Corporate legal disputes and operational setbacks dominated the market, featuring a massive $5.7 billion patent infringement verdict against Apple and Meta facing penalties over Cambridge Analytica data issues. Meanwhile, HelloFresh lowered its long-term revenue outlook, and crypto platform Bitget halted withdrawals after a $351.6 million hack. Oracle also took precautionary measures by invoking a force majeure clause to pause rent if its major data center project faces construction delays.
01Market mover
Oracle Shares Drop Following Report of Force Majeure Notice on Data Center
Oracle issued a force majeure notice to Blue Owl regarding its 165 billion dollar Project Jupiter in New Mexico. The notice allows Oracle to pause rent payments if the 2.45-gigawatt facility misses its 2028 completion target. Project Jupiter is designed to supply computing capacity for OpenAI under the Stargate initiative, but it faces severe permitting delays and local opposition. Regulatory hurdles have blocked pipeline approvals and air permits for the site's Bloom Energy fuel cells, pushing the timeline toward 2029 or 2030. These delays have stressed 18 billion dollars in loans tied to the campus, which are trading below 90 cents on the dollar. Blue Owl shares fell 4 percent following the report, while Bloom Energy dropped 6 percent before later recovering.
BP Explores Expanding US Shale Footprint Following Devon Deal Talks
BP walked away from talks to acquire Devon Energy's South Texas Eagle Ford after entering the data room, leaving the 90,000 net-acre position without a confirmed buyer. TPH Research valued the package at approximately $4.5 billion, while Reuters sources placed the expected range between $3.5 billion and $4 billion. The $500 million spread between buyer caution and seller expectations widened enough to stall final negotiations amid elevated prices driven by the US conflict with Iran. Devon is divesting the Eagle Ford acreage alongside its Powder River Basin holdings following its $58 billion all-stock with Coterra Energy in the first quarter of 2026. The combined company produces over 1.6 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. For BP, entering the data room marked a tactical shift under CEO Meg O'Neill, who took the helm in April and has redirected the company toward traditional oil and gas. The move followed a second-quarter financial recovery in which BP posted $5.7 billion in underlying replacement cost profit, more than double its result from a year earlier. BPX Energy, the company's US shale unit, produced approximately 545,000 boepd in the second quarter, including roughly 205,000 boepd from its existing Eagle Ford footprint, and maintains a target of over 650,000 boepd by 2030. Despite that operational alignment, BP opted to preserve discipline rather than bridge the gap. BP shares fell 3.4% on Friday following the reports, while Devon shares closed 1.8% higher on Thursday.
US Jury Orders Apple to Pay $5.7 Billion in Haptic Patent Case
A federal jury in San Diego ordered Apple to pay more than $5.7 billion in damages to Taction Technology after finding that the tech giant infringed two haptic patents. The litigation centered on U.S. Patent Nos. 10,659,885 and 10,820,117, which cover vibration-based tactile transducer technology used to help users feel device responses. Taction argued that the Taptic Engine embedded in iPhones and Apple Watches utilized its proprietary innovations without a license. Apple denied the allegations, maintained that its hardware is fundamentally different, and stated it will appeal the verdict. Taction originally filed the lawsuit in 2021, and the case was later revived by the Federal Circuit after a 2023 dismissal. The jury concluded that the infringement was not willful.
UP RERA Approves 12 Real Estate Projects Across Six Districts
The Uttar Pradesh Real Estate Regulatory Authority approved 12 new real estate projects involving an estimated investment of Rs 1,663.85 crore. The approvals were granted at the regulator's 214th authority meeting on Tuesday, chaired by UP RERA Chairman Sanjay Bhoosreddy. Together, the developments will add 3,090 residential and commercial units across six districts. Lucknow secured the largest share of the pipeline with four projects comprising 1,972 units and an estimated investment of Rs 609.35 crore. Ghaziabad followed with three residential projects involving Rs 605.06 crore and 574 units. Hapur received approval for two residential projects worth Rs 123.45 crore across 192 units. The remaining three projects are distributed across Kanpur, Ayodhya and Prayagraj. Kanpur accounts for one project involving Rs 201.72 crore and 158 units. Ayodhya's single project entails an investment of Rs 72.61 crore for 85 residential units. Prayagraj rounds out the list with one project valued at Rs 51.66 crore and 109 units. UP RERA stated that the developments will support construction activity and create opportunities in allied sectors including construction materials, engineering and transport. The regulator's monitoring will focus on compliance with the Real Estate Act, timely project completion and the protection of homebuyers.
exchange Bitget suffered a $351.6 million security breach on Thursday, prompting the platform to temporarily suspend withdrawals while it completes a security review. CEO Gracy Chen announced that unauthorized transfers affected a portion of the exchange's hot and warm wallet layers, though cold wallets and user funds remain secure. The compromised were consolidated into a single address across multiple blockchains, including ETH, BNB, AVAX, and USDT0. Bitget maintains a user protection fund holding over $464 million to cover the affected amount. and trading continue to operate normally during the investigation. Arkham Intelligence analyst Emmett Gallic initially flagged unusual wallet movements involving three hot wallets and one cold wallet. The company promised to publish a full incident report within 24 hours. Bitget's native token, BGB, fell 2.9% following the news, while and ether dropped 0.29% and 0.2% respectively over a 24-hour period. The incident follows a $320 million hack of the Liquid Network earlier in the month.
