—— Ex-Millennium CIO Raises $5.3bn; Sony and Warner Sue AI Startups; Nvidia Erases $400bn Market Cap; Novo to Build $4.1bn Factory in America; Canada Pension Funds’ Real Estate Investments Sour; Barcelona to Ban Short-Term Rentals
1. Ex-Millennium CIO Raises $5.3bn
Bobby Jain has secured $5.3 billion in commitments for his new multistrategy hedge fund, Jain Global, marking the largest fundraising effort since ExodusPoint Capital Management’s record debut. Jain Global is set to begin trading on July 1, according to sources familiar with the matter. The fund’s investors include endowments, foundations, family offices, bank wealth platforms, and sovereign wealth funds.
This marks a significant milestone for Jain, the former co-chief investment officer at Millennium Management, who spent the past year pitching his fund globally. Initially aiming to raise up to $10 billion, Jain lowered client fees to attract investors and revised his target to between $5 billion and $6 billion after encountering challenges in meeting the original goal.
Despite the adjusted target, Jain Global’s launch is the largest since 2018, surpassing fellow Millennium alumnus Diego Megia’s Taula Capital Management, which began trading this month with $5 billion. Megia’s fund received $3 billion from Millennium, where he previously managed a macro pod.
______
2. Sony and Warner Sue AI Startups
The world’s largest record labels are suing two artificial intelligence startups to protect their intellectual property against technology that enables users to generate music based on existing songs.
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) announced that it filed lawsuits on Monday against Suno AI and Uncharted Labs Inc., the developer of Udio AI, on behalf of Universal Music Group NV, Warner Music Group Corp., and Sony Music Entertainment. The complaints allege that these companies are unlawfully training their AI models using vast amounts of copyrighted sound recordings.
The RIAA, a trade group representing record labels, is seeking damages of up to $150,000 “per work infringed.” Given the vast number of copyrighted sound recordings involved, this could potentially amount to billions of dollars in damages.
______
3. Nvidia Erases $400bn Market Cap
Nvidia Corp. shares fell sharply on Monday, marking the AI-focused chipmaker’s entry into correction territory as it continues its recent selloff.
The stock declined by 4.8% and is on track for its third consecutive negative session. Over the past three days, it has dropped 12%, surpassing the 10% threshold that signifies a correction. This decline has impacted other chipmakers, with the Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index falling as much as 2.2% on Monday. Broadcom Inc., Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., and Qualcomm Inc. all experienced drops of at least 2%.
The three-day slide erased more than $400 billion from Nvidia’s market capitalization, reducing it below the $3 trillion threshold and causing it to fall behind both Microsoft Corp. and Apple Inc. in market size. Nvidia had briefly held the title of the world’s largest stock last week.
______
4. Target And Shopify Announce Partnership
Target Corp. is partnering with e-commerce specialist Shopify Inc. to expand its marketplace for third-party merchants, aiming to compete more effectively with larger rivals Walmart Inc. and Amazon.com Inc.
The Minneapolis-based retailer announced that vendors using Shopify’s e-commerce platform can now apply to sell their products on Target’s marketplace, Target Plus. Additionally, select Shopify clients will have the opportunity to sell their products in Target stores.
Following the announcement, Target shares gained 1.6% at 9:39 a.m. in New York trading, bringing the stock’s year-to-date gain to about 4%. Shopify, which has declined 16% this year, saw a modest increase of 0.7%.
Cara Sylvester, Target’s chief guest experience officer, stated that this partnership, the first of its kind for Target Plus, will help broaden the marketplace’s assortment of merchandise and accelerate its growth. Target and Shopify will collaborate to share insights on trends, such as products gaining popularity on social media, and quickly respond to offer these trending goods on the marketplace.
______
5. Novo to Build $4.1bn Factory in America
Novo Nordisk A/S plans to invest $4.1 billion in a new US factory, significantly expanding its production capabilities amid rising criticism over the cost of its obesity and diabetes drugs in its largest market.
The project, located in Clayton, North Carolina, will double the company’s production footprint in the US. It will add 1.4 million square feet of space dedicated to the final stages of manufacturing, where Novo’s medicines are filled into injector pens and prepared for consumers.
The facility will also create 1,000 jobs, the Danish drugmaker announced on Monday.
______
6. Canada Pension Funds’ Real Estate Investments Sour
Almost no major Canadian pension manager has been spared from the commercial real estate slump. The largest fund, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, experienced a 5% loss on its property portfolio in the last fiscal year. The Public Sector Pension Investment Board faced an even steeper decline, with a 16% loss, marking its worst fiscal year performance for real estate investments since the global financial crisis.
The property market has been disrupted by higher borrowing costs, impacting Canadian pensions that were once celebrated for their extensive and successful real estate ventures. This has led at least four major funds to significantly retool their operations.
Jo Taylor, chief executive officer of the C$248 billion ($181 billion) Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, noted the changing landscape: “What’s worked famously well for the last 35 years may not work so well for the next five to 10,” he said in an interview at Bloomberg’s Toronto office.
______
7. Barcelona to Ban Short-Term Rentals
Barcelona plans to implement a citywide ban on all short-term rentals to address concerns that tourism is exacerbating the local housing crisis and driving up rents.
The Mediterranean city will stop issuing new licenses for short-term rentals and will not renew existing ones, with the goal that by 2029, no homes will have permission to be rented as tourist accommodations, the Barcelona Mayor announced at a press conference on Friday. Currently, around 10,000 houses are registered as rentals for tourists.
“More supply of housing is needed, and the measures we’re presenting today are to provide more supply so that the working middle class does not have to leave the city because they can’t afford housing,” Mayor Collboni said. “This measure will not change the situation from one day to the next. These problems take time. But with this measure, we are marking a turning point.”
While many cities globally are grappling with similar housing pressures, Barcelona’s decision to ban all short-term rentals may represent the world’s most aggressive stance toward short-stay apartments, which are often listed on platforms like Airbnb Inc.
______
本文内容来自《Financial Times》、《Bloomberg》，以及《The Real Deal》等多家财经新闻媒体。