Dec 18, 2025

Email 1: Andrew Lokenauth and Joseph Politano posted new notes

– Andrew Lokenauth comments on trades and inheritance strategies.

– Joseph Politano highlights ongoing impacts of Trump’s tariffs.

– Links to additional notes available via the Substack app.

Email 2: Insurance and Finance Hiring Surge; Global M&A Rebound; Australian Gas Demand Weakens

– Human oversight emphasized in AI tools deployment at HSBC.

– India leads insurance and finance hiring expectations for Q1 2026.

– Global M&A deal value reached $4.8 trillion with an EV/EBITDA multiple increase.

– Australian gas consumption drops amid lower LNG exports.

– Other topics: Japan offshore wind viability; intracardiac echocardiography device market growth; rise in sensory food consumption in APAC; geothermal investment growth.

– Events and awards announced including Asian Management Excellence Awards.

– Insight on digital transformation, security and AI applications in business.

Email 3: Need to Know: Why Energy Stocks Are the New Bonds

– Strategist Louis-Vincent Gave asserts traditional 60/40 portfolio model is obsolete.

– Proposed new allocation: 60% equity, 20% precious metals, 20% energy stocks.

– Energy stocks serve as inflation hedges and could reduce portfolio volatility.

– Past data shows energy and precious metals portfolios outperform traditional bonds in some scenarios.

– Discussion on recession impacts and comparisons to bond performance.

– Market data with stock futures, index performance, and key company updates.

– Commentary on major news including Federal Reserve announcements and corporate mergers.

Email 4: Axios Pro Rata: Use Your Illusions

– Warner Bros. Discovery rejects Paramount’s $108 billion acquisition offer citing financing concerns.

– Paramount’s equity backstop comes from Larry Ellison’s revocable trust, raising doubts about financial backing solidity.

– Databricks raises over $4 billion, nearing IPO with valuation of $134 billion.

– Venture capital news: Waymo, OpenAI, Trade Republic, and various startups’ funding.

– Private equity deals and corporate acquisitions detailed.

– Public offerings: Medline raises $6.26 billion in largest US IPO since 2021.

– Personnel changes and company promotions.

– Specialized podcast and analysis content relating to AI-driven M&A activity.

Email 5: Low AI Margins = Less Room for Errors (Ben at The SaaS CFO)

– AI companies face fundamentally lower gross margins (50–60%) compared with traditional SaaS (around 80%).

– Greater revenue needed for AI firms to achieve comparable EBITDA.

– AI’s opportunity relies on higher value per customer and larger total addressable market.

– Introduction of Maxio MCP, a secure AI layer improving financial data accessibility with governance.

– Highlights on sales tax and VAT updates relevant for SaaS billing and compliance.

– CFO Dashboard focus: Definition and importance of Gross Dollar Retention.

– Analysis of SaaS metrics accuracy, with emphasis on renewal rates for multi-year contracts.

– Curated links to detailed SaaS financial practices and models.

– Partner and course offerings to assist SaaS finance teams.

Email 6: Money Stuff: Warner Doesn’t Trust Paramounts (Bloomberg)

– Explanation of wealth in revocable trusts, using Zuckerberg and Musk as examples.

– Paramount’s acquisition bid for Warner Bros. is backed by Larry Ellison’s revocable trust, raising concerns over revocability and financing reliability.

– Potential risks if Ellison trust revokes assets post-deal, leaving Paramount unable to pay.

– Warner’s official statement rejecting Paramount’s offer due to lack of personal guarantees from Ellison family.

– Discussion of ESG investing complexities with side letters to satisfy conflicting client requirements.

– IPO lockup challenges anticipated for SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI due to large private shareholdings.

– Overview of “Bitcoin Island” project proposing private court systems for crypto communities.

– Insight into investment banking work-life balance with holiday deal negotiations.

– Brief coverage of recent major tech and finance news items relevant to corporate finance and markets.

Stay Well!