☕ White whale

BlackRock bets $12b on the private credit frenzy... [Advertisement] [December 04, 2024]( [View Online]( | [Sign Up]( | [Shop]( [Morning Brew]( Presented By [Seeking Alpha]( Good morning. What rabbit holes did y’all fall down this year? We now know after Wikipedia released its [50 most popular pages of 2024](. The US election, celebrities, and pop culture dominated the list, as well as Indian politics and sports. Here are the Top 5 as ranked by page views: - Deaths in 2024 - Kamala Harris - 2024 United States presidential election - Lyle and Erik Menendez - Donald Trump A few notes: The “Deaths in X year” page has never fallen below third place since the list began in 2015. ChatGPT, which was No. 1 in 2023, fell to No. 12. “Deadpool & Wolverine” came in at No. 8. Morning Brew did not make the list for the ninth consecutive year. —Cassandra Cassidy, Sam Klebanov, Matty Merritt, Adam Epstein, Neal Freyman MARKETS Nasdaq 19,480.91 +0.40% S&P 6,049.88 +0.05% Dow 44,705.53 -0.17% 10-Year 4.223% +3.0 bps Bitcoin $95,950.91 +0.56% US Steel $37.67 -8.01% Data is provided by *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 5:00pm ET. [Here's what these numbers mean.]( - Markets: Stocks [inched up]( yesterday as Fed policymakers signaled more interest rate cuts are on the horizon ahead of Jay Powell’s speech today. Meanwhile, US Steel took a tumble after President-elect Trump said he would block the company’s $15 billion takeover by Japan’s Nippon Steel.  FINANCE [BlackRock bets $12b on private credit frenzy]( [BlackRock logo]( Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images A Wall Street juggernaut just caught its white whale. Investment giant BlackRock inked a $12 billion all-stock [deal]( to buy private credit investor HPS Investment Partners, cementing private credit as the hottest thing on Wall Street since the invention of the stock ticker. Huge get: BlackRock acquiring HPS is like if the Buffalo Bills got Derrick Henry. Already one of the biggest investment firms in the business, BlackRock will now take on HPS’s nearly $150 billion of assets under management, [boosting]( its pile of alternative assets by 25%. The deal cements BlackRock, which was slow to invest in alternative assets, as a major player in the market, setting itself up for success as private credit grows at supersonic speed. Moody’s expects the market to double to $3 trillion in the next three years, up from $250 billion in 2010. What’s private credit? It’s sort of like a bank that isn’t a bank. Private credit involves loans made by non-bank entities to private businesses. The pool of invested money typically comes from a combination of pension funds, insurance companies, and sometimes just ultrawealthy individuals. These loans are usually pretty expensive, making them extra [attractive]( to investors with Mr. Krabs money eyes. How’d it get here? In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, government regulation at banks increased, so banks issued fewer loans (and were a pain in the butt when they did). Private credit bridged the gap between investors hoping to grow their money and businesses looking to borrow—sort of like asking your cool older sibling if you can borrow money instead of going to your parents, who, like a bank, probably ask a lot of questions. Looking ahead…the industry has attracted a lot of attention, and with it, more scrutiny. Some regulators are growing anxious over the lack of transparency in how firms value and rate their deals. A brave few have called it a bubble.—CC Presented By Seeking Alpha [Your portfolio’s new power move]( [Seeking Alpha]( Here’s a truth: Hedge funds have expert research teams operating behind the scenes to drum up positive scenarios. Shouldn’t everyday investors get the same sort of help? Now they can with Alpha Picks, a [super-powerful stock recommendation service]( from Seeking Alpha that cuts through the noise, delivering actionable stock recommendations based on hard data. With a track record of outperforming the market by over 124% since inception, Alpha Picks lets investors access the same sophisticated quantitative analysis that hedge fund managers and institutional investors have been using for years. And for one day only (fr, one day, so get movin’), you can [get 20% off Alpha Picks](. That’s a $499 value for $399. [Level up your portfolio](. WORLD [Tour de headlines](#) [South Korean soldiers try to enter the National Assembly building in Seoul] Jung Yeon-je/Getty Images South Korea’s president (briefly) declared martial law. In a shocking address yesterday, Yoon Suk Yeol [declared martial law]( in the country for the first time since 1979, accusing the opposition party of sympathizing with North Korea