Good Morning,

ASX trips as miners sink, Woodside keeps cool, new investing titan spotted, JP Morgan still bullish, S&P 500 hits record #4 on Google AI hype, Nikkei surges 3% on Trump-era deal, Tesla tanks after earnings miss Musk says “buckle up,” half of Kiwis applying for Aussie citizenship aren’t Kiwi-born, Wellington tries to be cool again, Infratil and Ebos lift NZX, Discovery NZ takes another L, NZX makes its “most important” hire, Iran and EU restart nuclear chats, Fiji’s 16-year-old surf prodigy goes pro, Sydney Sweeney’s jeans ad prints $346M, Trump vs Powell feud fizzles fast, Starlink glitch cuts off thousands, Australia and UK sign a 50-year defence BFF deal, Clinton linked to Epstein birthday note, Thailand–Cambodia tensions heat up.

Let's jump in.

Before The Bell

Markets

• ASX Falls; Woodside gains; big iron ore minors drop (AFR)

• A New “Titan” In the investing world (Exec sum)

• JP Morgan trader still see “significant step higher” for US equities (AFR)

• S&P 500 notches 4th consecutive record as Google earnings fuel AI hopes (Yahoo)

• Asian markets gain, with Japan's Nikkei up more than 3%, lifted by deal on Trump's tariffs (Stuff)

Earnings and Data

• Tesla stock slides after earnings miss, Musk warns of 'few rough quarters' (Yahoo)

News Summary

• Nearly half of Kiwis applying for Australian citizenship born elsewhere (Stuff)

• Can Wellington be cool again? (Stuff)

• Infratil and Ebos help drive NZ stocks higher – Market close (Herald)

• Another big loss for Discovery NZ (NBR)

• The NZX’s most important hire yet (NBR)

• Iran and Europeans begin nuclear talks with questions over future UN sanctions (RNZ)

• 'I just let it flow': Meet 16-year-old James Kusitino, Fiji's first pro surfer (RNZ)

• Sydney Sweeney jeans campaign adds $346 million to US fashion brand (9 News)

• Trump and Powell's feud just exploded into the public. And then Trump backed off (9 News)

• Tens of thousands knocked offline after software failure at Musk’s Starlink (Guardian)

• Australia and UK to sign 50-year defence treaty despite US wavering on Aukus submarine deal (Guardian)

• Bill Clinton reportedly sent Jeffrey Epstein note for birthday album (Guardian)

• Thailand warns clashes with Cambodia could 'move towards war' (BBC)

Deal Flow

Investments / M&A

• Auto group Bapcor in turmoil after profit warning (NBR)

• Wilson seeks to almost double Income Maximiser LIC; calls EGM (AFR)

• JPMorgan exec ditches Wall Street for private equity (AFR)

• US clears way for $8 billion Paramount-Skydance merger (RT)

• Italy's MPS focused on Mediobanca deal, CEO says after UniCredit drops BPM bid (RT)

• SmartNews Said to Hire Mitsubishi UFJ, Nomura for Tokyo Listing (BBG)

• Close Brothers to Sell UK Market Maker Winterflood to Marex (BBG)

VC & Fundraising

• How a Y Combinator food-delivery app used TikTok to soar in the App Store (TC)

Equity Raises

• Dispute management software provider Quavo raises $300M from Spectrum Equity (FTF)

• OSL Raises Record $300M in Asia's Largest Digital Asset Equity Deal (BH)

• Publisher McGraw Hill raises $415 million in US IPO (RT)

Debt

• Demand, yields have golden age of private credit still ‘shining brightly’ (ISN)

• Liquidators say Nanogirl Labs unlikely to be able to pay $260,000 tax debt (RNZ)

Daily Picks

• Calls for NSW MP to resign after sexual assault convictions (Stuff)

• Female exec captured in viral Coldplay concert clip resigns (BBC)

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