Economic growth across the 38 member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) accelerated in the second quarter of 2026, offering a modestly encouraging signal for advanced economies navigating uncertainty over inflation, interest rates and international trade. According to OECD estimates shared on October 12, combined GDP expanded by 0.7% … [Read more...] about OECD Economic Growth Accelerates to 0.7% in Second Quarter, but Recovery Remains Uneven
Markets
When Good Earnings Are No Longer Good Enough
Briefly analysis. A company can deliver strong results and still disappoint investors. The explanation lies in expectations, valuation and positioning. An earnings report is a statement about a business. A stock price is a statement about what investors expected that business to become. The two are related, but they are not interchangeable. A company can report record sales, … [Read more...] about When Good Earnings Are No Longer Good Enough
Balerion AI Raises $6 Million to Bring Agentic AI to Mortgage Origination
Balerion AI has emerged from stealth with $6 million in seed funding led by Kleiner Perkins, with participation from Formation and BoxGroup, as it pushes into one of the most operationally dense corners of financial services: mortgage loan origination. The company says its platform, Balerion Loan Intelligence, is already being used by lenders including FM Home Loans, which … [Read more...] about Balerion AI Raises $6 Million to Bring Agentic AI to Mortgage Origination
Live Nation and Ticketmaster Lose the Core Antitrust Fight
A Manhattan federal jury found on April 15, 2026 that Live Nation and its Ticketmaster subsidiary illegally maintained monopoly power in the market for major concert venues and ticketing, handing the company one of the most significant antitrust losses in the modern live-entertainment business. The verdict followed a multistate case that continued even after the U.S. Department … [Read more...] about Live Nation and Ticketmaster Lose the Core Antitrust Fight
Why Startup Valuations Haven’t Fully Reset
The 2021 startup valuation bubble deflated but did not fully reset. Understanding why tells you something important about how private markets actually work. Public market tech valuations corrected sharply in 2022 and have only partially recovered. Private market valuations lagged significantly. Many companies that raised at peak multiples in 2021 have not marked down those … [Read more...] about Why Startup Valuations Haven’t Fully Reset
What the Fed’s Patience Is Actually Signaling
When the Federal Reserve says it is "patient," it is communicating something specific. It is not a stance of comfort. It is a stance of uncertainty dressed in composed language. The Fed's patience framing emerged as a way to navigate the space between two bad outcomes: cutting rates too early and re-igniting inflation, or holding too long and tipping an already slowing economy … [Read more...] about What the Fed’s Patience Is Actually Signaling
Dollar Dominance: Slow Erosion or Cliff Edge?
The dollar's reserve currency status has been in decline for thirty years if you read one set of economists, and completely secure for the foreseeable future if you read another. Both camps have access to the same data. The disagreement is about what the data means. What the numbers actually show: the dollar's share of global foreign exchange reserves has declined from around … [Read more...] about Dollar Dominance: Slow Erosion or Cliff Edge?
What OpenAI’s Funding Rounds Are Actually Buying
OpenAI's capital raises have stopped being about runway. They are about something else now, and it is worth being clear on what. At the scale of funding OpenAI has absorbed — tens of billions across multiple rounds — the money is no longer primarily financing model training or operational costs, both of which are large but bounded. It is buying three things that have nothing … [Read more...] about What OpenAI’s Funding Rounds Are Actually Buying
The Bill Comes Due
There is a particular kind of market week that does not merely correct prices — it corrects assumptions. This was one of those weeks. When the closing bell rang on Friday, the Nasdaq had posted its worst weekly performance in nearly a year, Meta had shed more than 11% of its value, Alphabet had dropped close to 9%, and Microsoft had fallen roughly 7%. The temptation, as always, … [Read more...] about The Bill Comes Due
Datavault AI Secures $150 Million Bitcoin-Backed Investment from Scilex Holding Company
Datavault AI Inc. (Nasdaq: DVLT) announced today a landmark $150 million strategic investment agreement with Scilex Holding Company (Nasdaq: SCLX), a transaction structured uniquely in Bitcoin at spot prices via Coinbase. The deal, set to unfold in two tranches—an immediate $8.07 million closing on September 26, 2025, followed by $141.93 million pending shareholder … [Read more...] about Datavault AI Secures $150 Million Bitcoin-Backed Investment from Scilex Holding Company