Apollo-Backed Athora Buys U.K. Insurer for $7.8 Billion
Athora, backed by the likes of Apollo Global Management, Athene Holding and a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, has insurance businesses across the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium and Germany.
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Economic slowdown linked to global uncertainty amid Trump tariffs
A slowdown in growth in Scotland's economy is 'largely due to higher global uncertainty' – with experts saying this is linked 'particularly' to US President Donald Trump's trade tariffs. The Fraser of Allander Institute also highlighted a recent rise in inflation this year as having 'played a role' as the economy 'faltered'. Economics experts at the Strathclyde University-based think tank have now downgraded their forecasts for growth. Speaking as its latest quarterly economic commentary was published, institute director Professor Mairi Spowage said: 'After a strong start to the year, the Scottish economy has faltered in March and April and is essentially the same size in real terms as it was six months ago. 'Unfortunately, the wider business environment and global events are still taking a toll on businesses and consumers, which is having a dampening effect on spending and business investment.' The think tank now expects economic growth of 0.8% in 2025 and 1.0% in 2026 – which is a slight downgrade from its April forecasts of 0.9% and 1.1%. It noted Scottish real GDP grew 0.4% in the first quarter of 2025, compared to 0.7% in the UK as a whole. The think tank said: 'A pattern of lower growth in Scotland has persisted, leading to a weaker recovery from the pandemic than the UK generally.' Looking at the latest data, it found Scotland's economic growth had 'remained slow', with rises in the first months of 2025 having been 'partially offset' by decreases in March and April. The report said: 'The slowdown in growth this year is largely due to higher global uncertainty, particularly from the announcement of tariffs in the US and elsewhere. 'With the CPI (Consumer Prices Index) rate at 3.4% in May 2025 after staying below 3% throughout 2024, an uptick in inflation has also played a role.' The think tank said its latest forecasts 'reflect greater uncertainty and difficult economic circumstances'. It also noted that businesses had reported a slowdown of activity in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same period last year. The report said this 'decline in activity may reflect the impact of increases to employer national insurance contributions as well as uncertain conditions, particularly from trade and tariff decisions taken by the US government'. It said the 'difficult conditions for business have been echoed in the labour market', with the think tank noting pay growth has been 'slow' and the number of employees has fallen 0.9% from last year. It also said there was 'some indication that the proportion of people living beyond their means in Scotland may have increased compared to this time last year' – but added other indicators of financial stability 'seem to be holding steady'. Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said: 'It is clearer than ever that Scotland's economy is being impacted by challenging global trading conditions and uncertainty – conditions mirrored across the rest of the UK. 'We are taking ambitious steps to grow the economy by pursuing new investment, building export potential and driving and capitalising on the Scottish innovation at the forefront of many key global industries. 'But we are doing all of this without the full economic powers needed to fully address the issues facing Scottish businesses. We need decisive action from the UK Government to counter the damaging economic impacts of Brexit and business uncertainty. 'This includes reversing its decision to increase employers' national insurance contributions which, as the Scottish Chambers of Commerce has highlighted, is severely damaging business confidence, investment, growth and jobs.' Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
OpenAI warns its tokenized stock offered by Robinhood isn't real equity: 'Please be careful'
OpenAI distanced itself from Robinhood's announcement that it would offer "tokenized" equity in the AI giant on its platform. Robinhood revealed plans to offer tokenized shares of private companies like OpenAI and SpaceX to European users. OpenAI said it was not involved in the plan, warning investors to be cautious. OpenAI threw cold water on an announcement from Robinhood this week that said some users could soon buy "tokenized" equity in the AI titan on the popular brokerage app. Robinhood stock has surged this week on news that the company is offering tokenized shares of popular stocks, including shares of private companies OpenAI and SpaceX, to European users. However, the AI startup issued a statement this week that distanced itself from the plan. In a June 2 post on its X account, OpenAI stated that the tokens being offered by Robinhood are not actually equity in the company. "We did not partner with Robinhood, were not involved in this, and do not endorse it. Any transfer of OpenAI equity requires our approval—we did not approve any transfer," the posted stated. OpenAI ended the statement advising potential investors to "please be careful." Tokenized assets are blockchain-enabled representations of securities like stocks. Importantly for investors, though, they are not the same as owning equity in a company, and the price of the tokens may not be correlated with an underlying stock. OpenAI and SpaceX rank among the world's most valuable and high-profile private companies. Although Robinhood's token offering is only available to European users, it sparked considerable interest from retail investors who viewed it as a way to gain exposure. In a statement to Business Insider, a Robinhood spokesperson said: "To cap off our recent crypto event, we announced a limited stock token giveaway on OpenAI and SpaceX to eligible European customers. These tokens give retail investors indirect exposure to private markets, opening up access, and are enabled by Robinhood's ownership stake in a special purpose vehicle." Additionally, CEO Vlad Tenev followed the post with one of his own, providing some context on the equity statements. "While it is true that they aren't technically "equity" (you can see the precise dynamics in our Terms for those interested), the tokens effectively give retail investors exposure to these private assets," he said. Tenev added that Robinhood's giveaway "plants a seed for something much bigger," claiming that since the announcement, other private companies have expressed interest in joining the "tokenization revolution" though he offered no specific details. Read the original article on Business Insider Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Why AstraZeneca Stock Got Thumped on Thursday
It might be gearing up to pay billions of dollars to participate in a drug program currently in development. Its would-be partner is an American biotech that has earned a lot of attention lately. 10 stocks we like better than AstraZeneca Plc › AstraZeneca (NASDAQ: AZN) might soon be on the hook for an eventual 11-figure payout, and investors weren't all that comfortable with this. A Bloomberg article published Thursday morning said that the company is pursuing what might end up being an expensive partnership with a biotech. A cautious market traded AstraZeneca stock down by more than 2% following the report, on a day when the S&P 500 index landed firmly in positive territory with a 0.8% gain. The article that dinged AstraZeneca was a Bloomberg piece asserting that the company is in discussions with Summit Therapeutics (NASDAQ: SMMT) on a formal partnership. The article, which cited unidentified "people familiar with the matter" as its sources, stated the two companies might collaborate on ivonescimab. This is a cancer drug licensed by Summit (from its developer, Akeso) for numerous jurisdictions outside of Akeso's native China, including North America and Europe. According to Bloomberg, AstraZeneca and Summit are currently working out the details of such an arrangement. The article's sources added that an upfront payment of several billion dollars could be involved in any deal; it did not get more specific. One figure mentioned was $15 billion, which is apparently a total in upfront monies and milestone payments Summit might eventually earn. AstraZeneca is a global healthcare incumbent that's large, sprawling, and well financed -- at the end of its latest reported quarter, the U.K.-headquartered company had more than 4 billion British pounds ($5.5 billion) in cash alone. Still, $15 billion is a huge amount, even when spread over the lifetime of an in-development drug's lifecycle. I wouldn't be overly concerned about this if I were an AstraZeneca shareholder. In fact, I'd be encouraged. There aren't a great many oncology development programs that have shown as much potential as ivonescimab, and if it ends up fulfilling its promise it could easily be a blockbuster drug. I think it might be smarter to be a buyer than a seller of AstraZeneca at the moment. Before you buy stock in AstraZeneca Plc, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and AstraZeneca Plc wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $692,914!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $963,866!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,049% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 179% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 30, 2025 Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Summit Therapeutics. The Motley Fool recommends AstraZeneca Plc. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Why AstraZeneca Stock Got Thumped on Thursday was originally published by The Motley Fool Sign in to access your portfolio
