Investment giant Blackstone is exploring the sale of medical-grade skincare brand ZO Skin Health, a move that could value the company at approximately $2 billion. The firm has tapped Citigroup and Raymond James to manage the process, though discussions remain in the early stages according to people familiar with the matter.
Fintech giant Chime Financial is moving to bring its core infrastructure in-house, announcing a $590 million all-cash acquisition of the Oklahoma-based Stride Bank. The move allows the San Francisco company to bypass the lengthy process of obtaining a de novo bank charter while accelerating its expansion into the lending sector.
Private equity firm CVC Capital Partners is testing the market for Arthea, the personal care giant behind Dr. Teal’s, in a potential $2 billion exit. The move comes seven years after the firm acquired the business, then known as PDC Brands, for roughly $1.43 billion to anchor its consumer portfolio.
A fresh clash has emerged within Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s ruling coalition as the League party demands a new tax on bank profits. The proposal seeks to extract up to €3 billion from financial institutions to bankroll tax cuts and social spending ahead of the 2027 national elections.
Goldman Sachs has officially opened an engineering office in Bellevue, Washington, positioning a new team of 125 employees to accelerate the firm’s artificial intelligence and cloud transformation strategies. This expansion marks a tactical move to tap into the region's dense concentration of top-tier technical universities and specialized labor.
With over $500 million secured for its Libra Hybrid fund, Singapore-based Granite Asia is pivoting toward middle-market lending across the region. Managing partner Ming Eng identifies a persistent supply-demand imbalance in Asia’s private credit landscape, positioning the firm to capture growth in sectors from advanced manufacturing to healthcare.
Pierre Mirabaud, the former head of the Swiss Bankers Association, received a two-year suspended prison sentence on Tuesday after admitting to facilitating 82.3 million Swiss francs in bribes. The payments were funneled to a Kuwaiti official between 2000 and 2012 to secure nearly 600 million dollars in business for Mirabaud & Cie.
A sudden surge in the Japanese yen to its strongest level since February has rattled global markets, signaling a shift in investor sentiment as traders brace for an anticipated Bank of Japan interest rate increase. The move marks a departure from the summer's intervention-heavy volatility, reflecting fresh economic confidence.
With the BRICS summit approaching in New Delhi, the Kremlin has moved to clarify its economic stance, insisting that Russia is not actively pursuing a policy of de-dollarization. Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov emphasized that Moscow remains open to all viable payment methods, despite growing tensions over the weaponization of global currencies.
The European Central Bank has authorized UniCredit to apply the 'Danish Compromise' to its insurance holdings, a regulatory shift that allows the Milan-based lender to risk-weight these investments instead of fully deducting them from capital reserves. The bank expects this transition to lift its core capital ratio by 50 basis points.
A digital currency initiative tracking the Swiss franc has transitioned into live testing, bolstered by the integration of financial infrastructure giant SIX and the payment platform TWINT. UBS confirmed the development on Tuesday, signaling a significant expansion for the project as it moves beyond its initial sandbox environment.
The Bank of Japan is leaning toward a modest 25-basis-point interest rate hike at its September 17-18 meeting, opting to avoid the market volatility associated with more aggressive measures. While speculation of a larger increase persists, officials prioritize a steady, predictable path to curb inflation without stifling the economy.
Florida-based EverBank Financial is set to merge with Pacific Northwest lender WaFd in a $3.9 billion deal, creating a regional banking powerhouse with approximately $75 billion in total assets. The transaction, confirmed by the companies on Monday, signals a significant consolidation within the competitive financial services sector.
With a $32 billion budget deficit looming, Ukrainian lawmakers face a renewed push to pass a controversial tax on imported parcels next week. The legislation remains a non-negotiable benchmark for the International Monetary Fund, serving as a high-stakes test of the government's capacity to deliver essential fiscal reforms.
With a September 10 shareholder vote approaching, Intesa Sanpaolo has outlined a precise timeline for its €35.7 billion acquisition of Monte dei Paschi di Siena. The lender expects to capture 60% of the projected €2.9 billion in gross financial benefits by 2028, reaching the full target one year later.
