Market Beats | Oracle Faces Setback as Blue Owl Withdraws From $10 Billion Data Center Deal; Tricolor Founder Daniel Chu Charged With Orchestrating Systemic Fraud; Kushner’s Affinity Partners Exits Warner Bros. Takeover Battle; Dalio and BlackRock Join Growing Corporate Support for Trump Accounts Program; Amazon Reorganizes AI Teams; Google Launches More Efficient, Lower-Cost Gemini 3 Flash Model; Micron Technology Issues Strong Outlook

—— Oracle Faces Setback as Blue Owl Withdraws From $10 Billion Data Center Deal; Tricolor Founder Daniel Chu Charged With Orchestrating Systemic Fraud; Kushner’s Affinity Partners Exits Warner Bros. Takeover Battle; Dalio and BlackRock Join Growing Corporate Support for Trump Accounts Program; Amazon Reorganizes AI Teams; Google Launches More Efficient, Lower-Cost Gemini 3 Flash Model; Micron Technology Issues Strong Outlook

1. Oracle Faces Setback as Blue Owl Withdraws From $10 Billion Data Center Deal

Oracle’s largest US data center partner, Blue Owl Capital, has pulled out of negotiations to finance a planned $10 billion facility, intensifying concerns about the software group’s rising debt load and aggressive AI-related spending.

Blue Owl had been in talks with lenders and Oracle to back a 1-gigawatt data center under development in Saline Township, Michigan, intended to support OpenAI. But according to three people familiar with the matter, the deal will not proceed after discussions stalled.

The private capital firm has been the primary financing source for Oracle’s largest data center projects, investing its own capital while raising billions in debt to construct the facilities. Typically, Blue Owl establishes a special purpose vehicle to own the facility and lease it back to Oracle.

Oracle, founded by Larry Ellison, has agreements to supply computing power from these centers to AI companies including OpenAI. With Blue Owl stepping back, the Michigan project’s financing is now uncertain, as Oracle has yet to secure a replacement backer.

Blue Owl would likely have arranged up to $10 billion in financing and provided a major equity commitment. Blackstone has engaged in preliminary talks to step in as a partner, though no agreement has been signed.

The funding disruption highlights growing strain in Oracle’s AI infrastructure strategy. The company has launched an aggressive build-out of AI data centers in recent months and tapped debt markets heavily to support the expansion, unsettling investors and prompting concerns from credit rating agencies and analysts.

The median Fed projection shows just one rate cut in 2026, though some officials see none, while traders are pricing in two. “The labor market remains weak, but the pace of deterioration probably is too slow to spur the FOMC to ease again in January,” said Samuel Tombs, chief US economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

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2. Tricolor Founder Daniel Chu Charged With Orchestrating Systemic Fraud

Federal prosecutors charged Tricolor Holdings founder Daniel Chu with conspiring to defraud lenders and investors of the bankrupt subprime auto company, accusing him and former executives of running the business through “systemic fraud.” Tricolor filed for bankruptcy in September after shutting down more than 60 locations across the US Southwest.

According to the indictment, Chu directed executives to repeatedly deceive lenders through schemes such as “double-pledging” collateral, manipulating collateral descriptions, and reclassifying pledged assets so that “near-worthless” items appeared to meet lender requirements.

The newly unsealed charges offer the most detailed account to date of misconduct that lenders, investigators, and bankruptcy officials have been trying to unravel since Tricolor’s collapse. Bloomberg previously reported that federal prosecutors were examining whether the company misled banks and pledged the same assets across multiple warehouse credit lines. Lenders including JPMorgan Chase, Barclays, and Fifth Third Bancorp have been preparing for significant losses tied to Tricolor’s financing facilities.

“Tricolor defrauded multiple lenders, they told multiple lies, and most disturbingly, the direction to do it came from the top,” Manhattan US Attorney Jay Clayton said Wednesday.

Chu and former chief operating officer David Goodgame face charges including operating a continuing financial crimes enterprise, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Prosecutors also unsealed charges against former executives including Jerome Kollar and Ameryn Seibold.

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3. Kushner’s Affinity Partners Exits Warner Bros. Takeover Battle

Jared Kushner’s private equity firm, Affinity Partners, has withdrawn from the takeover battle for Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., dealing a political and financial setback to Paramount Skydance Corp.’s faltering hostile bid for the iconic studio.

Affinity rescinded its backing of Paramount’s proposal, which Warner Bros. is preparing to reject.

Paramount is attempting to derail Netflix’s $82.7 billion acquisition agreement for Warner Bros. in a bidding war that will reshape the entertainment industry regardless of the final winner.

People familiar with the matter said Kushner’s involvement — given President Donald Trump had indicated he would personally review such a deal — generated unwelcome scrutiny. Affinity emerged this month as a participant in Paramount’s $108.4 billion bid, but its $200 million contribution was relatively small.

After reviewing Paramount’s proposal, Warner Bros.’ board is expected to recommend as early as Wednesday that shareholders reject the tender offer. The board still views the existing Netflix agreement as offering superior value, certainty, and terms. A major hurdle has been concerns over Paramount’s financing, led by David Ellison. The equity is backstopped by a revocable trust tied to his father, Larry Ellison — meaning assets could be withdrawn at any time, potentially leaving Warner Bros. with no recourse.

