday risk controls functioned properly. The regulatory scrutiny accelerated after -focused Situational Awareness faced calls following stock declines and transferred its holdings to Citadel Securities, triggering Jane Street's losses. are examining whether leveraged positions at non-bank financial institutions could transmit to the banking sector through prime brokerage financing, securities lending, and clearing. JPMorgan has ended its lending relationship with Situational Awareness after the fund's losses, while the US Securities and Exchange Commission previously subpoenaed Wall Street banks including Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and Bank of America to examine the fund's and trading activity.
Nasdaq Hits Record High on AI Optimism as Oil Drops
The tech-heavy hit a record closing high on Tuesday, boosted by Micron Technology and other stocks as demand held firm. Channelnewsasia.com reports that the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.45 per cent during the session. Meanwhile, the finished flat and Jones Industrial Average fell 0.36 per cent. Lower oil prices added to broader risk appetite as flows through the Middle East improved. US crude dropped 0.6 per cent to settle at $94.59 a , while fell 2.03 per cent to $98.30 per barrel. US 10-year yields slipped 1 on the day to 4.953 per cent. The dollar gained 0.12 per cent against the euro to $1.1448 and traded at 157.37 Japanese yen. Attention now turns to a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping scheduled for later in the week in Washington.
Major Stock Indices Daily Change (%)
The Nasdaq rose 0.45 per cent while the Dow fell 0.36 per cent.
Bitcoin Reaches $85,000 as Short Squeeze Triggers $648 Million Liquidations
pushed to an eight-month high of $85,000 on Monday, extending a that forced bearish traders out of their short positions and drove a surge in spot exchange-traded funds. U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds drew a net $998.95 million on Monday, marking their largest daily inflow since Oct. 6, 2025. BlackRock's IBIT led the inflows with $381.37 million, followed by Ark's ARKB with $289.12 million and Fidelity's FBTC with $238.84 million. The single-session haul surpassed the previous 2026 high of $844 million recorded on Jan. 14. Monday's inflow was also the ninth-largest since the began trading on Jan. 11, 2024. The advance broke through a key technical hurdle at $82,000 that had capped prices since August, triggering roughly $750 million in bearish liquidations. Exchanges executed buy orders to close those short positions, adding fuel to the upward move. Bitcoin has risen 44% to $85,000 this quarter, outperforming every major . Strategy founder Michael Saylor announced on Saturday that the company made significant Bitcoin and repurchased perpetual preferred shares using cash. Despite the recent inflows, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs remain down about $464 million on a year-to-date basis.
Snorkel AI Valued at $3.5 Billion in New Funding Round Driven by AI Demand
Channelnewsasia.com reports that Snorkel has raised $350 million in a new funding round that values the data startup at $3.5 billion. Insight Partners and S32 led the financing, which included participation from existing backers Addition, Greylock and Wells Fargo. The transaction nearly triples the $1.3 billion the company commanded after raising $100 million in May 2025. Snorkel's annualized run-rate has climbed to $350 million from roughly $20 million a year earlier, propelled by a data-as-a-service business launched in September 2025. Founded in 2019 by Stanford AI lab researchers, the San Francisco-based company has pivoted from selling software to supplying finished datasets and reinforcement-learning environments directly to frontier AI labs, hyperscalers, enterprises and the US federal government. The platform pairs human specialists across fields like coding, law and medicine with thousands of specialized AI agents to generate and vet complex training data. Snorkel sells these generated data products rather than billing for human labor, a shift designed to preserve operating margins while compensating experts. The fresh will fund new hires across engineering and research alongside expansions into government operations, third-party model evaluations, and new industry verticals. Management expects the company to reach profitability this year.
Snorkel AI Valuation ($B)
Valuation rose by 2.2 billion following a new funding round.
Binance Buys $100 Million Circle Stake in Five-Year USDC Deal
Binance purchased a $100 million stake in Circle Internet Group on September 17, 2026, anchoring a new five-year commercial accord designed to expand the global reach of the USDC . Under the private placement, Circle issued 1,237,011 shares of Class A common stock at $80.84 per share, offering a 5% discount to the market price prior to closing. Binance agreed not to sell, transfer, or the acquired shares for up to two years, though it retains full voting rights throughout the lockup period. The agreement replaces previous arrangements the two companies formed in November 2024 and August 2025. In exchange for promoting USDC across its platform and targeting , Binance will receive a monthly incentive fee from Circle tied to USDC balances held through Circle's Modular Smart Contract Wallet infrastructure. Circle shares closed Monday at $94.29 before rising more than 1% in premarket trading on Tuesday. USDC maintains a of roughly $75 billion to $76 billion, trailing Tether's USDT at approximately $183 billion.
Stablecoin Market Capitalization ($B)
USDT holds a substantial market capitalization lead over USDC.
JPMorgan Fund Sells South Florida Apartment Complex for $105M
JPMorgan Management sold the Polo Lakes apartment complex in Wellington, Florida, to an affiliate of TA Realty for $105.4 million. The fund originally acquired the 366-unit property in 2002 for $47.4 million, more than doubling its investment over a 24-year hold. TA Realty beat out 21 other bidders in an extremely competitive sale process managed by Walker & Dunlop. The buyer paid approximately $288,000 per unit for the 27-building asset, coming in below the Palm Beach County average of $358,000 per unit. The transaction closed as South Florida investment activity rose 53 percent quarter-over-quarter to reach $1.3 billion.
Surging tech valuations, massive crypto inflows, and heavy corporate dealmaking reflect intense risk appetite despite lower oil prices. Yet, central bank scrutiny of trading firm losses and escalating platform conflicts raise doubts about systemic stability and AI monetization.
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