A high-stakes legal battle over reputational damage concluded on Monday as Deutsche Bank reached a confidential settlement with former executive Dario Schiraldi. The withdrawal of the lawsuit, which sought 152 million euros in damages, effectively cancels a court hearing that had been scheduled to begin this Thursday in Frankfurt.
China is moving to fortify its financial architecture, as the Ministry of Finance leads a coordinated $54 billion capital injection into the nation’s largest state-owned banks and insurers. This massive infusion aims to stabilize core Tier 1 capital and equip major institutions to withstand persistent economic headwinds.
Standard Life beat first-half profit expectations on Monday, fueled by a surge in pension risk transfer business. As defined-benefit schemes scramble to shed liabilities, the insurer capitalized on the shift, reporting an adjusted operating profit of £563 million for the period ending June 30, comfortably topping the £541 million estimate.
Deutsche Bank now expects the European Central Bank to push interest rates to 2.75% by December, revising its previous forecast of a 2.5% peak. The shift follows persistent energy price volatility that has forced analysts to abandon hopes for a short-lived shock and a cooling economic climate.
The European Central Bank is widely expected to lift interest rates by a quarter-point this Thursday, a move analysts describe as an insurance policy against resurgent inflation. As oil and gas prices climb, policymakers face the delicate task of tightening financial conditions without choking off a fragile eurozone economy.
David Blais is returning to JPMorgan Chase & Co. later this month as a managing director, marking a significant move for the bank's healthcare investment division. The veteran banker departs Guggenheim Securities, where he spent a decade honing his expertise in mergers and acquisitions within the healthcare services sector.
The U.S. Treasury Department has blacklisted Istanbul-based Golden Global Yatirim Bankasi and two of its subsidiaries, effectively severing their access to the dollar-based financial system. The move aims to dismantle a shadow banking network allegedly used to funnel Iranian oil revenues from China into Turkey.
With a projected 27 billion euro defense shortfall for 2026, Ukraine is pressuring European allies to reconsider the seizure of 210 billion euros in immobilized Russian central bank assets. Kyiv claims a new risk-sharing proposal could finally break the legal deadlock that has stalled efforts to tap these funds.
A Reuters analysis of 44 U.S. business development companies reveals that private credit portfolio values dropped further below cost during the first half of 2026. As market spreads widen, stress is accumulating within the software sector, challenging the stability of loans previously considered to be trading near par.
Antonio Tajani, Italy’s deputy prime minister, signaled that major banks and energy companies may be asked to accelerate tax payments to bolster the nation’s public finances. Speaking at the TEHA Ambrosetti forum in Cernobbio, he positioned these voluntary arrangements as a strategic alternative to controversial windfall profit taxes.
ByteDance has locked in a $29.6 billion credit facility from a consortium of nearly 30 international banks, a massive capital injection driven by the social media giant's aggressive push into artificial intelligence. The deal represents one of the largest corporate financings in Asia this year, reflecting significant lender confidence.
Bond yields across developed markets have hit multi-decade highs this week, signaling a sharp shift in investor expectations. Driven by persistent deficits, stubborn inflation, and the relentless demand for AI infrastructure capital, traders are now demanding significantly higher compensation to hold long-term government debt across the globe.
The richest 0.1% of Brazilians have seized a record 13.1% of national income, data show, complicating President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s narrative of shared prosperity. While the administration points to record-low Gini coefficient levels as a win, tax filings reveal that high interest rates are funneling vast wealth to the top.
For delivery riders in Buenos Aires, a simple traffic fine can trigger a financial spiral. With traditional banks out of reach, workers increasingly rely on high-interest digital loans to recover impounded vehicles, locking them into a cycle of triple-digit interest rates that now ripples across the national economy.
Citigroup expects to secure a license for its wholly-owned Chinese brokerage business as early as this month, a move that would significantly expand the bank's footprint in the mainland market. The regulatory breakthrough may coincide with a planned summit between President Xi Jinping and Donald Trump in Washington.
