—— US Jobless Claims Near 50-Year Low; ESG Funds Lose Appeal; Arm and Instacart Fall Below IPO Price; GGV Capital Splits Asia and US Divisions; Cisco to Acquire Splunk for $28 Billion; Mexican Cartels Expand Rapidly; US August Existing-Home Sales Fall Again
1. US Jobless Claims Near 50-Year Low
The U.S. Department of Labor reported today that for the week ending September 16, initial jobless claims dropped by 20,000 to 201,000—potentially approaching the lowest level in over 50 years and beating all economists’ forecasts.
Stephen Stanley, Chief U.S. Economist at Santander, noted that corporate hiring has clearly slowed in recent months, while layoffs have also dropped to historically low levels.
Since companies are more reluctant to hire, layoffs have also eased accordingly.
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2. ESG Funds Lose Their Luster
According to Morningstar data, asset managers including BlackRock and State Street have shut down dozens of ESG investment funds this year amid political backlash and growing investor skepticism.
On September 15, BlackRock filed with regulators to close two ESG emerging-market bond funds totaling $55 million.
As of June 30, there were 656 ESG funds in the U.S., but closures have notably increased compared to recent years.
U.S. Republican officials argue that ESG investing harms fossil fuel-dependent states like Texas and West Virginia and have frequently criticized the concept.
Key reasons for the decline include lackluster returns and persistent anti-ESG sentiment.
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3. Arm and Instacart Fall Below IPO Price
Today, SoftBank-backed chipmaker Arm dropped as much as 5.8% to $49.85, falling below its $51 IPO price.
Last week, Arm raised $5 billion in the biggest IPO in two years, with shares jumping 25% on debut. But as of today, the stock has fallen for five consecutive trading days.
Recently listed firms face pressure to revive the IPO market, but hawkish Fed signals this week triggered a broad market pullback.
Instacart, which listed on Tuesday, also briefly dropped below its $30 IPO price.
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4. GGV Capital Splits Asia and US Divisions
Silicon Valley venture capital firm GGV Capital will split its Asia and U.S. operations due to escalating tech competition and political tensions between China and the U.S. Three months ago, Sequoia Capital made a similar move.
GGV currently manages about $9 billion in assets. Its Asia division holds shares in tech firms like Alibaba, ByteDance, Xiaomi, and Didi.
Its U.S. division holds stakes in companies like Airbnb, Slack, and Affirm.
GGV’s Singapore-based unit is expected to formally separate from the U.S. business by early next year.
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5. Cisco to Acquire Splunk for $28 Billion
San Jose–based tech giant Cisco announced it will acquire U.S. cybersecurity software firm Splunk for $28 billion, marking the largest acquisition in the company’s history.
The deal price represents a 31% premium over Splunk’s closing price on Wednesday. Post-acquisition, the two firms will form one of the world’s largest software groups.
Splunk will expand Cisco’s software portfolio, and CEO Gary Steele will join Cisco’s executive leadership team.
The deal could face regulatory scrutiny and potential delays due to antitrust concerns.
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6. Mexican Cartels Expanding Rapidly
A recent study found that Mexico’s organized crime groups may have recruited 185,000 members in total and are adding about 350 new recruits each week—highlighting the challenges in combating crime.
Originally focused on drug trafficking, these cartels have expanded into oil theft, kidnapping, and extortion, contributing to a surge in disappearances and homicides since 2008.
States like Michoacán and Guerrero are essentially controlled by criminal groups, with many government agencies reportedly complicit.
Mexico lacks reliable crime data, making it difficult to gauge the true scale and activity of organized crime.
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7. US August Existing-Home Sales Fall Again
According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), U.S. existing-home sales fell for the third consecutive month in August to an annualized rate of 4.04 million units.
Sales declined 0.3% month-over-month and 15.3% year-over-year. However, the median price for existing homes rose 3.9% year-over-year to $407,100.
NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said that while sales are dropping, prices continue to rise, and the housing supply would need to double to tame price growth.
Yun noted that 31% of homes sold in August went for above asking price.
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This content is sourced from Financial Times, Bloomberg, and The Real Deal, among other financial news outlets.