and plotting an “insurgency.” The ruling banned all political activity and allowed Yoon to assume control of the media, though it’s unclear if that actually happened. Hours after the emergency declaration, the National Assembly voted unanimously to lift the ruling. Under the South Korean Constitution, the president must comply with that vote, and shortly after, Yoon went on TV to say he would lift martial law. South Korean stocks temporarily fell in the US while the political chaos unfolded. Nearly 100,000 Volkswagen workers walked off the job. Employees at nine plants across Germany went on warning strikes this week [in protest]( of the automaker’s plans to cut costs by closing factories and docking pay. The walkouts only lasted a few hours but could escalate if the workers union does not reach an agreement with Volkswagen on a cost-cutting proposal. The German company says the cuts are vital as it struggles amid competition from China, a declining EV market in Europe, and increased energy costs. The two sides are scheduled to meet again next week. 🪨 China banned exports of rare minerals to the US. Beijing announced it would [halt shipments]( of gallium, germanium, antimony, and superhard materials—which are used in satellites, weapons, and semiconductors—to the US, in response to the Biden administration curbing the sales of US chips to Chinese companies earlier this week. Per Bloomberg, some US buyers said the ban wouldn’t cause near-term disruptions, since they have ample inventory and other ways to obtain the materials. The US already gets its gallium, for instance, from countries other than China. The tit-for-tat supply chain maneuver is the latest in an ongoing trade war that’s likely to intensify during the second Trump administration.—AE INTERNATIONAL [Vietnamese fraudster needs $9b to avoid execution]( [Truong My Lan in court]( AFP/Getty Images The Vietnamese tycoon Truong My Lan, who was convicted of orchestrating fraud that amounted to ~3% of the country’s GDP, needs to pay $9 billion to avoid the death penalty. Lan was sentenced to death in April for siphoning billions from the Saigon Commercial Bank, which she illegally controlled. Yesterday, she [lost an appeal]( to have the punishment commuted to life in prison. Apart from appealing again or applying for a presidential pardon, the court suggested she could avoid execution by returning 75% of the misappropriated cash. - The total damages are $27 billion, including $12 billion in embezzled funds. - Lan’s lawyers claim that the value of her assets exceeds the $9 billion she’d need to raise, but say it’ll take time to sell her real estate and argue it’d be easier to negotiate better deals if she weren’t facing the death penalty. Big picture: Lan is one of 86 defendants in a case central to the government’s sweeping anti-corruption push. Her arrest in 2022 led to a bank run and has shaken foreign investor confidence in Vietnam’s financial system at a time when the country is establishing itself as a manufacturing alternative to China.—SK Together With Bose [Bose]( Great-sounding gift ideas. This holiday season, give the gift of high-quality sound + world-class noise cancellation. The [Bose Ultra Open Earbuds]( offer top-notch audio quality—and are loved by artists like Tyla, Lisa, Central Cee, and Don Toliver. Shop the Black Friday sale for $50 off [Ultra Open Earbuds]( for the first time ever. AI [ChatGPT couldn’t handle ‘David Mayer’]( [a tech question mark]( Emily Parsons If you can say the name “David Mayer,” you have already one-upped ChatGPT. Users noticed this weekend that OpenAI’s chatbot [produced]( an error message and ended its chat window every time it was asked to repeat the unassuming name. Was it a software bug? Conspiracy? Ex-lover enacting revenge? Internet users took to Reddit and other social platforms to pose some theories that the block was related to a notable person with the name: - The playwright David Mayer was mistakenly placed on a US sanction list after an ISIS member used the name as an alias. - There is a British adventurer—and heir to the Rothschild fortune—named David Mayer de Rothschild, but the chatbot is cool with discussing his accomplishments when the whole name is typed out. Another theory: Someone named David Mayer managed to scrub himself from ChatGPT’s model via a “right to be forgotten” policy, which allows someone to request that their private info be removed from the internet. After the Mayer debacle was discovered, users realized that a number of other names—including legal scholar Jonathan Turley, whom the chatbot accused of a fictitious crime—made ChatGPT melt down in the same way. The actual reason: OpenAI eventually said the David Mayer mystery was [due to a glitch]( that mistakenly flagged the name.