Good afternoon,
Warner Bros. is back at the negotiating table with Paramount, while Goldman Sachs has quietly decided to scrub DEI requirements from its board hiring criteria. In New York, Mamdani is pitching a 10% property tax hike to plug the city's budget holes, and private equity-backed SaaS companies are rushing to release earnings early to quell rising fears about AI disruption.
Meanwhile, Palantir is packing its bags again—trading the Rockies for South Beach as it moves its HQ from Denver to Miami.
Getting started.
The Pulse
As of 02/17/2026 market close.
Markets
Finished flat as the market digests AI software jitters ahead of the Fed minutes.
Bitcoin is down for a fourth straight week.
Earnings
This week's lineup:
Today: Figma, DoorDash
Thursday: Walmart, Klarna, Wayfair
See the full calendar here.
Prediction Markets
A claim that would upend the record. (Polymarket)
Headline Hunt
Goldman Sachs is removing DEI metrics from its criteria for all board candidates (WSJ)
Two unions are pushing the SEC to probe Apollo regarding its ties to Epstein (FT)
Palantir has officially moved its headquarters from Denver to Miami (CNBC)
Cross-border bank M&A in the EU has hit its highest level since 2008 (FT)
Trading volume for corporate bonds has hit records due to heavy demand (BBG)
Private software firms are opening their books early to calm nerves about AI (BBG)
Bank of Ireland is exiting the US leveraged loan market citing competition (BBG)
The impact of AI on corporate growth is seen as limited outside of Big Tech (BBG)
Executives at Big Oil firms are under pressure to define their growth plans (FT)
The Deal Room
M&A / Investments
Warner Bros. Discovery has rejected a sweetened $108B bid from Paramount Skydance but remains open to a new offer, which could trigger a war with Netflix.
SGH and Steel Dynamics have submitted a "best and final" offer of $10.6B for Australian firm BlueScope Steel.
Blackstone is acquiring HVAC group Champions from Odyssey Investment Partners at a valuation of $2.5B.
IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades
Genuine Parts ($20B listed) will split into two separate public companies following pressure from activist Elliott.
CFC, backed by EQT, is eyeing an IPO at a $6.8B valuation.
Blik, a Polish fintech, is exploring a local IPO at a $2B valuation.
Robinhood is looking to raise $1B via an IPO of a closed-end fund holding shares in private giants like SpaceX and OpenAI.
Berkshire Hathaway has sold stakes in Bank of America and Apple while buying New York Times in Buffett's final trades.
The Debt Desk
Panama is issuing $3B in global bonds, its first deal in two years.
Bankruptcy Watch
Saks Global is in a legal fight with Simon Property to keep stores open amid its bankruptcy proceedings.
Fresh Capital
Thrive Capital has closed its largest fund yet with over $10B in capital.
Crypto Corner
Abu Dhabi funds have piled over $1B into BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF.
MicroStrategy bought another 2,486 Bitcoin for $168M.
BitMine has grown its Ethereum treasury to 4.37M ETH.
A kidnap attempt on a Binance employee in France has the industry on alert.
Today’s Meme Pick
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