Affinity said the investment dynamics have changed since October and it will no longer pursue the opportunity, though it continues to see strategic merit in Paramount’s offer.

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4. Dalio and BlackRock Join Growing Corporate Support for Trump Accounts Program

Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio and BlackRock Inc. have joined a growing list of companies and wealthy individuals contributing to one of President Donald Trump’s signature initiatives.

Dalio said Wednesday that his foundation will donate $250 each to roughly 300,000 “Trump Accounts” for children in Connecticut. BlackRock also announced it would match the federal government’s contributions to the accounts for employees’ children, seeding them with $1,000 each.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent unveiled a website detailing the program on Wednesday, listing Block Inc., Mastercard Inc., Visa Inc., Uber Technologies Inc. and Charter Communications as corporate supporters. The site did not disclose the extent of their contributions. Visa said it plans to offer Trump Accounts as part of its employee benefits, while Charter previously said it will match the federal contribution.

The surge in support underscores how corporations and business leaders are seeking to publicly align themselves with a program Trump views as central to his presidential legacy.

Earlier this month at a White House event, Michael and Susan Dell pledged $250 each to 25 million American children — a total of $6.25 billion. Their contribution will go to older children, not newborns eligible for the federal $1,000 contribution between 2025 and 2028.

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5. Amazon Reorganizes AI Teams

Amazon.com Inc. is restructuring its artificial intelligence operations and putting a top AWS executive in charge of a newly formed unit.

Peter DeSantis will lead the new group, CEO Andy Jassy announced Wednesday in a message to employees that was also posted on Amazon’s corporate blog. The new organization will bring together Amazon’s Artificial General Intelligence team — responsible for the company’s Nova-branded AI models and the core intelligence of the Alexa assistant — with the company’s chipmaking division and quantum computing research.

Amazon Web Services remains the world’s largest seller of cloud computing power and storage but has struggled to replicate that dominance with AI developers, facing fierce competition from Microsoft, Google, and numerous startups. Several months after the launch of ChatGPT, Amazon consolidated AI development previously split between Alexa and AWS into one AGI team. The latest restructuring strengthens that effort further by integrating Annapurna Labs, the chip startup Amazon acquired in 2015.

“I believe we are at this inflection point with several of our new technologies that will power a significant amount of our future customer experiences,” Jassy wrote.

DeSantis previously served as senior vice president of utility computing, overseeing most AWS engineering teams. In his new role, he will report directly to Jassy, who praised his history of “solving problems at the edge of what’s technically possible.”

Rohit Prasad, the current head of the AGI unit and long-time leader behind Alexa’s speech science efforts, will leave Amazon at the end of the year.

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6. Google Launches More Efficient, Lower-Cost Gemini 3 Flash Model

Alphabet Inc.’s Google is rolling out a more efficient and affordable version of its most powerful AI model across its products, extending the momentum it gained from the successful launch of Gemini 3.

On Wednesday, the company introduced Gemini 3 Flash — a lower-cost version of its flagship AI model designed to help users handle more complex queries more quickly. The new model will replace 2.5 Flash in the Gemini app and become the default system powering AI Mode in Google Search.

Gemini 3 Pro, unveiled last month to rave reviews, helped Google reassert leadership in the AI race. In response, OpenAI declared a “code red” and rushed out updates to its GPT-5 model and its image generation system to keep pace.

“A few weeks ago we released Pro, and we are excited about the reception,” said Tulsee Doshi, senior director of product management for Gemini at Google DeepMind. “With Gemini 3 Flash, we bring the model to everyone.”

Robby Stein, vice president of product for Google Search, said the new Flash model will help users execute more refined searches involving multiple conditions — such as finding ideal evening activities for parents with young children.

Google also said Search’s AI Mode will support Gemini 3 Pro and provide access to its premium image-generation tool, Nano Banana.

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7. Micron Technology Issues Strong Outlook

Micron Technology Inc., the largest US producer of computer memory chips, issued an upbeat forecast for the current quarter, indicating that surging demand and supply shortages are enabling the company to raise prices.

The company said Wednesday that fiscal second-quarter revenue will range from $18.3 billion to $19.1 billion, well above the average analyst estimate of $14.4 billion. Excluding certain items, profit will be $8.22 to $8.62 per share, compared with a projected $4.71.

Micron shares rose about 4% in late trading after the announcement. The stock was already up 168% this year, closing at $225.71 on Wednesday.

The voracious appetite for AI computing components has outpaced supply, benefiting companies like Micron. Shortages have also emerged in lower-end memory used in personal computers, partly because memory manufacturers have shifted production toward advanced technologies for AI data centers.

PC makers such as Dell and HP have warned investors that they expect memory-chip shortages in the coming year, which could drive component prices higher. This dynamic has strengthened Micron’s pricing power in an industry known for volatility.

“Memory price increases are unlikely to abate near term,” Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Jake Silverman wrote in a report.

Boise, Idaho-based Micron has been a key beneficiary of AI-driven demand, as its high-bandwidth memory (HBM) is crucial for the chips and systems used to train artificial intelligence models.

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