—MM STAT [Prime number: Less than 1% of misinfo](#) [Graphic of a glitched out election sticker] Emily Parsons “Shrimp Jesus” might saturate your parents’ Facebook feeds, but it turns out that AI-generated memes, deepfakes, and general slop are not (yet) the election misinformation catastrophe that experts have warned about. AI content accounted for [less than 1%]( of the misinfo that Meta fact-checked during election season this year, the company’s policy chief, Nick Clegg, revealed in a blog post. “It seems these risks did not materialize in a significant way,” he said. Per Clegg, Meta rejected 590,000 requests to generate images of Donald Trump, JD Vance, Kamala Harris, Tim Walz, and Joe Biden via the company’s Imagine AI feature, which is no stranger to controversy. But just because Meta’s existing policies appear to be effective at limiting the reach of election-related AI misinformation doesn’t mean they can prevent all AI duplicity. Someone you know was still tricked into believing there’s a statue of Jesus made out of shrimp at the bottom of the ocean. Meta had no update on that.—AE NEWS [What else is brewing](#) - [Frontier]( the ultra-low-cost airline, is adding first-class seats. “While we have the lowest costs in the industry, we don’t have the best revenue model,” CEO Barry Biffle said. - [Walmart]( closed its $2.3 billion acquisition of TV-maker Vizio as part of its push to expand its advertising business. - [Cargill]( the agricultural commodities trader and the biggest private company in the US, is laying off 5% of its global staff. - [SpaceX]( is reportedly in talks to sell insider shares at a new valuation of $350 billion—much higher than the most recent $255 billion valuation. - [Pizza Hut]( unveiled a new futuristic design concept that it plans to test in Texas before rolling out to more states, which is fine as long as they don’t get rid of the Book It! program. RECS [To-do list banner] Better hearing unlocked: They’re tiny, they’re rechargeable, they’re the [Horizon IX hearing aids by hear.com](. Want unparalleled, clear-as-day sound? [See if you qualify]( for a 45-day no-risk trial.* Learn: Impress your poker buddies with [the history]( of playing cards. Listen: It’s officially List Season. Here’s Rolling Stone’s [Top 100]( songs of the year. Go back: [How to fix]( the iPhone iOS 18 changes if you’re not a fan. Who’s a good boy: The most popular [dog names]( of 2024. Give the gift of learning: Got a tech lover in your life? [Pluralsight’s course library]( has more than 7k course options, and subscriptions are 40% off. [Share some knowledge this year]( Seasonal sidekick: Need help checking off your massive holiday to-do list? [Read our article]( to see how Ray-Ban Meta (with prescription lenses from Target Optical) [can help]( *A message from our sponsor. GAMES [The puzzle section](#) Word Search: If your name is Bob, Anna, Hannah, Eve, or Elle, you’ll probably have a leg up on today’s Word Search about palindromes. [Play it here](. Wikipedia trivia Now that Wikipedia has released its most-viewed articles of the year, you’re going to be quizzed on them. We’ll give you two Wikipedia article names in the Top 50, and you have to select the one that received more page views this year. - Sabrina Carpenter // Chappell Roan - Tim Walz // JD Vance - Project 2025 // Joe Biden - Indian Premier League // 2024 Summer Olympics - Elon Musk // Taylor Swift - Dune: Part Two // Simone Biles SHARE THE BREW [Share Morning Brew]( with your friends, acquire free Brew swag, and then acquire more friends as a result of your fresh Brew swag. We’re saying we’ll give you free stuff and more friends if you share a link. One link. Your referral count: 0 [Click to Share]( Or copy & paste your referral link to others: [morningbrew.com/daily/r/?kid=a905682a]( ANSWER - Sabrina Carpenter > Chappell Roan - JD Vance > Tim Walz - Project 2025 > Joe Biden - Indian Premier League (cricket) > 2024 Summer Olympics - Taylor Swift > Elon Musk - Dune: Part Two > Simone Biles [Source]( Word of the Day Today’s Word of the Day is: duplicity, meaning “deceitfulness, dishonest talk or behavior.” Thanks to Alexandra from Indianapolis, IN, and several others for the suggestion. Submit another [Word of the Day here](. Written by [Adam Epstein]( [Cassandra Cassidy]( Sam Klebanov, [Matty Merritt]( and [Neal Freyman]( Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up [here](. Interested in podcasts? - Check out ours [here]( [ADVERTISE]( // [CAREERS]( // [SHOP]( // [FAQ]( Update your email preferences or unsubscribe [here](. View our privacy policy [here](. Copyright © 2024 Morning Brew. 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