New Mexico Jury Finds Meta Misled Consumers Over Cambridge Analytica
Channelnewsasia.com reports that a New Mexico jury found Meta Platforms misled state residents in a lawsuit stemming from the Cambridge Analytica data scandal. The verdict follows a two-week trial over a 2021 complaint brought by the state attorney general, who accused the tech company of misrepresenting how user data was shared and how it handled hate speech. Judge Francis Mathew will determine the monetary penalties Meta must pay for the violations. The trial follows an earlier March case in which a Santa Fe jury ordered Meta to pay $375 million in civil penalties over youth safety on its platforms. A subsequent judge's ruling in that matter directed the company to pay $567 million into a teen mental health fund. Meta later reached a settlement with 47 US states, agreeing to pay a maximum of about $16.7 billion to resolve claims regarding youth addiction while paying $459 million to a handful of states to resolve privacy claims related to Cambridge Analytica. New Mexico declined to join that settlement, allowing its own case to proceed to trial.
HelloFresh Slashes 2026 Revenue Guidance Following Marketing Cuts
HelloFresh slashed its full-year 2026 after dialing back marketing spending and failing to attract enough customers during the back-to-school period. The Berlin-based meal-kit company now projects constant-currency annual revenue will fall 9% to 11%, a sharp downgrade from its prior view for a 3% to 6% decline. Management also reduced its expected full-year adjusted to between €350 million and €370 million, down from an earlier range of €375 million to €425 million. For the third quarter, the company anticipates revenue will decline 11% to 12% year-on-year, while adjusted EBITDA is expected to land between €45 million and €55 million. The cuts reflect a steeper reduction in marketing expenditures compared to the first half of the year, which hobbled subscriber during a crucial campaign window. Investors punished the shares on Friday, sending them down as much as 15% before they recovered slightly to close lower by 9.4% at €2.29 in Frankfurt. The company's 2031 dropped as much as 6.8 cents per euro on Friday to trade at 82.4 cents, marking its steepest decline since issuance. Analysts at Stifel and Barclays warned that the pullback in customer acquisition points to ongoing softness heading into next year. HelloFresh will publish its final third-quarter financial results on November 5, 2026.
White House Moves to Block $810 Million in Funding Via Pocket Rescission
The White House announced plans on Friday to claw back $810 million in congressionally appropriated funding through a pocket rescission, according to CNBC. The controversial budget maneuver occurs when a president submits a request to Congress to block funding so close to the end of the fiscal year that the funds expire before Congress receives the full 45-day consideration period. A year ago, the administration blocked $4.9 billion in congressionally approved foreign aid through the same mechanism. The White House cited the Impoundment Control Act as the basis for the authority, despite the Government Accountability Office previously stating the law does not permit withholding proposed rescissions through expiration without congressional approval. The proposed cuts include $567 million appropriated for Health and Human Services programs for refugees, asylees and other non-citizens, alongside $28 million for HHS research. Additional cuts target the Department of Education's special programs for immigrant students. Senator Susan Collins, who chairs the Senate committee on appropriations, criticized the move as an attempt to undermine Congress's constitutional power of the purse.
First US Trial Against TikTok Begins Over Teen Mental Health Claims
Channelnewsasia.com reports that an Alabama jury will hear claims that TikTok and its parent company ByteDance made the platform addictive to young users in the first US trial against the company over teen mental health. The trial is scheduled to kick off Monday in Montgomery state court and is expected to last two to three weeks. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall filed the lawsuit last year, joining at least 27 other states and Washington, D.C., in similar litigation. TikTok argues that Section 230 of the federal Communications Decency Act shields online platforms from liability over user-generated content. Alabama claims the platform pushes young users toward intense content about violence and self-harm, contributing to a mental health crisis. The lawsuit also accuses TikTok of misleading consumers about safety features and data access by the Chinese government. Meta Platforms, Snap Inc, and Alphabet's YouTube face similar lawsuits, though Meta recently reached a $17.1 billion settlement with 47 states, Washington, D.C., and US territories.
Tether Addresses Minimal EQIBank Exposure After $89M US Asset Seizure
Tether confirmed that its exposure to EQIBank amounts to less than 0.034 percent of its total following a U.S. asset seizure targeting the Dominica-licensed lender's payment processor. Based on Tether's reported $187.75 billion in group assets from its June report, the exposure equals roughly $64 million. U.S. prosecutors seized about $89 million tied to EQIBank, which were held through accounts at the Montana-based payment processor Capstone Ltd. The Department of Justice filed a civil forfeiture complaint seeking to permanently keep roughly $84.2 million, after alleging that Capstone was unlicensed and moved funds on behalf of Tether and Bitfinex. EQIBank warned that the seized funds represent about 80 percent of its monetary holdings and could force the lender into liquidation. A Tether spokesperson stated that the company had no knowledge of the conduct alleged against Capstone, and noted that the exposure poses no immediate threat to the USDT or its dollar peg. USDT traded at about $0.9997 on Friday afternoon.